The Smokehouse Jerky Co. brand name was launched in 2008. On January 2/2017, Franco and his wife Patti Fonseca acquired Smokehouse Jerky Co. from Trent Levinson and his wife Barbie. Franco has since added some new flavors, and they have a new web site design. All Smokehouse Jerky Co. jerky is made in small batches. Tender Heifer Snack Co. are always looking for new distributors across the United States, and they offer private label services, most notably for Knott’s Berry Farm. This jerky is manufactured and distributed by Tender Heifer Snack Co., and they are based out of Beaumont, California.
The next review on Smokehouse Jerky Co. will focus on a 3 ounce/84 gram bag of their Sea Salt Honey & Pepper flavored beef brisket jerky. This will be the second review on this Sea Salt Honey & Pepper flavor, where the ingredient list has since been tweaked. The flavor is described as being seasoned with freshly cracked peppercorns, sea salt, spices and sweet honey – plus, it has a touch of our old fashion recipe, giving it a new light; a multitude of flavors that will charm your tastes. The jerky was graciously submitted for review by one of the owners, Patti Fonseca.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Teriyaki Sauce (Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt), Wine, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Vinegar, Salt, Spices, Onion Powder, Succinic Acid, Garlic Powder, Sodium Benzoate (Less Than 1/10 Of 1% As A Preservative), Brown Sugar, Pineapple, 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), Lemon Juice, Granulated Garlic, Ginger Powder. Allergen Warnings: Soy, Wheat
This brisket cut of beef used is from cattle raised in California. 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 a fair brand of teriyaki sauce, an average brand of Worcestershire sauce, and healthy lemon juice. It is disappointing to see that the teriyaki sauce and Worcestershire sauce both use the highly processed sweetener high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to lose a rating.
While not a listed ingredient, some people refer to black pepper as the King of Spices. Other healthy ingredients added are granulated garlic, ginger powder, and pineapple.
The sugar level is quite high at 9 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky to lose a rating. Our preference is 5 grams of sugar or under for a sweet based flavor. The salt level is high at 490mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. However, the salt level is ignored because minimally processed sea salt is used here.
As advertised, there are no unhealthy preservatives used, where this jerky is confirmed as having no sodium nitrite. Admirably, this jerky has no MSG added.
Alright (6/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
Written by guest jerky reviewer Paul Rekker
The jerky is not hard, but just right as far as texture goes. It is sliced rather thin, it is rather dry, and it leaves no oily residue on your fingers.
I’m not quite sure how to start this review, but is this flavor ever blowing me away. I love the sea salt, which is coming through quite strongly, as well as the honey, but not too intense, and the black pepper is coming through in spades as well. This mixture of flavors blends very well together, I can’t keep my paws off of it. Too bad there wasn’t nearly enough, the sample size should have been bigger.
Anybody with properly functioning taste buds would have no choice but to award this flavor a 10/10, 20/10 if that was possible. As in the movie “8 Mile” with Eminem, drop the mike, this discussion is OVER!!! 👍👍
This 3 ounce/84 gram bag of jerky sells online for $7.99. That works out to $2.67 an ounce, which rates as an expensive price.
Excellent (10/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
This resealable plastic bag has a label affixed on the front, and nothing on the back. The label has a fairly detailed picture of a wooden shack with a “Jerky Co.” sign.
Some facts printed on this bags are “Old Fashion Recipe”, “No Added MSG”, “No Added Preservatives”, “Made in U.S.A.”, “Old Fashion”, and “Brisket”.
All bag categories are covered but one. There is no blurb printed about Smokehouse Jerky Co. or Tender Heifer Snack Co.
Order their jerky online: www.tenderheifersnackco.com
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