Tired of paying high prices for marginal jerky products, Chef Pierre Mesa started refining his technique and jerky recipes. A local hardware store asked him to sell his jerky, eventually leading to Chef Pierre building a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) production kitchen. Vermont’s Farmhouse Jerky was launched in 2013.
Chef Pierre’s culinary journey began in his childhood in Telluride, Colorado, and was influenced by his French Canadian and Colombian heritage. He pursued formal culinary education, graduating from the Culinary Institute of America and working with renowned chefs nationwide. His passion for American cuisine, particularly BBQ and jerky, was inspired by his father’s traditional BBQ techniques using natural wood.
Vermont’s Farmhouse Jerky uses high-quality, humanely-raised beef, hand-cuts the meat, and marinates it for no less than 24 hours with organic ingredients like Tamari soy sauce and Worcestershire. Their jerky is soy and gluten-free, with no artificial additives, MSG, or nitrates. The company also offers custom jerky processing for game meats. Chef Pierre and his devoted wife Laura remain committed to quality and continue to be hands-on in his family’s business. This Vermont’s Farmhouse Jerky brand is distributed under the name of Vermont’s Farmhouse Jerky, and it is located in Essex Junction, Vermont.
The next review on Vermont’s Farmhouse Jerky will focus on a 4 ounce/113 gram bag of their Maple flavored bacon jerky. This flavor is described as using hickory smoked Bacon marinated in Pure Vermont Maple Syrup and their own gluten-free, tamari-based Worcestershire, with no anchovies and no soy. The jerky was graciously submitted for review by Owner/Chef/CEO Chef Pierra Mesa.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Pork, Cure (Water, Sugar, Sodium Phosphates, Erythorbate Nitrate, Brown Sugar, Sea Salt, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Spices.
The pork used is guaranteed to be raised ethically with no antibiotics and no added hormones. This pork is not guaranteed to have at least partial free range access to roam about outside. As a result, the highest ingredient rating that can be awarded is a Very Good (9/10) rating.
The liquid marinade used here is comprised of only water.
Some healthy ingredients added are garlic powder, onion powder, and spices.
There is no nutrition facts table. As a result, the sugar and salt quantities are unknown.
This jerky does not qualify to have no sodium nitrite, as similar sodium erythorbate nitrate is used as a preservative to lose a rating. Admirably, this jerky has no MSG added.
Good (8/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
Vermont’s Farmhouse Jerky – Maple Bacon Jerky
Written by guest jerky reviewer Paul Rekker
When I open the bag I smell the maple sweetness flavor right off the hop. Wow, this may be the messiest jerky we have reviewed to date. The jerky is shaped like bacon, only smaller. It is exceptionally moist, I would almost go as far as to call it wet. It leaves an insane amount of oily residue all over your fingers.
When I bite into the jerky I immediately taste the maple bacon flavor. It tastes both very bacony and very maply if those are even words. I rather like the taste. I taste sweet (from the maple), mild salt and not much else. It tastes like I am eating bacon that has been saturated in its fat. D*mn tasty, but also d*mn messy. More accurately, it tastes like a cross between bacon and jerky, both in texture and flavor.
Overall, this is what I think most maple bacon jerky should taste like. Call me duly impressed. A 10/10.
Here is what Mark had to say about this Maple bacon jerky flavor from Vermont’s Farmhouse Jerky: “Thanks Paul for the positive taste review, where Paul pretty much covers all the bases. It is very true that this jerky is drenched in fat. I am in the camp where I believe that fat is healthy. While maple is sweet tasting, I also found a fair amount of sweetness from the brown sugar. The texture is borderline candied from the sugar.”
“Overall, it is a very enjoyable treat for fans of both maple and bacon. The sweetness level is arguably too high, but that would be highly debatable. I could also add that a little more garlic and onion would have been nice, but that point is debatable also. With myself at a 9 rating and Paul at a 10 rating, an Excellent (10/10) taste rating will be awarded.”
This 4 ounce/113 gram bag of jerky sells online for $15.00. That works out to $3.75 an ounce, which rates as an average price.
Excellent (10/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
This non-resealable clear plastic bag has a label affixed to the front and nothing on the back. There are illustrations of a maple leaf and a pig. This bag is vacuum sealed, which is the best way to keep jerky fresh tasting.
There are no slogans printed on this bag. Some facts printed on this bag are “Hand Cut”, “Chef Inspired”, Driven by Passion”, “Minimally Processed” and “Est. 2013”.
Some missing bag categories are a best before date, a nutrition facts table, the jerky weight stated in grams, and no blurb printed about Vermont’s Farmhouse Jerky or this flavor. A lot number is provided, which could translate to a best before date. To the credit of Vermont’s Farmhouse Jerky, a phone number is provided for customer inquiries.
Order their jerky online: www.vtjerky.co
Many thanks for the review just so you know USDA does not make me put a used by date because I vacuum seal it and through science lab testing they acknowledged that there is no expiration date. The number on the back is a lot number so we track every bag. Other than that, I am working on new bags with pre-printed information on the bags and nutritional information so next round of Testing, you’ll have most of what I have stated.