Note: For a more current taste review on a tweaked bag design and ingredient list, open up Lawless Jerky – Mango Habanero 100% Grass Fed Beef Jerky (Recipe #2).
The next review on Lawless Jerky will be on a 2 ounce/57 gram bag of their Mango Habanero flavored 100% grass-fed beef jerky. This jerky was kindly submitted by the founder and CEO, Matt Tolnick.
The Lawless Jerky brand name is distributed by Lawless Jerky LLC, located in Santa Monica, California. Matt, a former attorney, bravely left his practice, and launched the Lawless Jerky brand name in 2013. In Matt’s words “he had the courage to run from the law..to make jerky!” The trademark for Lawless Jerky is “A Braver Flavor”!”.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: 100% Grass Fed Beef, Brown Sugar, Rice Vinegar, Salt, Sun Dried Tomato, Habanero Pepper, Garlic, Onion, Mango Amchur, Mango Flavor (Proplyene Glycol, Ethyl Alcohol, Natural Flavor).
This 100% grass-fed beef is sourced from a reputable farm in Australia. For a detailed explanation on the virtues of consuming 100% grass-fed beef compared to grain-fed beef, you can read the Just How Natural is Your “All-Natural” Beef Jerky?” article written by Matt.
This liquid marinade consists of only healthy rice vinegar. It is always great to see when super healthy garlic and onion are used. Sun dried tomato is another healthy ingredient used.
The heat in this flavor is achieved from using the super hot habanero pepper. As a general rule, hot peppers are healthy if eaten in moderation.
The mango flavor is achieved with both real and artificial flavors. It is disappointing to see proplyene glycol used. It is a derivative of oil, and has no business being in our food chain.
The sugar level is sort of on the high side at 6 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 3 grams of sugar or under. The salt level is reasonable at 330mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky.
As advertised, there is no sodium nitrite used, or any other similar unhealthy preservative. Instead, salt and rice vinegar are the main preservatives. With more kudos to Lawless Jerky, their jerky has no MSG added.
Decent (7/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
These strips of jerky are mainly small in size, and sliced to a medium thickness. It has a dry texture, but not overly dry. There are no visible signs of fat, and handling this jerky leaves no oily residue on your fingers.
The first taste detected is a moderate level of sweetness, which dulls the natural beef flavor to a certain degree. There is a mild tanginess from the rice vinegar. The sweetness does take on a sort of fruity mango flavor, but only at a mild level at best. The garlic and onion levels are light.
As for the heat, this flavor is not all that hot for a flavor that uses extremely hot habanero peppers. On a heat scale, you could say the heat level is 3 out of 5. Overall, this is an interesting and tasty flavor.
A 2 ounce/57 gram bag sells online for $6.99. That works out to $3.50 an ounce, which rates as an expensive price. If you order all six flavors online, the price is $32.99, which works out to $2.75 an ounce. You pay for quality, and 100% grass-fed beef is as good as it gets. We recommend this jerky for people who enjoy a light fruity flavor, and just a moderate amount of heat.
Very Good (9/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
While the trademark for Lawless Jerky is “A Braver Flavor!”, it could also be “A Braver Bag”. This is the first bag we have reviewed that opens vertically, as opposed to horizontally. Everything is imprinted directly on the bag, both the front and back. There is one minor complaint in that there is no transparent window to view the actual jerky strips.
There is a graphic displayed on the front of Lady Justice, peaking through a band around her head, suggesting that justice is not always blind. Cleverly, each flavor uses a unique color in the headband. The Lawless Jerky logo is interesting. It is an upside down balance scale, symbolic of Matt turning his law profession on its head when he became a jerky maker instead.
There are some facts displayed on this bag such as “Braver Flavor”, “Handcrafted”, “Made with 100% Grass-Fed Beef”, “Authentic Flavors”, “No Corn Syrup”, “No Nitrites”, and “No Nitrates”.
All bag categories are covered with this bag. There is a great blurb on the back written about the Mango Habanero flavor itself, and about Lawless Jerky.
Excellent (10/10) – Bag Rating
Order their jerky online: www.lawlessjerky.com
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