Damn Good Jerky describes themselves in their words: “None of us had any experience in the food industry. Our backgrounds include construction, sales, and every facet of floor care. We view our lack of knowledge as an asset. Since we don’t subscribe to the traditional ways of producing products, we have taken great steps to determine how to get the best results. If you dislike how something is being done, change the rules and do it your way. The outcome can always be better.” Damn Good Jerky is located in Stillwater, New York, and it is distributed under the name of Damn Good Foods.
The next review on Damn Good Jerky will focus on a 1.6 ounce/45 gram bag of their Maple flavored beef jerky. The bag was purchased at a Smokin Joes store in Lewiston, New York.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Top Round Beef, Teriyaki Sauce (Soy Sauce {Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt}, Water, Vinegar, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Ginger Powder), Maple Syrup, Brown Sugar (Sugar, Molasses), Natural Hickory Liquid Smoke, Ginger 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 liquid marinade used here consists of a good teriyaki sauce, very healthy honey, healthy maple syrup, and natural hickory liquid smoke.
There only healthy ingredient added is ginger.
The sugar level is sky high at around a whopping 19 grams of sugar per 45 grams of jerky to lose a rating. For a sweet based flavor as we have here with this Maple flavor, our preference is 5 grams of sugar or less per 28 grams of jerky. The salt level is acceptable at around 520mg of salt per 45 grams of jerky.
This jerky does qualify to be sodium nitrite free and does not use any other similar unhealthy preservative. Instead, salt is the main preservative used. Admirably, this jerky also qualifies to have no MSG added.
Decent (7/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
Written by guest jerky reviewer Paul Rekker
When I open the bag I smell sweet. The pieces are small to medium in size, and they are thin to medium in thickness. The jerky is soft, chewy (as opposed to tough to chew), and it leaves no oily residue on your fingers.
When I bite into the jerky I immediately pick up on the sweetness. While I realize the flavor is maple, which is sweet in nature, this jerky is far too sweet. To a much lesser degree, I am tasting light salt, light pepper, and not much else. Maybe slight garlic, but it is hard to pick up.
This jerky is killing me with sweetness, and I am struggling to detect other flavors. I am duly quite disappointed with this flavor. It is for sure no treat to me. This jerky has no “oomph”, no “joi de vivre”, no spunk. It is just clumps of sugar. I can find little to no enduring qualities to this jerky, it is NOT “damn good jerky”, it is “damn drab jerky”. A 5/10 is a generous rating, at least to me. Gentlemen?
Written by guest jerky reviewer Stéphane Leclerc
I am rather puzzled with Paul’s review, as it appears we both had polar opposite experiences with this Damn Good Jerky – Maple Beef Jerky. The main flavors I encountered were salt, smokiness, and some kind of fruitiness, perhaps from the Teriyaki flavoring. These flavors were inline, and I did not think it was overdone.
I found the maple flavor and sweetness were light at best. I did not find to be bold in any way and perhaps my complaint is that the maple flavor did not come through or pop enough. The aroma and texture were fine, I did enjoy them. I’ve read the nutritional values and ingredients; I was surprised the texture wasn’t transformed by all the sugars and the likes. I would have normally expected a stickier or more candy like structure to the strips of jerky.
I did enjoy this Damn Good Jerky – Maple Beef Jerky to a certain extent, and I was not blown away by any means. I would have enjoyed and expected a bolder flavor profile. I rate this jerky 8/10 Taste Rating.
Here is what Mark had to say about this Maple beef jerky flavor from Damn Good Jerky: “Thanks Stéphane and Paul for the honest taste reviews. I too am surprised with Paul’s harsh rating and review. Yes, it is sweet tasting, but that is par for the course with a maple flavor. Stéphane pretty much sums up my review. It would have been nice to have the maple flavor amped up a bit more. The texture is a gold old fashioned dry but still relatively easy to chew. With Paul at a 5 rating and Stéphane and me at an 8 rating, a Decent (7/10) taste rating will be awarded.”
This 1.6 ounce/45 gram bag of jerky cost $3.59. That equates to $2.24 an ounce, which rates as a cheap price.
Bag Review
This plastic non-resealable bag has everything imprinted directly onto the front of the bag and nothing on the back other than the best before date. The Damn Good Jerky logo is a fierce looking bull blowing smoke out of its nostrils with smoke rings around it.
There are no slogans printed on this bag. Some facts printed on this bag are “Made in the USA”, “Low Fat!”, “Natural Smoke Flavoring Added”, “17g Protein”, “High Protein”, “No Nitrites”, and “No MSG Added”.
The only bag categories missing are a blurb printed about this Maple flavor or Damn Good Jerky and the jerky distributor’s name. To the credit of Damn Good Jerky, a phone number is printed for customer inquiries.
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