• This is the place to discuss all spicy commerical products, not just sauce!

Jerky

I realize that this barely skirts the topic, but there was a modest amount of jerky at Zestfest, will assume it falls within.

I want to eat more jerky. Not that I think it's healthy per se, but it's a better alternative than a LOT of junk out there... plus I love it. If it weren't so expensive.

Can someone recommend a purveyor of quality jerky at reasonable prices that has a secure website and on-line store? And, yea, hot pepper flavored!

If it's a member of this site, much the better. Nepotism? No worries.

:dance:
 
A good friend of mine had a good friend with a jerky company. He introduced us and we started doing trades, my hot sauce for his jerky.

He makes OUTSTANDING jerky - old school style, dry jerky (none of the "we'll sell you the water weight" jack links crap) - and his flavors are amazing. Prime Rib Dinner (PRD) with horseradish & rosemary, Garlic Parmesan (might be my fav), Jamaican Jerk, A Little Spicy (a lot, actually) and several others.

He's online and his shipping is very very reasonable - cheapest in the business as I understand.

It's Green Light Jerky - his service is excellent and Matt is a hell of a nice guy. We now hang out and talk food, music, etc. and we may eventually try to do a LDHS flavor.

http://greenlightjerky.com/


Please tell him Lucky Dog Hot Sauce sentcha - may getcha an extra sample or two. ;)
 
Jersey Boyz Jerky has gotten good reviews, but I'm not getting any hits googling it right now.

Check out some of the sites that do review, scroll through to look for jerky.
 
I'll go back to this in the future. I took Lucky's advice and placed a purchase at Greenlight. And he (she?) was correct - shipping was "only" $4. I'll see... thanks for the responses. I ordered these:


Description: Finally...a great meal you don't need a knife and fork to enjoy! Seasoned with rosemary, thyme and horseradish, this one tastes like a PRIME RIB DINNER.

Description: The classic beef jerky taste only better! Seasoned with sweet guajillo and pasilla chiles. The Classic! offers a mild flavor that's a hit with jerky fans of all ages.

Description: Hey mon, its delicious. Just add a cold beer and some reggae music and you'll feel like you are in Montego Bay. Its got traditional jerk flavors with, Jamaican allspice, thyme and fresh habaneros.

I should add... thanks Hops, I checked out your link and that Mingua is very reasonable. If we're talking $5-$7 a "bag", Mingua (and the commercial stuff) is 4 oz. Greenlight portions at 3 oz. Greenlight "appears" to be more gourmet, at least that is how they offer the BRAND. Didn't check shipping, but Mingua is more cost-effective.

Regardless, good stuff! Thanks for chiming in.
 
Matt (Green Light Jerky) texted me that he got the order - right on! I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Like I said - the weight is a poor way to compare. GLJ's bags are bigger than many of heavier weight because it's a traditional old school dry jerky. Water is the heaviest thing & many jerkys aren't as fully cured or are cured "wet".

Your selection is a great intro - PRD is quite a unique flavor, and fantastic. The classic reminds me of what old school jerky used to be & I love the allspice in the jerk flavor.

Excited to hear how you like it - I've been addicted for a while now!
 
Thanks LDHS... I call'em like I see'em. Alabama Jack told me that this was a great forum that was "up my alley". I agree 100%. I asked a question and got some great responses. I took your recommendation and did my due diligence (i.e. giving out a credit card number). Yo, you were kind enough to respond to a benign thread (as were others, and I have noted) and enabled some commerce, so "right on" indeed.
 
its not that hard DP. I make it all the time

and it's GUUD!




Jerky is especially easy if you have a dehydrator, but not necessary. give it a try and let us know how it goes~
 
I don't have a dehydrator (but I do have a big-ace smoker :halo: ). In some respects, it's economies of scale. You end up paying more for ingredients than the purveyors who can make mass quantity. From what I read, you buy lean meat, remove as much fat as possible (or pay your butcher to do so [$]), use a marinade and spices. i'd have to experiment on a decent (and smallish) piece of beef before I tried it in a larger, cost-effective manner.

Anyway, to Greenlight! I got my jerky in the mail today. The ordering and shipping process was seamless. Frankly, I'm a little leery to buy some great products from nascent vendors if the website isn't secure and well-done. Zestfest is only a few days a year; you can only load up so much. I'm an an internet consumer.

Shipping: Lucky, I got nothing free! You're a bad reference! (I'm joking). Well, I got a couple of small "stickers" - the company's logo and a strange sticker supporting a musical act - an Eminem clone-a-be. Oh well, nothing is free in this world.

But, you are exactly correct about weight. It's a bit drier and thus lighter. It's definitely an adequate size of bag to purchase. You can buy the more moist, gummier and heavier national products at your corner mini-mart.... perhaps as filling, but inferior.

Taste: I just received this order today... this evening. I've only opened up the "PRD". This product is excellent. There is no way in hell I could duplicate this stuff at home. Well, I'd have to dedicate myself to the venture (including financially).

So, do I settle for LESS (potentially my homemade)? I think I'd rather focus on my hot sauce potions. Maybe the next time I crank up the smoker for ribs, brisket and poultry, I will set aside some for jerky experimentation. Thanks for the comments!!

:beer:
 
Glad you liked it (whew!)

And I tried - it's a husband & wife team - Matt was set to put samples of other flavors in, but wife packed & shipped before height home!

Good jerky though! GLJ doesn't mess around! That PRD is deeeeelicious & quite unique. The garlic Parmesan is awesome too.
:cheers:
 
GLJ is a solid product and a lot better than anything I tasted/judged at Zestfest. The order process was great and we've addressed the "weight" issue (it's lacking gunk and other fillers... the bag lasts longer than "heavier" ones). On the meat itself and drying processes = A+

disclaimer: I sometimes get in trouble on this site for constructive criticism. (who the hell am I? I agree... a spare)

PRD flavor (day 2): I really like it. For my taste (and why please me? I'm nobody), I would temper the rosemary a little and maybe increase the horseradish. Or maybe increase the taste of... like a Worcestershire sauce (or A-1). Is that grapefruit? I think they may also use anchovies. I like rosemary... so I like rosemary jerky. Prime Rib "flavor" is a little different to me. Great stuff as is!

Jamaican Jerk: meat, texture, servings, etc, excellent. I would give the taste a B+.... I really do like it, but the allspice is a bit over-powering. It reminds me more of the Holiday Season than Jamaica. So, if I were king, I'd crank up something more savory... garlic, scotch bonnet flavor. I infrequently enjoy a bottle of "pickapeppa" sauce. It counters allspice with peppers, tamarind, onion powder, etc.

Pepper Grinder - Obviously, the peppered (peppercorns) flavor. For what it is, A+. Compared to what you would buy at your grocer and/or mini-mart. In those places, you typically have the same 3-4 flavors from every corporation. GLJ would be "best of class". But, from my perspective... RE-ordering, I am buying the more "jazzy" flavors. It's exciting to discover where the taste of jerky can go. I guess it's like the person that goes to the best ice cream parlor in the world and orders chocolate or vanilla. Excellent.

You can tell GLJ that I am pleased with my purchase. I'm only posting my opinions as part of a broader discussion on the thread topic.


:clap:
 
Oh, re the music stickers, Matt (GLJ) does a weekly Internet radio show - its excellent. The stickers are for up & coming artists he's helping out. Most all of them have free music online. A fan of many of the musicians he's buddies with.
:cheers:
 
Just made another order. The music stickers are a cool idea... total "win -win-win". I ordered the stuff that I didn't order before, including your garlic parmesan (Lucky). I'm not looking for freebies; I'm looking for a quality product I can order... recurrently.
 
Just made another order. The music stickers are a cool idea... total "win -win-win". I ordered the stuff that I didn't order before, including your garlic parmesan (Lucky). I'm not looking for freebies; I'm looking for a quality product I can order... recurrently.

awesome - GLJ has also been a huge help to me with solid advice for LDHS - he's at a stage with his jerky that I hope to be with my sauce soon. Plus with the barters it's easy to stay inspired to make sauce!! Believe me - some days 10 hours of grilling/cooking/bottling/sealing is not the most fun thing. Knowing I'll be trading it for awesome jerky is pretty inspiring! heh

Please do post your feedback on the Garlic Parm - I friggin love that flavor. I honestly read that flavor combo for jerky and thought, "ew." and I'm shocked that I love it so much.
You can check out GLJ on FB here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Green-Light-Jerky-Fan-Page/316778377043


And a couple of the musicians he helps to promote here (two of my local favs)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8p_Ewi7ddQ - Richie Cunning is really cool. Great flow and intriguingly successful Willy Wonka mix.

Rob Rush is cool too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIZTl5536RU - good guy & the dude can really, really freestyle! (a lost art these days)
 
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