The next review on Indiana Craft Jerky will be on a 2.5 ounce/71 gram bag of their ghost pepper beef jerky flavor. This jerky was graciously submitted for review by the president of Indiana Craft Jerky, Michelle Twaddell.
This Indiana Craft Jerky brand name is distributed by Indiana Craft Jerky LLC., located in Avon, Indiana. Michelle and her husband Ron launched their jerky brand in April 2015. In Michelle’s words, they have been growing by leaps and bounds. Indiana Craft Jerky formed a relationship with Tyler Pond Farm, where a 100% grass-fed beef jerky line is sold at their farm. Also, a relationship was formed with Empirical Brewery, where a new Smoked Paprika Porter beef jerky flavor was created. Recently, they have been using a custom dehydrator built by Ron, which had its challenges getting online.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Lean Beef, Worcestershire Sauce (Water, Salt, Vinegar, Caramel Color, Citric Acid, Proplyene Glycol, Potassium Sorbate, Artificial Color), Thai Chili Sauce (Sugar, Water, Chili Paste, Garlic, Vinegar, Salt, Fermented Wheat Protein, Cayenne, Citric Acid, Xanthum, Sodium Benzoate), Pineapple Juice, Chopped Ghost Peppers. Allergen Warnings: Wheat
The beef is sourced from a local butcher named Moody Meats, which is a 5th generation family run business. They source beef from local farms, and their own farm. The cattle do have some free range access to graze on grass. There are no guarantees that the cattle are not administered growth hormones.
The liquid marinade is comprised of a poor Worcestershire sauce, pineapple juice, and a decent Thai chili sauce. Note: the highly respected Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce is now being used in all of their jerky flavors, doing away with unhealthy artificial color and propylene glycol.
The heat in this flavor is achieved from the Thai chili sauce, and ghost peppers. Hot peppers are healthy if eaten in moderation, which flush toxins out of the body.
This jerky does qualify to have no sodium nitrite, or any other similar unhealthy preservatives. Instead, the main preservative used is salt. Admirably, there is no MSG added.
Decent (7/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
These strips of jerky are mainly medium in size, and sliced thin. They have a somewhat dry texture that is relatively easy to chew because the strips are sliced thin. There are some signs of fat that add to the overall natural beef flavor. Handling this jerky leaves no oily residue on your fingers.
The first taste detected is a moderate Worcestershire sauce flavor. It does not take long before the heat starts setting in. The unmistakable taste of ghost peppers is delicious tasting. After consuming a couple more strips, your mouth starts to burn. This flavor is advertised as a 4 out of 5 on the heat scale, which is accurate, or could arguably be higher.
A mild level of pineapple sauce helps mask the heat a little bit. There is a mild level of salt. With not much sweetness, there is a good deal of natural beef flavor. The Thai chili sauce is great tasting. Overall, a very tasty snack, that delivers with the heat of ghost peppers.
This 2.5 ounce/71 gram bag sells online for $9.00. That works out to $3.60 an ounce, which rates as an expensive price. This flavor is certainly recommended to anybody who enjoys the flavor of ghost peppers.
Excellent (10/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
This resealable plastic bag has a label affixed to both the front and back. Their logo is a circle with M&R in the middle, which stands for husband and wife Michelle and Ron.
Their slogan is “Hand Made”. Each flavor has a drawing to the left of the flavor name, where for this ghost pepper flavor, fittingly it is a ghost. There is a small blurb printed about this flavor: “Thai Chili based with Ghost Peppers on top”. Something appreciated is that the bag displays the heat and sweetness levels, where this heat level is judged a 4 out of 5.
The majority of bag categories are covered here. Some missing categories are a nutrition facts table, USDA inspected logo, and the jerky weight is not stated in grams. To the credit of Indiana Craft Jerky, a phone number is provided for customer inquiries.
Order their jerky online: www.indianacraftjerky.com
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