Heidi Jo's Black Pepper BUFFALO Jerky

Hmmm.. I'm too delighted to even start writing about my tryst with the first piece of exotic jerky in my mouth.
So. Just look at it - it's just one thin clean lean strip of meat. Must be the best of the beast!
It smells just like BJ!
(Beef Jerky)
First bite notes - the meat is much softer than beef jerky. The taste of black pepper of quite strong.
It's a very lean meat jerky.. can tell from the looks anyway.
I notice it has a sweet sour taste..
The flavour seems very well infused with the meat. The spice is barely traceable after a few bites, can feel it only in the throat, which is typical of black pepper.
Gets salty with the 5th - 6th bite..
This is surprising - it dissolves quite easily in the mouth!
No gristle whatsoever - I'm guessing this is because it's just one strip of the best meat.
Hmm.. I didn't want to keep this piece for laters, since I had already touched the whole piece to take photos and admire in general..
So I ate more than I usually do in one sitting. The flavour comes across quite strong after a few bites, and it lasts in your throat and below for a while.
I also kept tasting teriyaki flavour, then Lydia looked at the ingredients. It was there - am I getting better at this or what.

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Jack Link's Peppered Beef Jerky

Very hard. Very dry, but not flaky dry. The meat is still well bonded. Smells great. Tastes awesome. The spice is almost zilch on the tongue, but hits the throat mildly. Well peppered pieces! The most interesting part is, they taste of a particular variety of raw mango. And I remember experiencing this taste with another brand of peppered Jerky as well. Maybe it's the particular black pepper they use that renders this added smell.
Great pack of Jerky, they could do a little better on the texture.

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Jack Link's Sriracha

Spice instantly hits the back of your throat. Not over spicy. Can't say if it tastes just like the sriracha sauce because I've had it only once long long ago.
Meat quality is horribly inconsistent. The texture of each piece is poles apart.
Some very soft. Some very dry and flaky. Some of them have much gristle. Some extremely hard and chewy 

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Slim Jim Honey BBQ

I literally found no difference whatsoever  between the Slim Jim Zesty Garlic and and the Slim Jim Honey BBC!
Uhh.. :-/
So please check my review for Zesty Garlic. Everything status the same except the name on the pack!

Slim Jim Zesty Garlic

One word. Oily!
Ugh.. Why?? It's basically minced beef wrapped in some kinda membrane. With a lot of oil.. And vinegar! Very strong smell and flavour. I didn't get the flavour of any Zesty Garlic! I couldn't eat more than 2-3 bites at one shot. It caused an irritation in my throat beyond that.
Although it's minced meat, it had a lot of gristle. It's supposed to be eaten on the go, but don't attempt it unless you're carrying tissue paper with you. You'll need both hands to tear open that long thing now and then, and you're hands are going to be all oily.
I'm not a fan, clearly

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The extra half star in 'Overall' is for popularity. I don't know why this thing is so popular!

Pemmican Beef Jerky - Teriyaki

Pemmican Beef Jerky
Hand chunked & Formed
Teriyaki

From outside the packet the cuts didn't look like any beef jerky I've had till now.
I should've guessed from the text on the pack - "Hand chunked & Formed"
Smells good, not very strong as usual though.
First bite reaction - So soft! No need to tear. It's like biting grainy cheese. Yes it's a bit grainy. Because it seems like minced meat that's caked and cut.
Good Teriyaki flavour, no doubt. There's no pleasure of chewing on some great beef.
Must say there's absolutely no gristle.
The other product I've had that comes a bit close to this, is the Jack Links Steak Tender Bites. But that had quite some gristle.

Not very impressed with this product. This ain't real beef jerky. Or maybe it's an acquired taste!

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Jack Link's Teriyaki Beef Jerky [Mega Pack]

The Mega Pack makes no difference to the taste I'm guessing. The last time I had reviewed this one, I vowed to review it while I'm actually biting into it!
So here, Awesome texture. The bite is perfect and delicious. The flavour of teriyaki is classic, and it gradually fills your mouth, and lasts for sometime once you've swallowed, especially the slight sour taste of teriyaki. The meat mostly tears easily, but for a few pieces. I had bite them and tear in full power. I've come to the end of the pack, which was wiped out pretty soon, and I have found gristle on just 2 occassions - isn't that awesome?
However, 1 of the pieces was over-dehydrated.

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Oh Boy! Oberto - Sweet & Sour Pork Jerky

Not all that sweet. Not all that sour. Grainy as the previous pork jerky. So I guess grainyness is a pork jerky thing. Soft. Tears easily. No gristle at all, so that's good. So no difference in texture, at least within the same brand.
Overall not that great, but then it's jerky after all! The previous pork jerky (Oh Boy! Oberto BBQ Pork Jerky) was more flavoursome. Didn't feel much salt, not sure if the sodium content is lesser.

I opened the pack after about a week, and they had turned mouldy. With every packet of jerky I'm careful not to touch any meat that I'm not going to eat immediately, and I make sure I seal it air tight each time. This time I was a little negligent.
Oh Boy! Oberto claims their jerkies are All Natural - no preservatives, no additives, no artificial stuff. Which could be the reason why it went bad beyond my usual time frame of making it last, which is about 2 weeks.
Is a good thing, I just have to finish them soon!

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Jack Link's Teriyaki Beef Steak TENDER BITES

Beef has a distinct smell. And it smells like I want to bite it. When I opened the pack I was reminded of some awesome Kerala beef dishes, the dry ones.
First bite experience - soft, fleshy, salty, teriyaki. Tender bites indeed. Very fleshy. Juicy in the sense that you salivate profusely. No gristle. Well almost, because I did find gristle in one piece. A wee bit extra salty though..

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Great Value Peppered Beef Jerky

Through the packet, I could see a lot of pepper on the meat. I opened the packet, and in a mad rush shoved a piece straight into my mouth. I've been saving this special 'Peppered' packet to have last. But I couldn't wait, so Im having it 3rd last. There's indeed a lot of crushed black pepper on the pieces.
Take a bite, and its soft and eeeasily tearable. Surprising! Does flavour make any difference to the texture of the dehydrated meat?? I doubt it. However, I've had a few packets of this brand.. well I must say the texture is not consistent. In the same pack, some pieces are soft, and some are damn hard.
The pepper hits the throat hard. Im Indian, so the spice is easy and lovable to me. But unexpectedly, it turned out to be sweet. How? Just the usual brown sugar? If every beef jerky is going to be sweet by default, Im going to love this thing even more!
The best part - from somewhere, somehow it tastes like my favourite mango from Kerala. How???

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Great Value Sweet & Hot Beef Jerky

My first "beef" jerky review. Feels  challenging.
The first taste is sweet - maybe due to the brown sugar glazing. The bite is just right. I'm unable to note the taste easily - either its too yummy or Im too hungry. I'd say the meat is a little hard. Some pieces are rather too dry and hard. Some pieces are as chewy as I like it.
The after taste is slightly peppery. The spice only hits the throat and the upper palate, not on the tongue. Its not really sweet & hot at the same time.

I kept a couple of pieces out on the table for about 10-15 mins to shoot them. They turned extremely dry and hard. It might be the dry weather in Bangalore
Some pieces are very lean, some are slightly thick.
And here's the annoying part. In every other large piece, I ended up with gristle in the mouth. So I suck out all the flavour, chew and swallow as much as I can, and spit out the remains. Real bummer! I'm guessing its the brand, because I had the same experience with 2 packets - a sweet & hot, and a teriyaki

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Jack Link's Teriyaki Beef Jerky

This one's a classic for me I think. Love the texture and taste. However sometimes it can turn hard, especially after a few days. But I've also noticed that if you seal it as airtight as possible, it becomes soft again. Wonder how. They do advise you to finish off in 3 days, but with such limited supply its almost impossible. Must refrigerate next time. 

Also, must write another review another time, when I'm devouring it. Out of Stock right now!