KRAVE Jerky – Chili Lime Beef Jerky (Recipe #2)

The next review for KRAVE Jerky will be on a 3.25 ounce/92 gram bag of their chili lime flavored beef jerky. This bag was kindly submitted by the KRAVE Jerky team.

The KRAVE Jerky brand name is distributed by Krave Pure Foods, Inc., located in Sonoma, California. The company was envisioned by Jon Sebastian in 2009, while training for the NYC marathon. Today, KRAVE Jerky has an impressive distribution network in Canada and the USA. Their jerky is entirely gluten-free, and devoid of nitrites, MSG, and corn syrup.

Ingredient Review

Ingredients: Beef, Cane Sugar, Low Sodium Gluten Free Soy Sauce (Water, Soybeans, Salt, Alcohol), Garlic Chili Sauce (Chili, Garlic, Vinegar, Sugar, Salt), Salt, Contains 2% of Less of the Following: Lemon Juice, Lime Juice Powder, Granulated Garlic, Onion Powder, Paprika, Chili Powder, Crushed Red Pepper.    Allergen Warnings: Soy

The liquid marinade consists of a good low sodium gluten free soy sauce, a good garlic chili sauce, and healthy lemon juice.

The lime flavor is achieved using some natural ingredients such as lemon juice and lime juice powder. Limes are considered to be very healthy and high on vitamin C.

The sugar level is high at 8 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference would be 3 grams of sugar or less per 28 grams of jerky. At least cane sugar is one of the better sweeteners out there. The salt level is also high at 440mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 350mg of salt or less.

This jerky does qualify to be sodium nitrite free. Admirably, celery juice powder is the main preservative used, which has naturally occurring nitrates. Also admirably, this jerky has no MSG added.

Decent (7/10) – Ingredient Rating

Taste Review

The size of the strips vary from medium to small. They are mostly sliced to a medium thickness. This texture almost qualifies to be a soft and tender, which results in relatively easy jerky to chew. There are no signs of fat, and handling this jerky leaves no oily residue on your fingers.

It does not take long to pick up on the lime flavor, which remains at a good level. There is also a spiciness detected that slowly builds as you eat more strips. It levels off at about 1/5 or 2/5 on the heat level scale, depending on your tolerance of heat.

There is a light garlic/onion combination. The soy flavor is not all that noticeable. While this is a pleasing flavor, and as advertised with both lime and chili flavors, it is a tad too sweet tasting.

This 3.25 ounce/92 gram bag sells online for $7.00. That works out to $2.15 an ounce, which rates as an average price. This jerky is a decent buy for people who appreciate a lime based flavor mixed with some spiciness.

Very Good (9/10) – Taste Rating

Bag Review

This is a standard resealable plastic bag. Everything is imprinted directly on the bag itself, both on the front and back. There are no labels affixed. This a bright, eye catching bag design. There are many random images and jerky sayings in the red part of this bag.

The KRAVE Jerky logo is of a person running. Some slogans printed on this bag are “Live a Cut Above”, “Move. Eat. Live. KRAVE.”, and “ENJOY”.

All bag categories are covered here with this bag. There is a good blurb printed on the back of this bag describing KRAVE Jerky and the chili lime flavor.

Excellent (10/10) – Bag Rating

Order their jerky online: www.kravejerky.com