Eden and his wife Marie (aka Ria) Van officially launched Ria’s RoadKill Jerky in 2011, based out of Long Beach, California where Eden was raised. Eden is a first generation Cambodian immigrant and Marie is Filipina. Ria’s RoadKill Jerky award winning jerky is smoked in very small batches using all natural ingredients with no preservatives that takes four days to make from start to finish.
Currently, Ria’s RoadKill Jerky sells Original, Chipotle, Canadian, Habanero, Korean BBQ, Spicy Sriracha, and Peppered beef jerky flavors, along with a Mesquite flavor of crispy Jerky Chips. Today, Ria’s RoadKill Jerky now operates out of Sacramento, California.
Unfortunately, we are sad to announce that Ria’s RoadKill Jerky has since gone out of business.
The next review for Ria’s RoadKill Jerky will focus on a 4 ounce/113 gram bag of their Peppered beef jerky. This jerky was kindly submitted for review by Chef/Owner Eden Van.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Water, Soy Sauce, Spices, Natural Flavorings, Coarse Black Pepper. Allergen Warnings: Soy, Wheat
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 only liquids listed in the marinade used here are water and an unknown ingredient list for soy sauce.
Healthy spices are added, which likely includes onion powder, garlic powder, and of course black pepper.
There is no nutrition facts table provided. As a result, the exact sugar and salt levels are unknown.
This jerky does qualify to not use sodium nitrite, or any other similar preservatives. Instead, salt is the main preservative. Admirably, this jerky does qualify to have no MSG added.
Good (8/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
RIA’S ROADKILL JERKY – PEPPERED BEEF JERKY
Written by guest jerky reviewer Paul Rekker
When I open the bag, I don’t smell a lot, maybe soy. The strips of jerky are rather large, and they are sliced to a medium thickness. The jerky is soft and chewy, but it leaves no oily residue on your fingers. The jerky is a bit hard to chew, and unfortunately many of the pepper flakes fall off of the jerky each time you take a bite.
One unmistakable fact is that this is one tasty flavor of jerky. It took only one bite to figure that out. I taste salt, pepper, garlic, little sweet, a juice (pineapple?), and natural beef. I seem to sense a very slight tang/kick in the background.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, and members of the jury, this jerky is found ‘guilty as charged’ of having an awesome WOW!! factor, and is therefore sentenced to die by stomach acids in the pit of my belly. We have no tolerance for delectable flavors in this courtroom, and order ‘death by digestion’ for all Ria’s Roadkill peppered jerky. Begin eradication immediately!! A lights out, no holds barred 10/10 gentlemen. Two thumbs way up!!!👍👍”
Here is what Mark had to say about this Peppered beef jerky flavor from Ria’s RoadKill Jerky: “Thanks Paul for yet another terrifically creative taste review. I will add that the hickory smoked flavor is fantastically strong tasting. One could argue that the smokiness overwhelms the black peppered flavor, but one could also argue that the smoked flavor enhances the flavor to the nth degree, which I am happen to enjoy immensely. A strong soy flavor typically comes across as tasting like pineapple.”
“Also agreed that the texture can be tough to chew, where I cannot even tell if this jerky was sliced against the grain or with the grain, my only complaint, which should be worthy of taste rating deduction, but Paul is pretty compelling.”
Ria’s RoadKill Jerky sells 2 pounds (eight 4 ounce/113 gram bags of jerky) online for $64.99. That equates to $2.03 an ounce, which rates as a cheap price. Commendably, free shipping is offered on all orders. For smaller orders, visit their EBay and ETSY shops.
Excellent (10/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
This beige plastic resealable bag has a label affixed to both the front and back. The Ria’s RoadKill Jerky logo depicts a picture of a bull’s head. There is a graphic on the front indicating that this is award winning jerky.
A slogan printed on this bag is “The Real Man’s Meat – EST. 2011”. The only fact printed on this bag is “No Preservatives”.
Some bag categories missing are the jerky weight not stated in grams, a USDA stamp, barcode, allergen alerts, distributor address details, best before date, a hole to hang on hooks, a blurb about Ria’s RoadKill Jerky or this flavor, and a nutrition facts table.
Order their jerky online: www.riasroadkilljerky.com
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