The next review for KC Yorker will focus on a 0.9 ounce/25 gram bag of their Firehouse flavored beef jerky. This bag was kindly submitted for review by the owner, Matt Umbenhower.
This KC Yorker jerky brand is distributed by Kcyorker. They are located in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, and this jerky brand was launched in 2008. Chef Matt grew up in Kansas, and later he moved to New York to marry the love of his life. Chef Matt began to experience and deconstruct the flavors that make up Northeast cuisine. He eloquently melds the flavor profiles indigenous to both Kansas City and New York, with a taste that stands out. Remarkably, there are over 50 flavors for sale.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Carrots, Salt, Habanero Pepper Oil, Spices, Ghost Pepper, Carolina Reaper Pepper, Scorpion Pepper, Chocolate Pepper, Jalapeno Pepper, Serrano Pepper, Romanian Pepper.
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 consists of only habanero pepper oil. Habanero peppers are among one of the hotter peppers in the world.
The heat is achieved from using a multitude of hot peppers such as ghost pepper, Carolina reaper pepper, scorpion pepper, chocolate pepper, jalapeno pepper, serrano pepper, habanero pepper, and romanian pepper. Hot peppers are healthy if eaten in moderation, which flush toxins out of the body.
There is no nutrition facts table provided. As a result, the exact sugar and salt levels are not known. Based on the taste alone, both are at reasonable levels.
This jerky does qualify to have no sodium nitrite, or any other similar unhealthy preservatives. Instead, the main preservative used is salt. Commendably, there is no MSG added.
Good (8/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
These strips of jerky are small in size, and sliced to a medium, almost thin thickness. There is a somewhat dry texture, and it is relatively easy to chew. There are very little signs of fat, and handling this jerky leaves almost no oily residue on your fingers.
Almost immediately you start to feel the heat. It gets intense when it burns later. It’s a constant barrage of various levels of heat that does not go overboard. On a heat scale, this flavor would be a 4 out of 5, possibly a 5 out of 5. For a flavor name that has ‘fire’ in its name, it delivers.
There is little to no sweetness, which aids in preserving the natural beef flavor. The salt is at a mild level, and at light levels are garlic and black pepper. There does appear to be an unknown juicy flavor, possibly pineapple juice. Overall, a satisfying experience for those who enjoy an extra hot flavor.
A 3 ounce/85 gram bag sells online for $4.00. That works out to $1.33 an ounce, where in 2016 that rates as a very cheap price. You would be very hard pressed to find a better deal here for a Firehouse flavor.
Excellent (10/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
This small, resealable plastic bag has a label on the front, and nothing on the back. There is just a company logo, and the flavor name displayed.
There are no slogans or facts printed on this bag.
There are too many bag categories missing to list. In any case, this bag does its job effectively.
Order their jerky online: www.kcyorker.com
Is there a USDA certificate on the label? If there is no nutritional listing, it means the product was not submitted to the USDA.
That is a great price for a 3 oz bag. I guess each state has different set of rules for posting nutritional values
Hi Joey, it was confirmed today by the owner of KC Yorker that they indeed use USDA certified beef. Yes, there are different rules from state to state.