The next review on Jim Dandy Beef Jerky will focus on a 3 ounce/85 gram bag of their black label flavored beef jerky, which is a hickory smoked based flavor. This bag was purchased at a gas station in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
This Jim Dandy Beef Jerky brand name is distributed under the name of Jim Dandy Snack Foods Co. They are based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This jerky brand was launched in 1995 by the owner Denny, aka Jim Dandy. A loose definition of Jim Dandy is an excellent or notable person. Jim Dandy spent many years in the food snack industry. This jerky is almost certainly made by the very large private labeler Monogram Meat Snacks LLC. based out of Memphis, Tennessee. That technically makes this a stock recipe.
Ingredient Review
Sprayed with Potassium Sorbate Solution to Help Protect Quality. Ingredients: Beef, Soy Sauce (Water, Salt, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Potassium Sorbate), Water, Brown Sugar, Salt, Pepper, Vinegar, Garlic Powder, Red Pepper, Sodium Nitrite. Allergen Warnings: Soy
The liquid marinade only consists of water, vinegar, and soy sauce. As for the soy sauce, this is certainly one of the inferior sauces you will see. Caramel color is added to give it more of a brown color. It is never good to see corn syrup, where corn based products have no business being in jerky.
On the good side, healthy garlic, black pepper, and red peppers are used.
The sugar level used in this flavor is believed to be under 2 grams, which is admirable. The salt level is believed to be extremely high at 580mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 350mg of salt or less.
It is disappointing to see that potassium sorbate is listed twice in the ingredient list. Potassium sorbate acts as a preservative, and is similar to sodium nitrite. On top of that, sodium nitrite is also added.
This jerky does use MSG in the form of hydrolyzed soy protein, which is a flavor enhancer. It is considered to be both a type of MSG, and an unhealthy trans fat.
Fair (4/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
These strips of jerky are mostly medium in size, and sliced thin. The texture is quite dry, but still within reason to chew. There are minimal visible signs of fat, and handling this jerky leaves no oily residue on your fingers.
As advertised, the three “s’s” of this flavor jump out at first. Salt, soy, and smoke, all at moderately strong levels. At mild levels are the peppered and garlic flavors.
There is very little sweetness to this flavor, but not a great deal of natural beef flavor because the three “s’s” are so dominant tasting. Apart from that, there is not much else. If you enjoy the tastes of salt, soy, and hickory smoke, you are bound to enjoy this flavor very much.
This 3 ounce/85.7 gram bag cost $6.49, which works out to $2.16 an ounce. That rates as an average price. This jerky is recommended from a taste perspective, but not from a health perspective.
Bag Review
This plastic bag only has a label affixed to the front, and nothing on the back. The most important quality is that this bag is vacuum sealed, the best way to keep jerky fresh tasting.
Their slogan is “Hillbilly Deluxe”. The only fact printed on this bag is “Hickory Smoked”.
A number of bag categories are missing such as the bag is not resealable, no slits to easily open this bag, a nutrition facts table, allergen alerts, a blurb about the jerky, and the jerky weight is not stated in ounces. Admirably, a phone number is provided for customer inquiries.
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