Sugar River (part of the Jack Link’s family) is a meat snack brand known for producing beef and pork snack sticks and meat stick ends & pieces in bulk formats that deliver a smoky, savory, and spicy flavor punch. Some of their beef stick products are vacuum sealed for freshness, while the snack stick ends & pieces tend to be thinner, drier, and not vacuum sealed, offering different texture experiences depending on format.
In addition to snacking directly from the bag, their bulk ends & pieces packaging caters to value seekers and users who want to portion or repurpose the product. Overall, Sugar River offers hearty, bold, and relatively accessible meat snacks designed for those who prefer traditional stick style meat snacks with a range of spice and flavor intensity.
This Sugar River beef stick brand is distributed under the same name as Sugar River, located in Minong, Wisconsin. This beef stick is manufactured by L.S.I., Inc., and is located in Mankato, Minnesota.
The first review on Sugar River will focus on a 2 pound bag of their Original flavored beef stick pieces & ends. This bag was purchased at the discount store Ollie’s in Niagara Falls, New York.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Water, Salt, Corn Syrup, Spices, Contains 2% or less of Flavors, Dextrose, Sugar, Sodium Erythorbate, Lactic Acid Starter Culture, Citric Acid, Sodium Nitrite, BHA, BHT, Collagen (Caramel Red 3, Annatto).
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 only healthy ingredients added are spices. The vague term flavors is listed, which can contain both healthy and unhealthy ingredients.
The artificial color red #3 is used in the collagen casing to lose a rating.
To protect freshness and flavor, carcinogenic BHA and BHT are used to lose a rating.
The sugar level is great at only 1 gram of sugar per 28 grams of beef stick. The salt level is high at 480mg of salt per 28 grams of beef stick to lose a rating. Our preference is 350mg of salt or under per 28 grams of beef stick.
This beef stick does not qualify to have no sodium nitrite, as sodium erythorbate and sodium nitrite are used as the main preservatives to lose a rating. Notably, this beef stick contains no MSG.
Fair (4/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
SUGAR RIVER – ORIGINAL BEEF STICK ENDS & PIECES
Written by guest beef stick reviewer Paul Rekker
When I open the bag I smell what I believe to be vinegar. It’s a bit of a unique fragrance, I can’t quite put my finger on it. Not much else. The contents look exactly like someone has cut up a bunch of meat sticks and put them in a bag. The morsels are fairly uniform in size and appearance, and they are very oily. There is a significant amount of moisture left on your fingers. There is a minimal “snap” to the collagen casing, but not enough.
When I bite into the “meat stick morsels”, I taste salt at a high level, minimal sweetness, also a good thing, pepper at a decent rate, as well as a milder garlic and possibly onion tinge. I don’t taste intense vinegar, not sure why I thought I smelled it.
I am very much enjoying these morsels, they are proving to be a delectable late night snack. There is a lot of flavor, and it checks pretty much of the boxes. A very impressive 9/10, based mostly on flavor alone. Gentlemen?
Written by guest beef stick reviewer Stéphane Leclerc
I’ve been sort of struggling with this one. I want to say that it is the same or similar to a typical run of the mill meat stick, or that’s what anyone would expect from such a product. I don’t feel that way. I found salt, sourness, and slight smokiness, but not much more. The meat is mushy and lacks any interest and/or structure. The casing bears very little to no snap. The aroma is forgettable.
I acknowledge that I have some concerns and apprehensions regarding this product, and I’ve done my utmost to remain as neutral and as objective as possible. I can only rate this meat stick a 4/10 Taste Rating.
Here is what Mark had to say about this Original beef sticks from Sugar River: “Thanks Paul and Stéphane for the candid reviews. I lean towards Stéphane here. One aspect that put me off in this review is that I encountered something solid, albeit small, in these beef stick pieces, who knows what it was. I also found these beef sticks to be significantly greasy. We all agree that there is minimal ‘snap’ to this texture.”
“There is zero ‘wow’ factor to these beef stick pieces. The taste profile is largely characterized by saltiness, greasiness, and a mushy texture. I should note that $5 for a two pound bag is extremely cheap, where they are almost giving it away. With Paul at a 9 and Stéphane and I at a 4, an Alright (6/10) taste rating will be awarded.”
This 2 pound bag sold for $4.99, which equates to 16 cents an ounce. That rates as an extremely cheap price.
Bag Review
This clear, non-resealable plastic bag has a label affixed to the front and nothing on the back. The Sugar River’s logo has a house and what appears to be a pipe with water coming out. This bag is vacuum sealed.
There are no slogans printed on this bag. Some facts printed are “Casing Colored” and “BHA, BHT, and Citric Acid to Help Protect Flavor”.
The only missing bag category is a blurb about the company or the beef sticks.
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