The first review on Captain Jake’s Jerky will be on a 3 ounce/85 gram bag of their mesquite bbq flavored beef jerky. On July 17/2015, this mesquite bbq flavor received a second place award at the World Hot Sauce, BBQ and Extreme Food Awards competition, in the “Specialty Beef Jerky” division. This jerky was kindly submitted for review by one of the co-founders, Scott Jacobson.
Friends since grade school from over 30 years ago, Scott Jacobson and Greg Giles teamed together to launch the Captain Jake’s Jerky brand name. Scott, who works in the media business, was tired of the same old jerky with lack of flavor, and high sodium levels. After 18 months of Scott tweaking the recipes of four flavors, they officially launched the Captain Jake’s Jerky brand name in October 2014. Greg’s experience is accounting, food service, and small business. In their words: “The name Captain Jake’s Jerky comes from two sources. Jake is Scott’s nickname, derived from this last name Jacobson. During Scott’s college days he worked at a boat ride at an amusement park as Captain Jake!”. This jerky is distributed under the name of Captain Jake’s Jerky, LLC. They are based out of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Organic Ketchup (Organic Tomato Puree, Organic Sugar, Organic White Vinegar, Salt, Organic Onion Powder, Organic Spices. Produced in a facility that also handles Eggs, Fish, Milk, Peanuts, Soy, Tree Nuts & Wheat), Brown Sugar, Natural Smoke Flavor, Worcestershire Sauce (Distilled White Vinegar, Molasses, Sugar, Water, Salt, Onions, Anchovies, Garlic, Cloves, Tamarind Extract, Natural Flavorings, Chili Pepper Extract), Apple Cider Vinegar (Made from the juice of apples, diluted with water to a uniform pickling and table strength of 5% (50 grains) acidity.), Hot Sauce [Water, Peppers (Arbol and Piquin), Garlic Powder, Habanero Powder, Celery Powder, Mustard Powder. Allergen Warnings: Soy, Wheat, Anchovies
100% certified American-raised Black Angus beef is used in this jerky. The Angus breed of cattle is known to have a good amount of natural marbling. The cattle may or may not have been administered growth hormones or additional antibiotics, there are no guarantees. As a result, the highest ingredient rating that can be awarded is a Good (8/10) rating.
We have an interesting liquid marinade used here with organic ketchup, a good Worcestershire sauce, very healthy apple cider vinegar, and Cholula hot sauce. It is great to see organic ketchup, but a bit concerning to see all the potential allergens.
There are healthy spices used such as garlic powder, habanero powder, and mustard powder. As a general rule, hot spices are healthy if eaten in moderation.
There is no nutrition facts table provided. As a result, the sugar and salt levels are unknown.
This jerky does qualify to contain no sodium nitrite, or any other similar unhealthy preservatives. Instead, apart from salt, celery powder is the main preservative, with its naturally occurring nitrates. Admirably, this jerky also qualifies to have no MSG added.
Good (8/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
These strips of jerky are small in size, and sliced to a medium thickness. There is a dry texture, which gives your mouth a work out to chew. A small amount of fat is visible, which adds and improves the overall taste. There is only a slight oily residue left on your fingers while handing this jerky.
The first taste detected is a tomato flavor at a medium level. It does not take long for the mesquite smoked flavor to take notice, which remains at a moderate level. This jerky is not really sweet tasting, apart from the actual ketchup. That allows some of the natural beef flavor to stand out. There is a light tang from the vinegar, and this jerky is only mildly salty.
This 3 ounce/84 gram bag sells online for $7.89. That works out to 2.66 an ounce, which works out to be an expensive price. This jerky is a great buy for people who enjoy the taste of ketchup.
Very Good (9/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
This is a plain, clear, resealable plastic bag. There is a label affixed to the front, and nothing on the back. A small sticker stating “Black Angus” is on the front also.
The Captain Jake’s Jerky logo has an anchor in the middle. There are no slogans or facts printed on this bag.
There are some missing bag categories such as a best before date, and no nutrition facts table. There is no blurb printed about Captain Jake’s Jerky, or this flavor. Granted there is no room.
Order their jerky online: www.captainjakesjerky.com
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