Founder Ken Pearson founded Pearson Ranch in 1959, which is a family owned ranch raising elk, buffalo (also known as bison), and cattle. Today, Ken’s grand-nephew Marvin Cromwell and his sons Brandon and Matt run the key operations for the company. While Pearson Ranch Jerky has been in the meat snack business for over 15 years, the main focus of ranch operations shifted to meat snack products in the summer of 2011. Pearson Ranch advertises their jerky as made of only natural ingredients, contain no nitrites, have no MSG, and are gluten-free. This Pearson Ranch Jerky brand name is distributed under the name of Pearson Ranch, and it is located in Horse Springs, New Mexico.
The next review for Pearson Ranch Jerky will be on a 2.1 ounce/61 gram bag of their hickory smoked flavored venison and beef chopped & formed jerky. This flavor is described as using all natural ingredients, and seasoned to perfection. The bag was graciously submitted for review by the General Manager, Brandon Cromwell.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Venison (Grass Fed), Beef, Sea Salt, Cane Sugar, Celery Juice Powder, Black Pepper, Red Pepper, Dehydrated Garlic, Natural Smoke Flavoring, Coriander.
These deer and cattle are grass-fed. As a result, the ingredient rating starts at an Excellent (10/10) rating.
The venison and cattle are ethically raised, meaning no growth hormones or additional antibiotics are given. These venison and cattle also have free range access, with grass in their diet.
The texture of this jerky is chopped and formed, or something similar, mixing the venison and beef together. As a result, without having a natural whole sliced strip of jerky, two ingredient ratings are deducted.
Some healthy ingredients are used such as black pepper, hot red peppers, dehydrated garlic, and coriander.
The sugar level is great at 0 grams of sugar rounded down per 28 grams of jerky. The salt level is decent at 305mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky.
This jerky does qualify to have no sodium nitrite added, or any other similar unhealthy preservatives. Instead, minimally processed sea salt is the main preservative. Commendably, this jerky qualifies to have no MSG added.
Good (8/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
Written by guest jerky reviewer Stéphane Leclerc
Similarly to similar Pearson Ranch Jerky – Hickory Buffalo and Beef Chopped and Formed Jerky, this Venison and Beef jerky has a significant amount of salt and pepper maintained with a balanced ratio between them. This classic Ebony and Ivory combination is still a great way to kick start these taste buds of ours. The light garlic flavor paired with a gentle spicy kick brings all the flavors together. The smokiness is noticeable and it adds character to the overall flavor profile.
As we’ve previously said, we at JerkyIngredients.com do not get overly excited over a chopped and formed processed texture, as there is little to no excitement or specific and distinctive meat flavor. I’ve had game meat such as bison, venison etc. most of my life both wild and farm raised and I couldn’t really distinguish the essence of venison in this meat stick. I mostly tasted a processed meat like flavor and this is usually to be expected from this chopped and formed texture. This could also be due to other reasons, most game meat tends to be leaner and have sweeter and more delicate flavors. Therefore, venison can easily be overpowered by other more robust tasting meats and/or its seasoning.
I should also mention the ratio between venison and beef is not stated on the bag because the USDA does not allow you, but Brandon assures us that the ratio is 80% venison and 20% beef. These meat strips are reminiscent of the ol’ style pepperette or meat stick that most of us grew up with and loved in our childhood. This meat jerky is more than likely one of the best chopped and formed jerky we’ve had in a long time.
These bite sized pieces are shaped small and they are mainly uniform in size. They are formed to a medium thickness and they are fairly dry. They have a soft and tender texture and they are easy to chew. These strips leave no oily residue on the fingers and they have a distinctive red hue from the celery juice used as a natural preservative.
Paul had the most favorable opinion and it goes like this: “As I consume more strips, the kick is increasing, as is the pleasurable flavors. The more I consume the better and more intense the flavors become. In conclusion, this jerky is hitting appropriately on all advertised flavors, including the pleasant kick”.
As a chopped and formed texture, this Pearson Ranch Jerky is more than likely one of the best meat stick we’ve had thus far. This jerky is flavorful, bold and far from being boring.
We recommend this Pearson Ranch Jerky – Hickory Chopped and Formed Venison Beef Jerky to any and all fans of chopped and formed textures, venison, hickory smoke and bold spices without being overly spicy.
Lexi, our mascot and the rest of our reviewing team had a discussion and we’ve awarded an 8/10 taste rating!
This 2.1 ounce/60 gram bag sells online for $7.99. That works out to $3.80 an ounce, which rates as an expensive price.
Bag Review
This may be the most interesting, creative bag reviewed to date, which covers everything, and then some. Recently, the Pearson Ranch Jerky bag designs were changed, advertised as “Character Jerky Bags”.
This resealable plastic bag has everything imprinted on the bag itself, both on the front and back. There is an interesting looking picture of a snazzy deer wearing glasses and bow tie. Something that you do not see often, and appreciated, is a number of the individual ingredients used are pictured on the back of the bag.
Some slogans printed on this bag are “Since 1959”, “Eat Like a Predator”, and “The Best Jerky Ever :)”. Some facts printed on this bag are “12g Protein Per Serving”, “No MSG”, “No Nitrites Added”, “Gluten Free”, “Smoke Flavor Added”, “Ground and Formed”, “Made in USA”, “Made With Sea Salt”, “Soy Free”, “Minimally Processed”, and “No Artificial Ingredients”.
All bag categories are covered with this bag. A great blurb is printed on the back about Pearson Ranch Jerky. An old photograph of Ken Pearson and his wife Sue is displayed on the back. You are encouraged to follow Pearson Ranch Jerky on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The hashtag #urwhatueat is displayed.
Excellent (10/10) – Bag Rating
Order their jerky online: www.pearsonranchjerky.com
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