The first review on Blank & Son’s will focus on a 3 ounce/85 gram bag of their Our First Beef Jerky flavor. It is their original flavor, and the base for their other three flavors. This jerky was kindly submitted for review by one of the owners, Damon Blank.
From 1988 – 2002, Damon, his wife Tammy, his mother Barbara, and his three sons Danton, Dalton and Dagon ran the Blank & Co. Restaurant in Nacogdoches, Texas. Staying within the food industry, the Blank & Son’s jerky brand name was launched in April 2015, and are still based out of Nacogdoches, Texas. Their jerky is advertised as having bold flavors, and is handmade in small batches. They are so confident with their jerky, they used the Blank family name as the jerky brand name.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef Inside Round, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt, Sodium Benzoate: Less than 1/10 of 1% as a preservative), Worcestershire Sauce (Vinegar, Molasses, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Anchovies, Water, Onion, Salt, Garlic, Tamarind Concentrate, Cloves, Natural Flavorings, Chili Pepper Extract), Light Brown Sugar, Water, Kosher Salt, Garlic Powder, Garlic Salt, Chili Powder (Chili Pepper, Cumin, Oregano, Salt, Dehydrated Garlic), Spice, Onion Powder, Apple Cider Vinegar, Salt, Sodium Nitrite. Allergen Warnings: Soy, Wheat, Anchovies
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.
The liquid marinade is comprised of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, water, and very healthy apple cider vinegar. It is disappointing to see that the Worcestershire sauce uses the highly processed sweetener high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
It is great to see that the super healthy vegetable garlic is listed four times inside the ingredient list, and similarly onion is listed twice. Some healthy spices added are cumin and oregano.
There is no nutrition facts table provided. As a result, the exact sugar and salt levels are unknown.
This jerky does use unhealthy sodium nitrite as the main preservative, apart from salt. Admirably, this jerky does qualify to have no MSG added.
Alright (6/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
These strips of jerky are large in size, and sliced borderline thick. There is a great texture that is dry, but certainly not overly dry. Chewing this jerky is relatively easy on your teeth, where no tough strips to chew are encountered. There are minor visible signs of fat, and handling these strips leaves no oily residue on your fingers.
The first taste detected is a mild combination of soy and Worcestershire sauce. There is a constant mild to almost moderate garlic taste, and the onion level is light. The sweetness is only at a light level, which allows some of the natural beef flavor to come through. There is a moderate saltiness level. Overall, a very pleasant and tasty blend of spices that manages to capture a classic tasting original based flavor, where no single flavor dominates.
A 3 ounce/85 gram bag sells online for $9.99. That works out to $3.33 an ounce, which translates to an expensive price. The price is cheaper if you order five bags or more at a time. While pricey, this jerky is recommended as worth your money on the taste alone.
Excellent (10/10) – 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 except a batch number sticker.
The logo is interesting, with a drawing of a family, where the father is carrying the Texan Independence flag. Each of the four flavors offered by Blank & Son’s features a different historic flag of Texas. This Our First Beef Jerky flavor displays the First Official Flag, when Texas declared independence from Mexico.
The official slogan for Blank & Son’s is “Come And Take It”. To get an idea on what that slogan means, watch the very interesting and unique video on the Blank & Son’s About Us page. Other possible slogans printed on this bag are “The Great Jerky of the Republic of Texas”, and “This is Texas Beef Jerky and it’s Here to Stay”.
There are some missing bag categories such as a best before date, the jerky weight not stated in grams, and no nutrition facts table. There is a very good blurb printed on this bag describing this flavor and jerky. A QR code is displayed, and interestingly a Go Texan stamp is displayed, where the Blank family are obviously proud Texans.
Order their jerky online: www.blankandsons.com
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