Just for fun on jerky review #300, this review will focus on a 1.76 ounce/50 gram bag of my homemade barbecue flavored beef jerky. My jerky is generally not for sale. This will mark the fourth 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 900 bags today. For this barbecue flavor, I really tried to use ingredients that stood out from previous reviews for other barbecue based flavors. In particular, rather than use a commercial based barbecue sauce, tomato juice is used. It turns out tomato juice and vinegar are an excellent pairing.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Tomato Juice, Vinegar, 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, Sea Salt, Organic Brown Sugar, Black Pepper. Allergen Warnings: 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 tomato juice, a quality Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce, and healthy vinegar. Tomatoes are loaded with the healthy antioxidant lycopene.
Very healthy fresh vegetables onion and garlic are used. 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, where only a little bit of organic brown sugar is used. The salt level is most likely 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 sliced to a medium, almost thin thickness. They have a very dry texture, but are still surprisingly easy to chew. There are visible signs of fat that enhances the overall natural beef flavor. Handling this jerky leaves no oily residue on your fingers.
A moderate level of tomato is detected first, along with a mild tartness from the vinegar. The onion flavor is at a great level, and the garlic is at a mild level. There is very little sweetness, which allows a good deal of natural beef flavor.
A mild Worcestershire sauce flavor mixes well with the tomato juice and vinegar. The salt level is mild, and there is a light peppered flavor. Overall, a great blend of tastes.
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, this particular batch turned out very well.
Excellent (10/10) – 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 orange label affixed that states a barbecue 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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