This will be the second review done for Jedidiah’s hot & spicy teriyaki flavored beef jerky. The ingredient list has since been changed from when I last made an online order in 2012. This 4 ounce/113 gram bag was purchased in May 2015 at a souvenir type of store in Barstow, California. Note the bag featured was not the actual bag purchased. The plastic bag shown below was the actual bag purchased for this review.
Jedidiah’s is distributed by Jedidiah’s Jerky & Gourmet Snacks, located in Fort Mohave, Arizona. This brand of jerky started all the way back in 1984, and is family owned and operated. They currently have three different retail locations in Barstow, California, Beatty, Nevada, and Laughlin, Nevada. They offer several different flavors and styles of jerky.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Brisket of Beef, Soy Sauce (Water, Soybeans, Salt, Alcohol), Brown Sugar, Hot Sauce (Aged Cayenne Red Peppers, Vinegar, Water, Salt, Garlic Powder), Lemon Juice, Garlic, Black Pepper, Jalapeno Powder. Allergen Warnings: Soy
The beef used is not guaranteed to be free of growth hormones or additional antibiotics. Also, the beef is not guaranteed to have at least partial free range access to graze on grass. As a result, the highest ingredient rating that can be awarded is a Good (8/10) rating.
This jerky uses brisket as the cut of beef, which some people believe is the best cut of beef to absorb a marinade. For the liquid marinade we have soy sauce, hot sauce, and lemon juice. Both of these sauces used good ingredient lists.
The heat is achieved from the hot sauce and jalapeno powder. As a general rule, spicy foods are healthy if eaten in moderation. It is great to see that super healthy garlic is used.
The sugar level is extremely high at 13 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 3 grams of sugar or less. The salt level is also extremely high at 820mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 350mg of salt or under.
Admirably, this jerky qualifies to have no sodium nitrite, or any other similar unhealthy preservatives. Instead, salt is the primary preservative used here. With further kudos to Jedidiah’s, this jerky also qualifies to have no MSG added.
Alright (6/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
There is a mixture of small and medium sized strips, sliced to a medium thickness. This texture certainly qualifies to have a soft and tender texture, which makes for very easy chewing. There are some visible signs of fat that add to the overall flavor. Handling this jerky does leave some oily residue on your fingers.
The first taste detected is a teriyaki soy based flavor. There is a fair amount of tang from the lemon juice. You could say this flavor has moderately sweet and salty levels.
All along there is a spiciness to this flavor that grows stronger as you eat more strips. The heat level gets up to about a medium level, depending on your tolerance for spicy foods. Overall, this is an extremely juicy tasting flavor that delivers on both the teriyaki taste and spiciness.
This 3 ounce/ 85 gram bag of jerky was purchased for $15.96. That works out to $3.99, which rates as an expensive price. While this jerky is on the expensive side, we recommend it from a taste and health perspective.
Excellent (10/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
A bag does not get any more plain than this plastic bag, which rates down there with a plain paper bag.
Too many bag categories are missing, where there is nothing to review here. In fairness, regular jerky bags are used when ordering online.
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