Cattleman’s specializes in creating high-quality meat snacks. The company prides itself on being a fully vertically integrated operation, managing everything from raw meat to the final packaged product. This ensures a consistent level of quality and freshness across their offerings. Cattleman’s Cut is known for its bold flavors and artisanal approach to jerky making. Their products include a range of beef jerky and smoked sausages, all crafted with care and a dedication to American-style flavors.
This Cattleman’s jerky brand is distributed under the name KMB Foods, Inc., located in San Bernadino, California. KMB Foods, Inc. also offers a robust private label program, allowing other brands to customize and market their jerky products, leveraging KMB’s expertise and high standards in meat snack production.
The first review on Cattleman’s will focus on a 2.5 ounce/71 gram bag of Original flavored beef jerky. This bag was purchased at an Arco gas station in Ventura, California.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Water, Pineapple Juice, Vinegar, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt, Sodium Benzoate), Salt, Garlic Powder, Black Pepper, Liquid Smoke, Sodium Nitrite Allergen Warnings: Soy, Wheat
This 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 is comprised of water, somewhat healthy pineapple juice, healthy vinegar, an average brand of soy sauce, and liquid smoke.
The only healthy ingredients added are garlic powder and black pepper.
The sugar level is high 5 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky to lose a rating. Our preference is 3 grams of sugar or less per 28 grams of jerky for an original flavor. The salt level is somewhat high at 410mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky to lose another rating. Our preference is 350mg of salt or less per 28 grams of jerky.
This jerky does qualify to have no sodium nitrite because sodium nitrite is used outright as a preservative to lose a rating. Admirably, there is no MSG added.
Average (5/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
CATTLEMAN’S – ORIGINAL BEEF JERKY
Written by guest jerky reviewer Paul Rekker
When I open the bag I smell next to nothing. The strips of jerky are medium in size, and they are sliced to a medium thickness. The jerky is dry and chewy, and there is no oily residue.
When I bite into the jerky I taste sweet at first, but at a level that is too high, especially for an original flavor. I also detect salt, to a lesser degree, as well as light pepper, possibly very light garlic, and not much else.
This jerky is like eating a cube of sugar, more likely meant for a horse, not so much for a human.
This is way too sweet, with no “wow” factor and no other discernible flavors, so I am comfortable awarding this flavor no higher than a 7/10. Gentlemen?
Here is what Mark had to say about this Original beef jerky flavor from Cattleman’s “Thanks Paul for the bang on taste review. I agree 100% that this original flavor tastes way too sweet. This flavor comes across as a teriyaki flavor instead of an original flavor with soy sauce, pineapple juice, and of course sweetness. The black pepper and garlic levels are arguably too low to give this original flavor some flair. The excessive sweetness drowns out the natural beef flavor, which is supposed to be the hallmark of an original flavor. I too agree that there is no ‘wow’ factor and am comfortable awarding a Decent (7/10) taste rating.”
This 2.5 ounce/71 gram bag of jerky sells for $6.99, which equates to $2.80 an ounce. That rates as a cheap price.
Bag Review
This gold, resealable bag has a label on the front and nothing on the back. The Cattleman’s logo has a cow’s head on what resembles a bullseye.
There are no slogans printed on this bag. Some facts printed are “Gourmet Style”, Natural Smoked Flavor Added”, and “Made From Solid Pieces of Beef”.
Some missing bag categories are the jerky weight not stated in grams and a blurb about Cattleman’s or this flavor.
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