It all started in the 1880’s when Jack Link’s great-grandfather, Chris, settled in Minong, Wisconsin. In 1885 the Jack Link’s brand name was introduced. From generation to generation, they kept on making their legendary sausages and smoked meats. Today, they sell more than 100 different meat snack products in more than 40 countries. The Jack Link’s brand name is manufactured by Link Snacks, Inc., based out of Minong, Wisconsin.
The next review on Jack Link’s will focus on a 1.25 ounce/35 gram bag of their A.M. Breakfast Bacon style Brown Sugar & Maple flavored bacon jerky. This flavor is advertised as having the smell of a homemade breakfast that smells like maple and awesomeness. The bag was purchased at discount store named Ollie’s located in Niagara Falls, New York.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Pork Cured With: Water, Brown Sugar, Sugar, Salt, Celery Juice, Smoke Flavoring, Maple Flavor, Acerola, Dextrose.
The pigs used are not guaranteed to have free range access to roam about as nature intended. Fat from bacon is healthy for humans. As a result, the highest ingredient rating that can be awarded is a Good (8/10) rating.
The liquid marinade is just plain old water, and a small amount of celery juice.
While not confirmed, the maple flavor is likely an artificial flavor to lose a rating. Acerola is an interesting choice, being a type of cherry, and high on vitamin C.
For a sweet based flavor as we have here, the sugar level is acceptable at around 2.4 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. The salt level is a little high at 360mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky to lose a rating. Our preference is 350mg of salt or under per 28 grams of jerky.
To the best of our knowledge this jerky does qualify to have no sodium nitrite, or any other similar unhealthy preservatives. Instead, salt is the main preservative, and celery juice with its natural nitrates to a lesser extent. With further kudos, this jerky also qualifies to have no MSG added.
Alright (6/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
These pieces of bacon are small in size and sliced thin. For bacon jerky, there is more fat visible than your typical bacon jerky, quite a bit actually. The texture is somewhat soft and tender, being pretty easy to chew. Handling this jerky does leave a slight oily residue on your fingers. The aroma is bacon, sweetness, and possibly maple.
The first tastes detected are bacon, salt, and sweetness. The texture is kind of candied, but not as much as most other bacon jerky out there. I can detect the maple flavor, and an omnipresent mild level of smokiness.
The sweetness is sweet for sure, but does not go overboard.
This bacon jerky reminds you of eating regular bacon as opposed to eating bacon jerky. While the flavor is fairly enjoyable, there is nothing really here that makes it stand out.
Paul had a similar opinion: “The first tastes I detect are salt, pepper, sweet, but not too sweet, basically like I am eating a regular piece of bacon. Nothing really is standing out here. It basically tastes like Appleton smoked bacon. I am truly enjoying it, but I am not being blown away. It is quite tasty, but not unique. An 8 or 9/10 in my opinion.”
The flavor does deliver with the brown sugar and maple flavor aspects. Putting this bacon jerky in the microwave for 10 seconds makes this jerky taste like pan friend bacon or oven heated bacon. This feels more like a plain bacon eating experience, and not a bacon jerky eating experience with fresh ingredients.
This 1.25 ounce/35 gram bag cost 99 cents, which works out to only 70 cents an ounce. That equates to an unbelievably cheap price.
Bag Review
As with most Jack Link’s bags, they are professional looking. This is a resealable bag with everything imprinted directly on the front and back. There are no labels affixed to this bag.
Some slogans printed are “Feed Your Wild Side” and “Smart Snack”. There are many facts printed on this bag such as “Fully Cooked & Ready To Eat”, “Smoke Flavor Added”, “Good Source Of Protein”, “No Added MSG”, “30% Less Fat Than USDA Data For Baked Bacon”, “New!”, “13g Protein*”, “160 Calories”, “10g Total Fat”, “0g Trans Fat”, “3g Total Carbs”, and “Packaged in the USA”.
The bag category missing is a transparent window to view the jerky. There is a good blurb printed on the back describing Jack Link’s. To the credit of Jack Link’s, they offer a phone number for customer inquiries. Also to their credit, a “satisfaction guarantee” is offered.
Leave a Comment