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Archive for May, 2013
Greetings, y’all!
Today we ’re taking a bite of some Field Trip Honey Spice No.11 Beef Jerky that we picked up as part of a mixed 6 pack jerky special from Woot!
Field Trip Honey Spice No. 11 Beef Jerky
Made from top round beef, the Field Trip folks have placed a lot of emphasis on the stated quality of their jerky. They chose to make it without artificial preservatives, added MSG, or nitrates and tout their commitment to making something they feel is pretty special. The previously reviewed Field Test Original and Teriyaki jerkies were pretty seriously good, does this continue the streak? Let’s see what you get with this one:
Taste (A): The Field Trip folks didn’t have to use much imagination in naming this jerky. It is at first a delightfully sweet thing, first with honey and then with brown sugar and pineapple flavors. They combine in a fantastic way and bring a cohesive sweetness to your palate. This, however, only lasts for a few moments because the ‘spice’ taste follows fast and doesn’t hold back. This jerky packs a great spicy kick that’ll really clear you out. Literally. A few pieces in and we were fishing around for the Kleenex. The spicy kick is a one-two punch combination of cayenne and black pepper that is simply fantastic with some Tabasco and white pepper thrown in for good measure. Even though it kicks like a well-healed mule it’s never overdone. The sweetness and the spiciness are expertly paired and it’s a truly habit forming combo. Delicious!
Texture (B+): This natural-style jerky is cut along the grain and is a bit tougher than the other Field Test jerkyies we’ve tried. It will take some work to break down this jerky but it doesn’t take too long. Once you get your teeth into it the meat chews nicely and is genuinely enjoyable.
Smell (B-): There’s a curious bit of distraction here. First, the smell carries more of the soy and smoke scents than the taste would suggest while the honey and cayenne scents follow behind them, almost as an after thought. It smells good enough, but these competing components are not particularly complementary in and of themselves.
Appearance (A): With a dark brown color sporting red undertones, this bite-sized jerky looks pretty good! It’s cut very thin and has a combination of straight cut and natural edges. There’s a bit of a sugary sheen across the pieces, not everywhere but seeming to highlight various spots across the surface of the meat. It looks as good at it tastes.
Consistency (A-): Like the previous Field Test jerkies, this jerky seems made with exceptional attention to quality. The flavor and moisture are spot on, bite-for-bite, delivering the same great taste and texture through and through. It’s a mark of real skill.
Overall Impression (B+): This is a thoroughly great jerky that does what it says. The sweetness and spiciness are brought together so very well that it’s all a real treat to eat. This is not a jerky for those who don’t appreciate a peppery kick, but if you do this will bring a smile to your face and maybe a bit of perspiration to your brow. It’s really good stuff and you should definitely take the opportunity to try some out if the opportunity presents itself. Enjoy!
Howdy there!
We’re taking a taste of some Field Trip Teriyaki No.23 Beef Jerky, another of the mixed 6 pack jerky special from Woot!
Field Trip Teriyaki No.23 Beef Jerky
This is a self-described artisan jerky made from top round beef without artificial preservatives, added MSG, or nitrates. There’s a real emphasis on simple quality with this jerky that suggests it’ll be a real treat. Does it deliver something tasty? Let’s see what you get with this one:
Taste (A): From the very first bite you wont’ have any doubts that this is a full-on teriyaki flavored jerky, and the Field Trip folks didn’t hold back on the sweetness, either. This jerky’s taste starts off with an almost candy-like sweetness full of sugar, honey, and fruity flavors. It’s fantastic and they managed to make it unapologetically sweet without making it at all overwhelmingly sugary. It’s a fantastic balance to achieve. Along with this are the tangy teriyaki flavors coupled with a smokiness and some garlic and pepper. Behind the teriyaki, which really seems to evolve the sweetness more than anything pointedly of its own, the smoky and savory flavors are subtle and add a delightful bit of character without commanding your attention. The flavor is just great and is a really entertaining take on the traditional teriyaki taste.
Texture (B+): This is a slightly moist jerky, cut along the grain, that takes a bit of effort to tear into but chews pretty nicely once you get going. It’s pleasant stuff.
Smell (B+): This jerky smells nice, with a very forward sweet scent that conveys some of the soy sauce and brown sugar but seems to more generally convey ‘sweet stuff is coming!’. It does a great job of foretelling the taste and is a good complement overall.
Appearance (A): This jerky is dark brown in color with hints of red if the light hits it just right. It has a slight sheen, no doubt from all the sweetness in the marinade, that seems to accentuate the texture of the lean beef. The pieces are all bite-sized with a mixture of straight-cut and natural edges that lend an appetizing air to it all. This jerky simply looks tasty. ’nuff said.
Consistency (A-): The flavor in this jerky is exactingly consistent throughout the bag. Bite to bite you get the same great sweet and tangy goodness. The beef itself is lean and tasty and, with only one exception, every piece was tender and inviting. The Field Trip folks have executed with great skill and their jerky shows it in spades.
Overall Impression (A-): The Field Trip Jerky company have done it again with another exceptional jerky that delivers quality meat with a taste that’ll leave you wanting more. It has subtlety and character and you can really enjoy the fullness of what it has to offer. It’s an artisan jerky for sure and we’re definitely fans. Pick yourself up a bag and partake of its meaty goodness. Eat well!
Howdy!
Today’s tasty tester is a bag of Field Trip Original No.3 Beef Jerky purchased as part of a mixed 6 pack special from Woot!. Yes, that’s right. Woot jerky.
Field Trip Original No.3 Beef Jerky
This jerky, promoted as an artisan crafted food, is made from top round beef without artificial preservatives, added MSG, or nitrates. Sounds like a good way to start your jerky day, but does this meaty treat delivery beefy goodness? Let’s see what you get with this one:
Taste (A-): This taste of this original style jerky is about being two things: sweet and peppery. The first flavor that hits you is the sweet blend of the brown sugar and pineapple juice that combine elegantly into a rich, almost complexly taste. There’s some soy and vinegar in there as well adding some welcome tangy kick. Further buttressed by garlic and onion it all starts on your tongue as a sweet and savory festival… and then the pepper kicks in. This jerky has a solid pepper punch that settles into your mouth and takes you for a ride. It’s great stuff, and while this level of pepper intensity might ordinarily elicit a ‘peppered’ jerky label, it’s so well-balanced against the sweet and savory flavors that it never dominates the taste. Really, this is a fantastically well-done mix of flavors.
Texture (B): This thin-sliced jerky is cut along the grain and is dry, but still pliable. Though tough at first, the pieces chew surprisingly quickly and are generally easy to eat once you work on them a bit. It feels good.
Smell (B+): There’s a lot going on with this jerky, smell-wise, and that complexity is probably the only thing detracting from its aroma. One whiff and get a full-on hit of the brown sugar and smoke backed by a menagerie of teriyaki sauce scents and good ol’ pepper. Some of them blend together, some of them stand out, but they all grab a hold of your nose with authority. It smells pretty great, all told, but definitely demands extra attention to sort it all out.
Appearance (A): This is a good-looking jerky! The thin sliced pieces sport a rich brown color with a slight red tint. The combination of straight-cut and natural edges is appetizing to the eye and it all conveys the look of a quality jerky made with care and attention.
Consistency (A): Thin-cut jerky is a flavor technique that allows the jerky artisan to thoroughly infuse the meat with the flavors of their choosing. Here the comparatively complex flavors are expertly instilled into each bite and are delivered with exceptional repetition. From beginning to end the entire bag was a great adventure in sweet-savory-peppery-goodness from one lean piece of quality beef to the next.
Overall Impression (A-): The folks at Field Trip Jerky have lived up to the artisan label with this delicious, and well-made jerky. It sports a fantastic flavor and is made with the sort of attention to quality that tells you that they take their jerky very seriously. This stuff is really good and if you like jerky that’ll kick-start your tongue with goodness then this is your meat. Pick up a bag and enjoy this delicious, quality jerky. Enjoy!
Greetings!
For today’s tasty adventure we’re taking a bite out of some Texas Gourmet Regular Beef Sticks purchased at a local gun show.
Texas Gourmet Regular Beef Sticks
Texas Gourmet, based out of Arlington, Texas, makes a small assortment of beef jerky and beef sticks with a focus on ol’ fashioned quality and tasty goodness. We sampled a few of their meats at the show and knew right away there was a review to be done. So, does this jerky deliver a tasty Texan treat? Let’s see what you get with this one:
Taste (A-): This is a tasty, tasty sausage that starts with a smoky and salty flavor with a pepper kick and strong onion and garlic flavors. The smokey and savory are present in just the right balance and they blend exceptionally well. There’s a bit of a tang, probably from some citric acid, that opens it all up a bit and rounds out the flavor nicely. While the flavor is full and delicious it still manages not to be at all overbearing. This just tastes great.
Texture (A): Taking a bite of this sausage is such a treat. The casing is thin but substantial and the sausage filling is tightly packed. The meat itself is only slightly moist and, while still pliable, makes an enjoyably rigid and solid treat.
Smell (B+): You get a good whiff of hickory smoke, onion, and garlic from these beef sticks. It smells nice, mellow, and tasty. The aroma isn’t particularly pronounced but is definitely a good compliment to the taste of these sticks.
Appearance (A): What a great looking beef stick! These sausages have a deep red color with dark brown highlights and the thin mottled casing gives you a glimpse at the course-ground pepper mixed into the beef. All told they look quite delicious.
Consistency (A+): There is clearly huge emphasis on making these quality beef sticks. First, the flavor is dead-on consistent throughout the entire package. From the first bite to the last they taste fantastic. Similarly, the moisture of each stick is predictably great and the density of the sausage itself is reliably just-right. This is more than just a well-made food, it seems made with pride.
Overall Impression (A-): What a treat! These are great beef sticks and the folks at Texas Gourmet can rightfully be proud of the excellent treat they’ve made. They taste great and are a joy to eat. If you’re perusing the tables at a DFW-area gun show and spy the Texas Gourmet booth we encourage you to make a b-line for their delicious wares. Buy some. Eat it. Enjoy it!
Howdy, friends!
Our fun for the day is a package of Wild Bill’s Bacon Jerky. Yes, that’s right, another bag of smoked bacon jerky!
The first time we enjoyed some jerky made from the ever-wonderful bacon it turned out pretty well, so much so that when we ran across this bag of bacon jerky it was pretty well a given that we’d be taking it home. After all… it’s BACON. So you can imagine our amusement when, upon examination, we notice some striking similarities between this and our previously reviewed Trail’s End Bacon Jerky. With a bit of online sleuthing – and really, this wasn’t hard to find – we discovered that Wild Bill’s and Trail’s End are two of the meat snack brands of Monogram Meat Snacks, LLC out of Memphis, Tennessee. Monogram Meat Snacks makes jerky under a number of different brands so, after chomping down on this eerily familiar food it became apparent that this was the same tasty bacon jerky we’d already reviewed but in a spiffy new package.
Taking a second pass, there wasn’t really anything new to add to the Trail’s End Back Jerky review. This jerky is still quite a treat and bacon lovers will definitely appreciate the novelty of it. So…
Overall Impression (B-): If you like bacon (and really, you’re reading this site so odds are you do) you’ll enjoy this jerky. It’s real bacon, made into jerky, and that is a great thing. The bacon jerky is tasty, fun to eat, and definitely a tasty treat. Partake and enjoy!
Recent posts
- Monday ,23 May, 2016 Act fast – here’s an early access sale for some interesting Jerky!
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