Tennessee Brown Bag is a beef jerky brand founded by Heather and Derek in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The business began in 2019 after the two met through mutual friends and discovered a shared interest in making beef jerky. Both had more than a decade of experience making jerky, and what started as a small operation in Heather’s home quickly grew into a full-time business within two months. Despite the challenges of launching shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, Tennessee Brown Bag continued to grow with support from its loyal customers, eventually expanding into a larger production space with help from their significant others.
The brand specializes in premium, home style beef jerky made from solid cuts of beef, emphasizing a thin cut, easy to chew texture, and products made without fillers or added water weight. Tennessee Brown Bag has since expanded beyond its early beginnings as a home based business, supplying retailers while also selling directly to customers online. This Tennessee Brown Bag brand is distributed under the name Tennessee Brown Bag L.L.C., located in Hixson (a community in Chattanooga), Tennessee.
The first review on Tennessee Brown Bag will focus on a 3 ounce/85 gram bag of their Dill Pickle flavored beef jerky. This bag was purchased at a convenience store in Nashville, Tennessee.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Pickle Juice (Water, Vinegar, Sea Salt, Natural Flavors, and Turmeric for color), Soy Sauce (Water, Salt, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Potassium Sorbate – Preservative), Worcestershire Sauce (Distilled White Vinegar, Molasses, Water, Corn Syrup, Salt, Caramel Color, Sugar, Spices, Anchovies (Fish), Natural Flavor (Soy), Tamarind Extract & Soy Lecithin), Beer (Water, Corn, Hops, Yeast, Malt), Ketchup (Tomato Concentrate from red ripe Tomatoes, Distilled Vinegar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Salt, Spice, Onion Powder, Natural Flavoring), Hickory Smoke Concentrate, Spices, Sodium Nitrate. 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 poor brand of soy sauce, an alright brand of Worcestershire sauce, not so healthy beer, a poor brand of ketchup, and liquid hickory smoke concentrate.
The only healthy ingredients added are spices.
Super unhealthy high fructose corn syrup is used in the ketchup to lose a rating.
The sugar level is excellent at 0 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. The salt level is acceptable at 310mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky.
This jerky does not qualify to be sodium nitrite free as sodium nitrite is used as a preservative to lose a rating. This jerky does not qualify to have no MSG added because the cheap, highly processed flavor enhancer hydrolyzed soy protein is used in the soy sauce to lose another rating.
Average (5/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
TENNESSEE BROWN BAG – DILL PICKLE BEEF JERKY
Written by guest jerky reviewer Paul Rekker
When I open the bag I smell something similar to pineapple juice. Maybe not quite pineapple, but some kind of juice, just the same (lemon juice?). Either way, that is all I smell. The jerky is large in size, but sliced rather thin. The texture is excellent, it is dry and rigid, exactly as our forefathers intended. There is no oily residue left on your fingers.
When I bite into the jerky, I immediately taste the dill, which I am a big fan of. I also taste equal amounts of salt, another condiment I enjoy. The sweetness is minimal. I taste a solid pepper flavor, along with a noticeable flavor of garlic, just not as intense as the pepper. Again, kudos on the taste and texture.
As I eat more, one analogy keeps popping into my head, which is this particular flavor of jerky tastes like “more”. A resounding 10/10 in my humble estimation. Gentlemen?
Here is what Mark had to say about this Dill Pickle beef jerky flavor from Tennessee Brown Bag: “Thanks Paul for the positive taste review. I pretty much agree with everything stated. The texture is fantastic being dry, but still easy to chew because the strips are sliced thin. As Paul mentioned, the sweetness is minimal, which is greatly appreciated. As advertised, the jerky has a clean tasting flavor, which again is much appreciated.”
“The natural taste of beef has no hint of tasting processed. The overall taste profile is well balanced and a treat to eat. I feel like I am being too nitpicky here, but the dill pickle is not consistent strip to strip. Once you eat enough strips of jerky, the dill pickle flavor is prevalent enough but far from overwhelming. I thoroughly enjoyed this dill pickle flavor and am only deducting a rating due to a technicality. With Paul at a 10 and myself at a 9, an Excellent (10/10) taste rating will be awarded.”
A 3 ounce/85 gram bag of jerky sold for $16.99, which equates to $5.66 an ounce. That rates as an expensive price.
Excellent (10/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
This brown resealable paper bag has labels affixed to the front and back. A clever sign on the front reads “No Bullshit”.
There are no slogans printed. Some facts printed are “60 Grams of Protein Per Bag”, “No Filler – Compare Protein Per Serving to the Other Guys”, “Cut from a Single Piece of 100% USDA Choice Beef”, “Home Style Premium Beef Jerky”, and “Do not eat the freshness product. Our lawyer made us say that.”
The only missing bag category is a blurb about this jerky or flavor. To the credit of Tennessee Brown Bag, a phone number and email address are provided for customer inquiries.
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