Just for fun, this review will focus on a 1.76 ounce/50 gram bag of my homemade teriyaki flavored beef jerky. My jerky is generally not for sale. This will mark the third review for this unofficial Jerky Ingredients brand name.
In 2008, I started collecting jerky bags for ideas of what ingredients to use on my homemade jerky. That jerky bag collection stands at over 800 bags today. For this teriyaki flavor, I really tried to use ingredients that stood out from previous reviews for other teriyaki based flavors. Another key change in this jerky batch was slicing the jerky into thin strips. As a result, the jerky marinade does a much better job of absorbing into the beef.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Sodium Benzoate; Less than 1/10 of 1% as a Preservative, Brewing Starter (Aspergillus Sojae)), Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce (Malt Vinegar (Barley), Spirit Vinegar, Water, Refiner’s Molasses, Sugar, Salt, Anchovies (Fish), Tamarind Extract, Onions, Garlic, Spice, Flavors), Onion, Garlic, Ginger, Local Honey, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Sea Salt, Organic Brown Sugar, Black Pepper. Allergen Warnings: Soy, Wheat, Anchovies
The cut of beef used is inside round. Nothing special, where the beef is not guaranteed to be ethically raised, or have some free range access to graze on grass. As a result, the highest ingredient rating that can be awarded is a Good (8/10) rating.
The liquid marinade used is an average soy sauce, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, local honey, and lemon juice concentrate. Honey that is minimally processed, as is the case here, is healthy if eaten in moderation. Lemons offer many health benefits also.
The supremely healthy vegetables onion, garlic, and ginger are used. All three of these vegetables offer many different health benefits. Black pepper is used, which also has a big reputation of being healthy.
There is no nutrition facts table available. As a result, the exact sugar and salt levels are unknown. The sugar level would be very low for sure, and organic brown sugar was used. The salt level is probably below the acceptable limit of 350mg salt per 28 grams of jerky.
This jerky does qualify to have no sodium nitrite added, or any other similar unhealthy preservatives. Instead, sea salt is the main preservative used, which is a much better choice compared to highly refined table salt. Sea salt is minimally processed, and loaded with minerals and trace minerals. This jerky also qualifies to have no MSG added.
Good (8/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
These strips are mostly medium in size, and thinly sliced. There is a very dry, almost crunchy texture, but not quite. That was an accident actually, where I probably dried this jerky in the food dehydrator two hours too long, and at too high of a temperature. It actually turns out to be a pleasing texture, which is easy to chew because the jerky strips are so thin. There are visible signs of fat that improves the overall natural beef flavor. Handling this jerky leaves no oily residue on your fingers.
The first taste detected is the ginger, which stays at a moderate level. While there is a medium soy type of flavor, this flavor does not entirely stand out as being a traditional based teriyaki flavor. Partly because the garlic level is too strong, a trademark of my flavors.
The trifecta of vegetable flavors is achieved, with the very noticeable ginger/onion/garlic taste combination. A teriyaki based flavor is supposed to be sweet tasting, where this flavor was purposely made to be only mildly sweet tasting at best. As a result, the natural beef flavor stands out more.
The lemon concentrate flavor is disappointingly light, where more will be added in the next jerky batch. Nonetheless, overall, this is an extremely addictive snack, and tastes like more.
If I am selling my jerky between friends to cover the costs, I ask $5.00 for a 1.76 ounce/50 gram bag, even though the price of beef has more than doubled since 2010. That works out to $2.84 an ounce, making it an expensive price. This jerky would absolutely be worth the money, homemade jerky is awesome.
Very Good (9/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
A rather plain, boring looking bag. The plastic bag itself is decent. It’s transparent, resealable, and has a hole on the top to hang on hooks. After that, there is a purple label affixed that states a Teriyaki flavor.
For the bag, we paid about 5 cents, which would be cheaper if we ordered 10,000 or more at a time instead of 1,000. The label cost about 30 cents, where again, it would be cheaper if we ordered them in much larger quantities.
There are too many bag categories missing to list them all.
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