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 3 ounce/85 gram bag of their Bacon Cheeseburger flavored snack sticks. This jerky was kindly submitted for review by Owner/Chef/CEO Chef Pierra Mesa.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Bacon (Pork, Water, Sodium Phosphates, Natural Flavoring, Maple, Erythorbate Nitrate, Sodium Nitrate), Pickles (Cucumber, Vinegar, Sugar, Salt), Cabot American Cheese (Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt Enzymes), Maple Sugar, Brown Sugar, Celery Seed, Chili Powder, Cumin Powder, Mustard Powder, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Spices, Collagen Casing.
This beef is ethically raised, meaning it is guaranteed to be free of growth hormones and additional antibiotics. The cattle are guaranteed to have some free range access to roam about and graze on grass the way nature intended. Chef Pierre personally inspects all facilities and checks every eye-round for quality and marbling. The bacon is guaranteed to be free of growth hormones and additional antibiotics. The pigs are guaranteed to have some free range access. As a result, the highest ingredient rating that can be awarded is a Very Good (9/10) rating.
Some healthy ingredients added are pickles, celery seeds, chili powder, cumin powder, mustard powder, garlic powder, spices, and onion powder.
There is no nutrition facts provided. As a result, the exact levels of sugar and salt are unknown.
This jerky does qualify to have no sodium nitrite or other similar unhealthy preservatives. Instead, the main preservative used is salt. Admirably, there is no MSG added.
Very Good (9/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
VERMONT’S FARMHOUSE JERKY – BACON CHEESEBURGER SNACK STICKS
Written by guest jerky reviewer Paul Rekker
When I open the bag I smell nothing whatsoever. I have a meat stick and a half. They look very similar to most other meat sticks but are darker in hue than most. The meat sticks are quite moist, and they leave a considerable amount of moistness on your fingers.
When I bite into the meat stick, I find it is almost as if it is caving in. The casing is rigid, but everything inside the casing is soft. As for the flavors, I taste solid salt, same with the pepper, not much in the way of sweetness, solid garlic, and possibly mild onion. As for the “bacon cheeseburger” flavor, I am not tasting it. This is a decent flavor, but it falls short of what is advertised. Therefore, I am most comfortable awarding this particular meat stick as an 8/10.
Here is what Mark had to say about this Bacon Cheeseburger snack sticks flavor from Vermont’s Farmhouse Jerky: “Thanks Paul for the candid taste review. We are not in agreement here. When I opened the bag, took a photo of it, and set aside a portion for Paul, I forgot to drop off the portion while I was in the area. The next day, I dropped it off, but this snack stick felt abnormally soft. I have no explanation as to why, as the snack stick was left at room temperature in a ziplock bag. My portion had a normal meat stick texture, including the collagen casing having a ‘snap’ to it.”
“This is our first review on a cheeseburger flavor, and I was blown away by how much this bacon/beef stick tasted almost exactly like a real bacon cheeseburger. This treat was delectable, and it was nearly impossible not to eat my entire portion in one sitting; it was that addictive tasting. The bacon comes across fairly well, and the cheese aspect was light tasting. There was a significant depth to the flavor, thanks to the various spices used, making it an absolutely delicious treat. Chef Pierre from Vermont’s Farmhouse Jerky manages to pull off another masterpiece here. This makes me want to invite myself to Pierre’s backyard for a BBQ serving bacon cheeseburgers 😂 With Paul at an 8 and myself at a no doubter slam dunk 10, a Very Good (9/10) taste rating will be awarded. A very enthusiastic two thumbs up!!👍👍”
This 3 ounce/85 gram bag of jerky sells for $8.00. That works out to $2.67 an ounce, which we believe rates as an average price, as we do not have much to compare against.
Very Good (9/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
This white, resealable plastic bag has a label affixed to the front and nothing on the back. There is a picture of an alpaca.
There are no slogans printed on this bag. Some facts printed on this bag are “Made in Vermont Marketplace”, “Hand Cut”, “Chef Love”, “Driven by Passion”, and “Minimally Processed”.
Some missing bag categories are a best before date, the jerky weight stated in grams, no nutrition facts table, 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 and email address are provided for customer inquiries.
Order their jerky online: www.vtjerky.co
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