It all started in the 70’s when Jeff Richards purchased a dehydrator from a county fair. Jeff’s mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother were all gourmet cooks. Many of the jerky recipes used today were refined for three decades. With more than 20 years of experience in the food industry, Jeff was ready to launch his jerky brand but wanted a reliable business partner. Through social media, Jeff reconnected with an old trusted friend Mike Aggarwal who himself had more than 25 years of experience in the food industry. In 2010, at the ages of 55 and 62, this Jeff’s Famous Jerky brand was launched with an old-fashioned handshake. Impressively, to date, over 1,000,000 bags of jerky have been sold. Jeff’s Famous Jerky brand is distributed under the name of Jeff’s Famous Foods, Inc., and they are located in Mission Veijo, California.
The next review on Jeff’s Famous Jerky will focus on a 2.75 ounce/78 gram bag of their Old Fashioned Original flavored beef jerky. This flavor is described as starting it all with a special blend of spices in a unique marinade. The bag was graciously submitted for review by co-owner Jeff Richards.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Brown Sugar, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt), Worcestershire Sauce (Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Distilled Vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce Base (Distilled Vinegar, Molasses, Corn Syrup, Water, Salt, Caramel Color, Garlic Powder, Sugar, Spices, Tamarind, Natural Flavor, Sulfiting Agent), Salt, Citric Acid), Chili Sauce (Sugar, Water, Corn Syrup Powder, Garlic, Salted Chili Peppers, Vinegar, Salt, Modified Corn Starch, Concentrated Pineapple Juice, Shallot, Garlic Powder, Acetic Acid, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Paprika Oleorskin), Balsamic Vinegar, Seasoned Rice Vinegar (Rice Vinegar, Corn Syrup, Salt,
Brown Sugar), Liquid Smoke, Spices. Allergen Warnings: Soy, Wheat
The beef used here is guaranteed to be ethically raised 98% of the time, meaning free of growth hormones or additional antibiotics. There is not a 100% guarantee offered because sometimes the beef used cannot keep up with the demand. These cattle are not guaranteed to have at least partial free range access to roam about. As a result, the highest ingredient rating that can be awarded is a Very Good (9/10) rating.
We have a busy liquid marinade here comprised of a decent soy sauce, a fair Worcestershire sauce, a decent chili sauce, super healthy balsamic vinegar, a decent seasoned rice vinegar, and liquid smoke. It is disappointing to see that the Worcestershire sauce used the highly processed unhealthy sweetener high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to lose a rating.
While we debate this claim, the sugar level is only 1 gram of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. Again we debate this claim where the salt level is extremely low at only 80mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky.
This jerky does qualify to have no sodium nitrite, or any other similar unhealthy preservatives. Instead, salt is the main preservative used. Admirably, this jerky qualifies to have no MSG added.
Good (8/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
Written by guest jerky reviewer Stéphane Leclerc
The beautiful aroma of Jeff’s Famous Jerky Original Beef Jerky does justice indeed to this delicious jerky. The aroma is fragrant and mouth watering; it is appealing and quickly builds anticipation with a simple whiff.
One bite and the marinade quickly takes shape, I am bombarded with a multitude of fabulous flavors. A good balance is achieved between the Soy and the Worcestershire sauce. These two sauces pair really well with the pineapple juice. The saltiness and sweetness are both at light levels. The chili sauce and a splash of balsamic vinegar really bring this flavor over the top.
These strips are between small to medium in size and they are sliced medium in thickness. The texture is somewhat dry and it does require some reasonable chewing action. The fibers of the meat have a coarser type of texture and it is reminiscent of a brisket. This cut of beef does feel in fact as a step above most average jerky type cuts of beef.
As an original jerky flavor, the natural beef flavor is somewhat muted to a certain extent by their flavorful marinade. This is however our single minor complaint and all other flavors do pick up the slack and elevate the taste of this meaty treat.
A slight or faint spicy kick can also be noted and it adds another interesting layer of flavor to this already flavorful beef jerky. The flavor profile is well-balanced, complex and each strip explodes with tons of flavor.
Mark and I wholeheartedly recommend Jeff’s Famous Jerky Original Beef Jerky flavor to even the slightest fan of beef or meat jerky and we’ve awarded a well-deserved Excellent 10/10 taste rating.
A 2.75 ounce/78 gram bag sells online for $6.99. That works out to $2.54 an ounce, which rates as an average price. Free shipping is offered on orders over $50.
Excellent (10/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
This white resealable plastic bag has a label affixed to the front, and nothing on the back. There is a stamp displayed stating that this flavor is Mild in terms of being spicy. Five stars are also displayed meaning that Jeff’s Famous Jerky has received 5 star taste ratings in the past.
There are no slogans printed. Some facts displayed on the bag are “Award Winning”, “Super Premium”, and “Natural Smoke Flavor Added”.
The only bag category missing is a blurb printed about Jeff’s Famous Jerky, and this Old Fashioned Original flavor. To the credit of Jeff’s Famous Jerky, there is a toll free phone number provided for customer inquiries.
The bag listed at the bottom was part of an online purchase made back in 2010. The ingredient list has since been slightly tweaked, and the bag design has obviously been changed.
Order their jerky online: www.jeffsfamousjerky.com
There is this woman in Tampa/St. Pete area that walks up to your car and harasses you to buy Jeff’s beef jerky, and when you say no she says she can do a card reading for you, she said her name is Liz. Why do you let this happen, she’s kind of creepy.
Hey Josh, This is Jeff from Jeff’s Famous Jerky. She is one of our really good distributors in Florida, desperately trying to save her business and still somehow have income because she lost almost all of her normal income from her business due to the restrictions of the Corona Virus pandemic. Everyone who wants to save their business at this time needs to find creative ways to hustle quick or they will be bankrupt in just a few months. She also lost all her income from another business she owns (not reading cards) and she still has to pay office rent for that plus her own rent. Sorry she seemed to be creepy…anyone approaching anyone at this time in our history probably seems creepy… she is one of the sweetest and nicest people with lots of integrity that you could ever find and I am sure she would rather not be out trying to sell to people with other methods at this time. Everyone is just trying to survive the huge impact the pandemic is having on every business and almost every human being on the planet is being impacted in some way. I hope you are one of the lucky ones.