Jeff’s Finest Jerky, Tender & Delicious In 14 Flavors
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Please note that the line has changed significantly since this article was originally published, with a re-branding from Jeff’s Famous Jerky to Jeff’s Finest Jerky, and a different assortment of flavors. We did a partial revision of the original article in June 2026. Hey there, jerky lovers: June 12th is National Jerky Day. America’s consumption of meat snacks has increased by 18% over the past five years, according to recent data from The NPD Group, a market research company. And America wants more of this high protein, low-fat, grab-and-go snack that’s naturally gluten-free*. Some jerky brands have topped our Top Pick Of The Week pedestal before, but they are few and far between. Even small-batch artisan brands can be too tough for us, and/or leave remnants of gristle. Not so with Jeff’s. Each variety we tried was melt-in-your-mouth tender, with exquisite flavor. When you can say jerky has exquisite flavor, you know you’ve hit the motherlode. Below: > Jeff’s Jerky overview and varieties. Elsewhere on The Nibble: > The year’s 25+ beef holidays. > The year’s 90+ snack holidays. Jeff’s Finest Jerky, of Mission Viejo, California deserves to be famous, its former name. Bacon or beef, the meats are marinated in deep, layered marinades. The beef jerky has lower sodium than most brands, with no added MSG or nitrates. The bacon jerky has less sodium than pan-fried bacon. The only caveat with jerky in general is that it’s high in sodium (don’t buy it for anyone on a salt-restricted diet). But it’s almost fat free, and it’s solid protein: One ounce has about 23% of one’s daily value of protein. We don’t like hard, overly chewy jerky. Jeff’s is so tender and tasty, you can bring it to the dinner table and pair it with fine foods. Jeff’s makes a variety of delicious, tender jerky varieties. You can buy individual packages or a build-your-own box. The flavors are variously spicy, sweet, hot, and combinations thereof. More importantly, they are clean, clear and natural, beautifully layered to imbue the meat with complex flavors. All are hormone-free, without added MSG or preservatives, made from American meats. Beef Jerky Varieties Single-flavor packages are available, as are 12-packs, custom-mixed packs, and gift packs. > Discover the line at JeffsFinestBeefJerky.com. The word jerky comes from the Quechua language of the Incas, who called their dried meat “charqui.” But they were hardly the first people to make it. Neither were Homo sapiens, we can deduce. Homo erectus emerged 1.5 million years ago, and evidence found five years ago in a South African cave suggests Homo erectus that built campfires. The remains of animal bones and plant ash could be dated to a million years ago. [source] By the time Homo sapiens emerged, 195,000 years ago, man had been enjoying barbecue, and by extension jerky, for some time. Drying food is one of the first three food preservation techniques, along with salting and, in northern climes, packing with snow in ice caves or cellars. Meat dried over a smoky fire is protected from egg-laying insects and multiplying bacteria (they need moisture to live). Cutting it into thin strips makes it easier to chew. |
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All the fat is trimmed from the meat because fat doesn’t dry. The dried meat could (and can) then be stored for long periods of time without refrigeration. While the prehistoric method of drying the meat was used by other ancient peoples, it was not known in Europe. The first visitors to the New World found Native Americans making jerky† from the meat of any animal they hunted (that which wasn’t consumed immediately). In addition to helping early colonists stave off starvation, later pioneers who headed west quickly learned to make jerky. It was easy to transport, and was an important, high-protein addition to their diet. The meat for jerky could be anything from buffalo to whale. Today jerky can be found in proteins as common as turkey, tuna and salmon, to exotics such as alligator and ostrich. Today’s jerky eaters have the luxury of enjoying it as a snack rather than a necessity. We also have the pleasure of using tender cuts of meat marinated in a variety of spices, salt and/or sugar—seasonings that were not available to most ancients jerky-makers. Modern jerky is dried in low-heat smokers, as opposed to the ancient technique of hanging strips of meat racks to dry in the hot sun. (The campfire could hold only so much.) If your only experience with jerky has been dry and tasteless jerky, you deserve some of the good stuff. ________________ *Some brands or flavors within brands may use soy sauce or other glutinous ingredient in the marinade. †The pemmican you may have read about in tales of early America was dried meat mixed with dried berries and rendered animal fat. It was invented by Native Americans and used extensively by immigrants in the fur trade. Many years later, it served as a high-calorie food for Arctic and Antarctic explorers such as Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen. CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM. |
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