Like the cowboys of yesteryear, any red blooded American man has a deep-rooted appreciation for a good hunk of jerky. The flavors unleashed when chewing on a tough piece of meat make for a heady brew, and on a personal level I have always been a sucker for the stuff.
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The Tasting Kitchen
People’s Choice Beef Jerky offer something they call the Tasting Kitchen, which is basically an assortment of jerky flavors – some familiar favorites, and some eccentric and original. Just to give you an idea of what we’re talking about, the normal ones are things like original, old fashioned hot and spicy, and teriyaki. The kookier ones are all over the place, like sriracha, garlic ginger, orange honey, and lemon.
My conclusion from tasting all 11 flavors sent my way is that there is something for everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed over half of them, while there were only a few that I thought were gross. Friends that sampled with me sometimes disagreed with my preferences, but everyone found at least a few flavors they thought were really good.
Traditional Done Right
My favorites tended to be the classic flavors, which were dry and extremely savory – just like I like it. You can just let a strip rest in your mouth and suck the flavor out of it slowly. I would even go as far to say it’s one of the best jerkies I’ve ever had. However, others said they tasted “too dry” for their tastes, so I suppose there are indeed different strokes for different folks.
The spicy versions actually had a good amount of kick to them, but nothing too alarming that would necessitate a bottle of water close at hand. There are even a few versions of spice, like the traditional pepper spice or the sriracha variety.
Oh Lord, Sweet Baby Jerky
To every pro there is a con, and this is no exception. Some of the more original flavors were definitely an acquired taste (to put it mildly). I did not enjoy the sickly sweet jerkies of garlic ginger or orange honey teriyaki at all. Not only were they sweet, they also had a wet texture as if they were glazed with honey, which is not my cup of tea at all. Perhaps some might be more favorably inclined towards this jerky specialty, but none of the tasters in my group could stand them.
In Conclusion
So. Yeah. Some damn good jerky. I strongly recommend giving it a shot, because the flavor that is for you might just be one of the best beef jerkies you’ve ever tried.
