Tahoe Tony’s Jammin’ Jerky – Cowboy 100% Grass-fed Beef Jerky

The next review for Tahoe Tony’s Jammin’ Jerky will be on a 2 ounce/56 gram bag of their cowboy flavored 100% grass-fed beef jerky. This flavor is advertised as old fashioned garlic, being sugar, salt, and gluten free. The bag was graciously submitted for review by the owner and CFO Brooke Luckey, who is married to the founder Tony Pearl.

This Tahoe Tony’s Jammin’ Jerky brand is distributed under the name of Tahoe Tony’s, and located in Minden, Nevada. Tony loves to cook, and considers himself a food porn star. After being semi-retired for several years, he decided to start making jerky as a hobby. His jerky caught on with friends and family, and two years later, the Tahoe Tony’s Jammin’ Jerky brand name was launched in 2012. For a more detailed biography, check out Tony’s About page, and his interesting experience as a firefighter. With a different twist, you can also watch the jerky being prepared live on their gallery page.

Ingredient Review

Ingredients: Beef, Water, Minced Garlic (Garlic, Water, Citric Acid (Preservative)), Garlic Powder, Smoke Flavor (Water, Natural Hickory Smoke Flavor), coffee, Citric Acid (Preservative), sprayed with Potassium Sorbate to retard mold growth, Soy Lecithin.    Allergen Warnings: Soy

This dry aged beef is sourced from the highly respected company Bently Ranch. Cattle have complete free range access to graze on grass, and roam about. They are ethically raised, being 100% certified hormone free beef. Being in a natural habitat, the cattle are 100% grass-fed.

The liquid marinade is comprised of just water and liquid hickory smoke.

Healthy garlic is used, which is from the allium family, and interestingly aids people differently depending on the individual body’s needs.

The sugar level is perfect with none used at all. This salt level is as low as it gets, with only 20mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. The only salt content is the residual salt found in the beef.

While potassium sorbate is a listed ingredient, it is only there because the USDA requires to spray the jerky, as per their rules and regulations. As a result, this jerky does qualify to have no sodium nitrite added, or any other similar preservatives. Instead, citric acid is the primary preservative used. Admirably, this flavor does qualify to have no MSG added.

Excellent (10/10) – Ingredient Rating

Taste Review

These jerky strips are medium in size, and are sliced medium to thick. The texture almost qualifies to have a soft and tender texture, which still results in jerky strips that are easy to chew. There are some visible signs of fat, which add to the overall natural beef flavor. Handling this jerky does leave some oily residue on your fingers.

The first taste detected is a mild level of garlic, along with a light level of soy. More than anything, there is natural beef flavor, with a light level of smoke. If you look for it, you can detect the faint taste of coffee.

This is certainly not your average tasting jerky with a complete absence of salt and sweetness, especially the saltiness. It would more resembles how jerky would have tasted for a cowboy one or two hundred years ago, where strips would have been hung near a fire, and dried by smoke and air. This recipe is from the 1800’s actually. Overall, this flavor generally delivers in a cowboy flavor that would have resembled old fashioned jerky from many, many years ago.

This 2 ounce/56 gram bag sells for $5.00. That works out to $2.50 an ounce, which rates as a slightly expensive price. In terms of 100% grass-fed beef, it is more of an average to cheap price. This flavor is recommended to people who would enjoy the natural flavor of beef without much seasoning.

Decent (7/10) – Taste Rating

Bag Review

This is no doubt an interesting bag design. The bag has everything imprinted directly on the bag itself, including the front and back, with no labels affixed. The logo is interesting, which is a drawing of Tony.

Surprisingly, the slogan “May the jerk be with you” is not printed on the bag. Some facts printed on this bag are “Made With Bently Ranch Meats”, “Product of USA”, and “15g of Protein per Serving”.

All bag categories are covered here except there is no best before date printed. A batch number is printed, which could translate to a best before date. There are great blurbs printed about this flavor, and Tahoe Tony’s Jammin’ Jerky. A satisfaction guaranteed policy is offered. In a growing industry trend, a QR code is displayed. To the credit of Tahoe Tony’s Jammin’ Jerky, a toll free number is provided for customer inquiries.

Very Good (9/10) – Bag Rating

Order their jerky online: www.tahoetonys.com