Best Beef Jerky

[tannerboyle]

I'm looking to try out some new beef jerky that I never tried out before, can anyone give any suggestions?

Thanks

[Joe Berger]

for an asian source jerky, these beef varieties are good;
http://www.soojerky.com/products/jerk...
species,beef,whole sliced,lemon grass
species,beef,five spices,five spices
not as oily, soft and sweet like most other asian jerky.
I found them at Jmart in Flushing, NY about $20/lb.

[lindamller]

Czuchraj Meats in Cleveland has a moist,
slightly spicy product. It'll go bad on you if you wait too long to consume it, but it's very good.

[cavandre]

Moist & very tasty, even the basic flavor.

http://stores.jandjmeats.com/-strse-B...

[chefj]

If you have Southeast Asian Markets near you many make their own beef jerky. Definitely worth buying very differently seasoned than American style jerkies

[SeanArenas]

Capri Deli in Covina has the best jerky I have found: http://www.caprideli.com/
They will ship the jerky to you, just give them a call. Peppered, Teriyaki, and Peppered Teriyaki flavors. It is dry and crumbly and amazingly tasty.
In comparison, store brands tend to be either stringy, too moist, or taste overly mass-produced. Capri's is more homemade tasting and is very addictive.

[AdinaA]

Joburg Kosher joburgkosher.com ships their biltong to you.

Best jerky I've ever eaten. I used to make my own. It is chewy, beefy, with just the right amount of heat.

The fact that it's kosher is pretty irrelevant to the flavor. It's just an indication of how many homesick South African Jews now live in the States.

If you're interested in top-notch jerky, you should send of some.

[ML8000]

I wouldn't call it the best but Grocery Outlet in NorCal carries Mr. Z brand beef jerky. It's from Brazil and it's grass fed beef which works well with jerky. Best part is the price - two 1 oz. packs for $1.00, or $8.00/lb. Very tasty but small bits. Better then Pacific Gold sold at Costco.

[howlin]

longview jerky in longview alberta.tasty

[mdk917]

If you're evey on your way to Vegas from Los Angeles, you must stop by at Alien Jerky. By far one of the best jerky I've ever tasted. It's def not your dried out leather type of jerky, but it's so moist and so good. Check out their web site... www.alienfreshjerky.com

[Honeychan]

I give a second recommendation to Alien Jerky on I-15. Their jerky is moist, bordering on almost wet, but very tender and VERY tasty. The honey teriyaki is addictive, and the peppered one has a nice kick. A must-stop for my on my trips to LA.

[porker]

I would also recommend making your own. Lean beef, sliced thin, marinated, then dried. I don't have a dehydrater, so hang them on the oven rack with toothpicks. Set the temp as low as it goes, block the door open an inch or so, dry overnight.

I like venison or moose meat even more.

There's also a jerky maker not previously mentione in VT;

http://www.alpinewebmedia.com/beefjer...

[scubadoo97]

I just made my first batch last week on my smoker. Bottom round roast cut into slices and marinated in a soy/vinegar/sugar based marinade. I didn't find any curing salt so smoke it at a higher temperature than ideal. Smoked at 150* until cooked through to get through the safety zone then lowered the smoker to 140 until jerky was dry but still had a little tenderness in the center. Did two batches. The last one was brushed with a Thai sweet chili paste before hitting the smoker. I'll not be buying the pre-made stuff any longer.

[tatamagouche]

I just got back from Montague, MI, where I came across Doug Born's Smokehouse & Sausage Kitchen. They make 30 different kinds, I'd guess—elk, buffalo, turkey, beef and venison in various flavors as well as plain—and I thought it was terrific, more like soft chunks of barbecue than the more common leather strips. (A couple of pics on my blog, address in profile.)

Don't know if they do mail orders, but the number is 231-894-2753.

[David Kahn]

My favorite is the cowboy jerky from Mahogany Smoked Meats in Bishop, California: http://www.smokedmeats.com/jerky-beef....

[L nrs]

The teriyaki beef jerky from Mahogany Smoked Meats is also excellent.

[Professor Salt]

I second this rec. The Cowboy jerky is unlike any other I've seen, in that it's a thick puck of jerky. Really great stuff.

[LindaWhit]

That's the only jerky my BIL will eat after trying it several years ago - the terijaki and the sweet 'n' spicy versions. It sure is expensive tho!

[riverman2166]

How come no one has mentioned Angelo's jerky from Sonoma county? He makes several different types including teryaki, pepper, garlic, and cajun. He also does salmon jerky and turkey jerky. And, if you want great handmade sausages, he's got those too. Yum!!

[rworange]

I'm a fan of Angelo's too. The thick jerky strips are moist and have a deep beefy flavor. My favorites are the plain, peppered and garlic

The beef jerky is made from flank because of the low water content in that cut. "Why pay for water when you can pay for meat?" Angelo says in a San Francisco magazine article on his website where the market received a 'best of' award. All the jerky has a little wine and garlic in it because "jerky may not be Italian, but Angelo is".

I also like Green Light Jerky which is a more traditional, thin jerky that comes in out of the usual flavors. My favorite is the prime rib dinner seasoned with rosemary, thyme and horseradish.

Links to websites and reports on the Place record links below.

-----
Angelo's Wine Country Deli
23400 Arnold Dr, Sonoma, CA 95476

Green Light Jerky
Redwood City, Ca, Redwood City, Ca

[geminigirl]

Here's a good link and I would also recomend this place in Sedona
http://www.worldofjerky.com/
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/370177

[JungMann]

I'm a big fan of Biltong. It has a little more give than most commercial jerkies and a spicy, slightly floral flavor from the South African seasonings.

http://www.biltongusa.com/

[Wiley]

Second the biltong...once I open a package, I can't stop till it's gone.

[bigfellow]

Biltong is much better than jerky!

[CaptainJim]

In my search for the best possible tasting jerky, I started making my own. I bought a Nesco food dryer. I buy london broil on sale (usually about 1.69 a lb), i slice it thin against the grain, and marinate it in soy sauce, brown sugar, pineapple juice and black pepper for 24 hrs.

It dries for 4 hours, it produces unbeleivable jerky, at far far far less than mail order or store bought.

yes yes it's one more gadget, but I love it, and it's fun to expirement

[madgreek]

I made my own for years, than discovered this brand: http://www.worldkitchens.net/Products...

It's sold at Wal-Mart for about $9.50/lb. It's tough to pass up when it tastes so good, and it's hard to make it for less money when taking into account the weight after drying, ingredients, electricity to operate, and clean-up (more an environmental/time issue, but still).

I still have the dehydrator, though more often I have made jerkey using Alton Brown's box fan/furnace filter setup.

[danhole]

madgreek,

I bought a 1 lb bag of the world kitchens beef jerky before Ike hit, and have been munching on it. Although it is cheap, and not too bad, it really isn't as good as Pemmican. I would rather spend a little more, or even better get some from Woody's (mentioned above) or make my own. Just my opinion. But I will say it was better than nothing!

[misnatalie]

Two places that have my favorite beef jerky are: Bourgeois Beef Jerky (which I can only get from from friend in Louisiana) and Oregon Trails http://www.oregontrailjerky.com (the pioneer candy and bbq are my favs,
)Both places have great flavor and consistency but Bourgeois has the best smoky flavor
that I have never found in any other jerky.
Two other decent places are
www.jerkyjerks.com (several good flavors Golden Nugget and the Teryiaki) and
Umpqua Native American Jerky from the Beef Jerky Emporium

I was VERY disappointed with Gary West beef jerky. It does not live up to the hype.

I have also found a few places that have pretty good beef jerky with lower sodium than most:
Jerky Direct and Joe's Beef Jerky

[danhole]

This place is great, and lots to choose from (beef, venison, elk turkey, etc):

http://www.woodys-smokehouse.com/

[Sean]

The best packaged, store brand I have had is Wild Bill's

http://jerkymart.com/wild-bills-origi...

[MattInNJ]

Big fan of the Wild Bill's, great with beer.

[danhole]

I've seen that but never tried it. If I have to resort to buying a store brand I like Pemmican peppered tender beef jerky.

[tannerboyle]

I ordered some Wild Bill today, thanks for the suggestion. Anybody else have any more?

[my3jed]

Alpine Prime Foods has the best jerky I've ever found. It's all in nugget form. Big 13 oz.. USDA vacuum sealed reclosable bags.

http://www.alpineprimefoods.com

[theferlyone]

As far as the readily available stuff goes, I'll second Pemmican, but I like the teriyaki flavor.

[Yadda]

Wild Bill's Jerky is the best IMHO after trying tens of diferent commercial brands.

[scoopG]

I am fond of New Beef King in Manhattan's Chinatown. They feature several types of beef jerky and do mail order:

http://www.newbeefking.com/products.html

[ipsedixit]

Ditto this rec.

Some of their jerky is so well-seasoned it borders on tasting like bbq.

[chocabot]

what variety do you guys recommend?

[scoopG]

Wet Spicy Pork Jerky, Wet Spicy Beef Jerky and Dried Curry Beef Chunks are my favorites.