Cedar Creek Beef Jerky is a small-batch, USDA inspected jerky maker that emphasizes craftsmanship and quality in every bite. They pride themselves on hand-crafting each piece, literally making jerky “one piece at a time”, using whole muscle beef that’s sliced and slow cooked in a homemade oven, setting them apart from mass-produced competitors. Packaged in generous 4 ounce bags (large by 2025 standards), their jerky is positioned as a hearty, satisfying protein snack, “as tough as you are”.
Cedar Creek Beef Jerky stands out for its artisanal approach, generous serving size, and thoughtfully crafted flavor profiles that merge home-style authenticity with premium beef quality. This Cedar Creek Beef Jerky brand is distributed under the same name Cedar Creek Beef Jerky, located in El Dorado Springs, Missouri.
The first review on Cedar Creek Beef Jerky will focus on a 4 ounce/113 gram bag of Original flavored beef jerky. This flavor is described as watering mouths since 1984, being cooked in homemade ovens. The bag was purchased online from Amazon.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt), Water, Worcestershire Sauce (Water, Vinegar, Molasses, Corn Syrup, Anchovies, Hydrolyzed Soy and Corn Protein, Onions, Tamarinds, Salt, Garlic, Cloves, Chili Peppers, Natural Flavorings and Eschalots), Molasses, Corn Syrup, Garlic, Onion, Soy Sauce Powder (Wheat, Soybeans, Salt), Sugar, Natural Smoke Flavor, Seasonings (Spices, Red Bell Pepper, Tomato), Black Pepper, Salt, Apple Cider Flavor Vinegar (Distilled Vinegar from grain, Natural Flavor, Caramel Color). Allergen Warnings: Soy, Wheat, Anchovies
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 is comprised of a decent brand of soy sauce, including another brand of soy sauce powder, water, a not so healthy brand of Worcestershire sauce, and an unknown brand of apple cider flavor vinegar.
Some healthy ingredients added are garlic, onion, spices, red bell peppers, tomatoes, and black pepper.
The sugar level is acceptable at 2 grams of sugar per 28 grams. The salt level is sky high at 800mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky to lose a rating. Our preference is 350mg of salt or less per 28 grams of jerky.
This jerky qualifies to have no sodium nitrite or any other similar unhealthy preservatives. Instead, the main preservative used is salt. This jerky does not qualify to have no MSG added, as the highly processed, cheap flavor enhancers hydrolyzed soy protein and hydrolyzed corn protein are used to lose a rating.
Alright (6/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
CEDAR CREEK BEEF JERKY – ORIGINAL BEEF JERKY
Written by guest jerky reviewer Paul Rekker
When I open the bag I smell only what I believe to be natural beef. The pieces are medium to large, and they are sliced rather thin. The jerky is dry and rigid, exactly as our forefathers intended. There is no oily residue.
When I bite into the jerky I am met with an intense salt flavor, right up my alley, I love it. There is minimal sweetness, almost nothing, which is a great thing. I taste very tasty levels of pepper, along with an augmenting garlic flavor, not as intense, but still noticeable. This tastes like an original flavor, and a darned good one at that. I am thoroughly enjoying this tasty treat, it is exactly as advertised. I believe some may find the salt level to be too intense for them, but I love it. A no-doubter 10/10. Gentlemen?
Here is what Mark had to say about this Original beef jerky flavor from Cedar Creek Beef Jerky: “Thanks Paul for the positive taste review. When I first tried this Original flavor, I was 99% certain that Paul would be at a 10 rating. This Original flavor is reminiscent of Paul and my Original flavor when we were researching launching our jerky brand, with a strong blend of soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce, and its good old fashioned dry texture.”
“There is no hint of the beef tasting processed, where the natural flavor of beef is one of the stars of the show, as it should be with an Original flavor. A light taste of smokiness in the background accentuates the overall flavor. Now, is the salt level too strong? Sometimes I find strong levels of saltiness annoying, but in this case, the saltiness was not too much of a distraction and contributed greatly to the overall flavor. As with Paul, I also loved this flavor and could not get enough of it. A well-deserved, unanimous Excellent (10/10) taste rating will be awarded. Take a bow Cedar Creek Beef Jerky, a very enthusiastic two thumbs up!!👍👍”
This 4 ounce/113 gram bag of jerky sold online for $14.89, which equates to $3.72 an ounce. That rates as an average price.
Excellent (10/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
This yellow, plastic resealable bag has everything imprinted on it, both on the front and back. There are borders on the front adorned with multiple symbols.
A slogan displayed on this bag could be “‘Show Me’ a Better Beef Jerky”. Some facts printed are “Natural Smoke Flavor Added”, “No Preservatives”, “Old Fashioned Style”, “Made in Missouri”, and “1/4 LB.”.
Some missing bag categories are a blurb about this jerky or flavor, soy/wheat/anchovy allergen alerts, and the jerky weight stated in grams. To the credit of Cedar Creek Beef Jerky, a toll-free phone number is provided for customer inquiries.
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