Fifty years ago, C.B. Stubblefield, known simply as “Stubb” started bottling his bar-b-q sauce in old whisky bottles and jam jars. It blew folks away. When Stubb later moved to Austin, he was urged by friends and patrons to sell his signature sauce. So using old whiskey bottles and jam jars, Stubb began hand-bottling his sauce for sale, corking each makeshift container with a jalapeño. Today, they continue to manufacture barbecue sauces, marinades, and rubs.
Vic Guido teamed up with Richard Cresswell in 2014 to create Red Truck Beef Jerky – a small, family-owned business that sustainably sources premium cuts of whole-muscle beef shoulder, right here in the USA. The result is the most tender and lean jerky on the market. For the past five years, they’ve focused almost exclusively on making their products accessible in physical stores. 10% of their online proceeds to Wounded Warrior Project. This Stubb’s brand of jerky is distributed by Red Truck Beef Jerky, and it is located in Owings, Maryland.
The next review on Stubb’s will focus on a 3 ounce/85 gram bag of their original steak bites. This flavor is described as being smothered with the legendary Stubb’s Original Bar-B-Q seasoning perfectly flavored with tangy tomato, vinegar, molasses, and black pepper. The bag was kindly submitted for review by Red Truck Beef Jerky CRO Tyler.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Beef Broth, Brown Sugar, Salt, Original Stubb’s Type BBQ Seasoning (Sugar, Brown Sugar, Corn Maltodextrin, Spices, Salt, Dehydrated Garlic, Molasses, Tomato Powder, Dehydrated Onion, Paprika, Sunflower Oil, Vinegar Solids, Citric Acid, Extractives of Paprika, Natural Flavors), Contains 2% or Less of Natural Flavors, Vinegar, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Sodium Erythorbate, Citric Acid, Oleoresin Paprika, Sodium Nitrite. Allergen Warnings: Soy
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 used here consists of healthy beef broth, sunflower oil, and healthy vinegar.
Some healthy ingredients are added, such as spices, dehydrated garlic, tomato powder, dehydrated onion, paprika, vinegar powder, extractives of paprika, and paprika oleoresin.
The sugar level is acceptable at 3 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. The salt level is high at 420mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky to lose a rating. Our preference is 350mg of salt or under.
This jerky uses sodium nitrite outright along with sodium erythorbate as preservatives to lose a rating. The highly processed, cheap flavor enhancer hydrolyzed soy protein is used to lose another rating.
Average (5/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
STUBB’S – ORIGINAL BEEF STEAK STRIPS
Written by guest jerky reviewer Paul Rekker
When I open the bag I smell nothing. The jerky is medium to large in size, and it is cut rather thick as well. The jerky is darker in hue than your average jerky. There are noticeable amounts of fat on the ‘bites’, and it enhances the flavor immensely. There is a slight oily residue on the jerky ‘bites’.
The first flavors I encounter are salt, at an excellent level, along with the solid level of pepper and garlic. There is next to no sweet, which is good.
Other flavors are natural beef, which is coming through in spades. These bites do actually taste like steak. This beef is kicking some serious *ss, it is prime rib in a bag. YUMMY!! I could eat this stuff all day, every day. It is exploding with a ridiculously tasty ‘steak’ flavor. Sign me up, I am now a bonafide, card-carrying member of the Stubb’s steak bites fan club. Delectable, delicious, scrumptious, savory, just some of the accolades used to describe this awesome taste experience. A most very definite 10/10. Gentlemen?
Written by guest jerky reviewer Stéphane Leclerc
The Stubb’s – Original Beef Steak Bites have a rich aroma and flavor. The saltiness and garlic nicely complement its meaty beef flavor. The rich buttery taste is accentuated by a hint of sweetness and spiciness and this appropriately balances the flavor profile.
These thick jerky strips have a firm yet tender texture and this assists in developing taste and extracting maximum umami flavor from each bite.
I really enjoy this jerky, and it’s a solid 10/10 taste rating.
Here is what Mark had to say about this original beef steak bites from Stubb’s: “Thanks Paul and Stéphane Leclerc for the honest taste reviews. Very true, these steak bites do come across as tasting like authentic steak strips. The fat in these bites accentuates the natural beef flavor several notches. Plus, Stubb’s barbecue sauce is delicious. Overall, a very well-balanced taste profile that leaves you wanting more. The rating is unanimous, an Excellent (10/1) taste rating is awarded.”
Stubb’s sells online two bags of 3 ounce/85 gram original beef steak bites for $17.35. That equates to $2.89 an ounce, which rates at the upper threshold of an average price.
Excellent (10/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
This professional-looking resealable has everything imprinted directly onto the bag, both on the front and back, including his bbq joint. There are illustrations of Stubb’s on both the front and back.
There are no slogans displayed. Some facts displayed are “Made With Stubb’s Bar-B-Q Seasoning”, “Made in USA”, and “Beef Steak Bites Are a Good Source of Protein”.
The only missing bag category is a transparent window to view the actual steak bites. The back has good blurbs printed about this flavor and Stubb’s.
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