There is a bar in Austin that does housemade jerky and less than a half mile away there is a cat bar. So close enough.

Sup with all the Krave hate? Love that ****. That Pineapple Orange and Sweet Chipotle

Krave astroturfers are everywhere. If only they put as much time, energy, and money into making an edible product as they do towards paid reviewers and shills.

Aug: this excellent SF bar does jerky pairings and beer/shot/jerky combos: http://thirdrailbarsf.com/jerky/

Mullen: I got a pack a couple weeks ago just to make sure I wasn't remembering wrong. Nope, that krave crap is terrible!

I've had beef jerky at quite a few thai restaurants and it's always been fantastic.
it's not really as dry as traditional jerky, but it's close and it's delicious.

Jerky lovers,



Big John’s: ordered 4x1/2 lb - original, bbq, mango jalapeño, teriyaki. Asked them to send two of them fatty, they picked original and mango jalapeño. So far have tried the original and teriyaki. Flavor on both is great, but I love the smoky peppery flavor of the original. And the slightly juicier fatty version (it’s a small difference, still very much traditional jerky) is definitely the way to go. Really looking forward to the mango jalapeño. Great stuff, thanks for the rec, lance! I got a special that was like $37 for 4 1/2lb bags.

Chops: if you like moist, tender jerky, this is the stuff. It’s made from brisket, and it’s almost like eating seasoned tender beef rather than jerky. Read amazon reviews - they describe the tender texture perfectly. The teriyaki flavor is way too sweet, it was like eating beef candy. Still tasty tho! From the reviews it sounds like original is v sweet too, and the sweet/spicy and red chili pepper flavors are better. Expensive at $24 for 4x 2.75oz bags. But a must-try if you like moist, tender jerky.

Golden island pork jerky: just had a little of this so far. Pretty good stuff, good flavor and just slightly moister than traditional texture. Will have to revisit and eat more to decide how much I really like this.

True: hipster jerky rec’d by dbz. Decent texture, but not great. A little too dry at times. Korean bbq and Thai chili flavors were good with a nice kick of heat. Original and honey bourbon flavors not good. Very expensive at $16 for 3x2.25oz pack or $7/single. Would not recommend getting.

Krave: garbage

dbz,

BURN!

27,

It does have the best packaging by far, and includes a floss pick!

Edit: I mean, it’s not bad jerky at all. And the Korean bbq flavor is quite tasty. But at that price it would need to be great to recommend it.

I got a little 3 oz bag of Krave chili lime in my Amazon instant order a few weeks ago, it was on sale for 2 bucks. Ok but not life-changing.

Btw if Krave is really the ideal beef jerky, they should call it Plato's Krave .

Like other things beef, my favorite value jerky is the Kirkland's steak strips from Costco.

I'm going to order some Big John's. If your jaw isn't exhausted after eating it, you should just eat a steak instead. imo.

Tx,

Big John’s is perfect imo if you like that type of jerky. It’s not the super dry kind like the old school Texas rawhide jerky, but it’s still real traditional beef jerky. Only difference is it’s cut into narrower strips than I expected, but I actually like that.

You might prefer the regular variety instead of asking for the fatty version. As I wrote, it’s not a big difference. The fatty version comes from the more marbled roasts they get, and it’s just slightly softer and richer.

$37 for 4x.5lb seems like a good deal. I don't see a deal that good at the moment - guess i'll try to join the mailing list or something.

Edit: it's only $39 for the same right now so I guess no promo needed

I signed up for Sumojerky a couple months ago. It's a subscription that sends you a couple bags of jerky each month. Its not cheap per bag, but it's cool because they source from hundreds of small, independent manufacturers and you can let them know your preferences re: heat and dietary requests.

Jerky lovers,

The golden island pork jerky is really good. It’s moister and more tender than regular jerky, but still has a lot of bite to it and very much qualifies as traditional jerky. This Korean bbq flavor is very flavorful but sweeter than I’d prefer, however they have a number of more savory flavors like grilled bbq, sriracha, Kung pao, etc. I’ll definitely try some of the other flavors. This was $14/14oz on amazon (I imagine prob even lower at Costco), definitely would recommend this stuff at that price. Thanks for the rec, everlastr!

Another option is to find a local meat shop and sausage processor. They won't have the commercial stuff for sale, but many often do their own stuff in-house and would have both the thin and thick cut jerky.

There is a place in Burton that I have hit often when running between Houston and Austin. I had originally found them when I went to the source for their summer sausage.

Side bonus was being able to get venison during deer season since some of it will find its way into the case for sale...I don't care to hunt Bambi, but I don't mind cooking and eating venison...

El D,

Glad to know Krave has continued to be an overpriced, terrible product after many years on the shelf. lol at anyone buying that garbage.

Mullen,

I didn’t actually have Krave in this group. I just wanted to remind people it’s garbage.

Not sure how accessible it is outside Texas but beef jerky from Buc-ee’s is amazing.
I’m used to salty smoked beef from the Balkans so most beef jerky in US tends to be too sweet for my taste. The beef jerky from Buc-ee’s is the only one I have actually enjoyed eating so far. Also they have a lot of choices!

Buc ee's in general is amazing.

A few years back, when Jack Link's was sponsoring the WSOP they had a promo where if you made quad jacks they would have a guy in the bigfoot costume bring you like a duffel bag full of jerky or something crazy.

I had a solid stack in the main, opened JJ and got shoved on by a shorty with aces. It was a totally standard call and I hit a set on the flop.

On the turn and river the guy is standing up screaming for an ace so I started calling for my jerky jack. It ran out blank blank, and afterwards everyone at the table was telling me how cold I was calling for quads there but **** it man, I wanted that jerky.

I've been eating Big John's for years and it's my go-to jerky when I'm not in a phase where I want to try a bunch of different brands.

Fiery bbq and black pepper garlic are solid choices, the other flavors have always disappointed me a bit.

The fatty version is not for me at all, though the random pieces with a small bit ofat on them in the regular version is always a good surprise. It's like the random super flavored potato chip.

On the suggestions from this thread, I ordered some of the Big John's...it arrived yesterday. Went through the original today...far more flavor (and heat) than I expected from 'original' and can easily see myself ordering again.

Also got a package each of the Sriracha and the Teriyaki. Have not opened those yet...

Michelle,

I’m sorry to break it to you - you’re going to be quite disappointed in the teriyaki. But damn, that original flavor sure is good!

BBQ best big John flavor IMO. Fatty > regular but y'all know this already.