Riteway Meat Company - Pepperoni Tid-Bits

The cool thing about the Internet is that it lets us city-slicker geek types gain access to junk food found exclusively in the rural areas of America's back country.

That is, if someone in the rural area of America's back country is set up for e-commerce.

Riteway Meat Company is one such entity. Basically a butcher shop serving local ranchers and hunters in the small town of Dundee, OR. They sell beef jerky and other meat snacks though their website. Junk foodies like me living in the suburbia of Southern California can now enjoy processed meat munchies the way real, honest-to-God, down to earth folks make it, without having to drive a thousand miles to get there.

Actually, I didn't buy these Pepperoni Tid-Bits. They sent it to me for free, after I ordered a few packages of their beef jerky. I didn't tell them that I publish food blogs, so maybe they're just really hospitable, friendly, country folks. Anyways, I figured I had to return the favor by giving them some free pub here on JFB.

These do have the flavor of pepperoni, but a little more mild than what I'm accustomed to getting from atop of pizza or italian sub sandwich. They're quite flavorful, rather salty, and smoky. They don't have any of the papery chewing texture that a Slim Jim has, but rather quite sausage-like.




These "tid-bits" are named such because Riteway sells a longer variety, at 5 feet in length. You actually buy it that long.

So I'm guessing these tid-bits are like the ends they chop off after measuring out 5 feet of meat rope.

The size and shape of these Pepperoni Tid-Bits are quite comparable to a package of Little Smokies, except these are a little more stiff. I think they'd still do quite well simmering in a Crock Pot of BBQ sauce, or cooking in a pan of beans.

Riteway prices a package of tid-bits at $8.99 a pound. The package depicted above weighed 0.68 pounds, for a price of $6.11.

I recommend a lightly flavored pale ale, or a cream ale, to go with these.

Visit Riteway Meat Company online...

http://ritewaymeat.com

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Snack Patrol - Cheese Jerky

The words "cheese jerky" might conjure up images of hardened, chewy cheese, but in fact it's just soft and smooth mozzarella string cheese, but with bits of beef jerky mixed in.

The novel new cheese snack is produced by Snack Patrol, a business based out of Glendale, WI. It's headed up Ross Segel, the guy who came up with the idea, and perfected it after several attempts.

The perfection is in reference to a manufacturing process that allows him to incorporate the beef jerky bits but while maintaining the string cheese's stringiness. Apparently, previous attempts resulted in the string cheese breaking up into bits.

The resulting product is a 93% cheese, 7% beef jerky combination.

Ross sent me samples of his product, which included his "Original" and "Black pepper" varieties. Sure enough, I did find the taste of beef jerky in this cheese in both varieties, but I got a stronger flavor in the Peppered. The Peppered is actually pretty darn good.

In fact, it might be worth shredding this stuff up and making macaroni cheese out of it. Or even topping it on popcorn.

And yes, I was still able to pull off strings with this stuff, though the strings still tended to break off when I hit upon a beef jerky bit. You'll need to pull off thicker strings. Or, just bite off chunks instead.

But it's pretty good cheese too. Ross says he gets the cheese from a local artisan cheese maker.


Right now, sticks of Cheese Jerky are available in convenience stores throughout the upper Mid-West. It doesn't look like you can buy them online yet, but considering it's something that needs to be kept refrigerated, it might be problematic to ship this stuff out to consumers.

Anyways, I wrote a more detailed review on my Beef Jerky Blog...
http://www.bestbeefjerky.org/2009/02/snack-patrol-cheese-jerky.html

Otherwise, visit Cheese Jerky online at:
http://www.getsnackpatrol.com/

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Buffalo Bills Long Shots Beef Sticks

Meat snacks have been my favorite snack food for a long time, as evidenced by my Beef Jerky review blog. So as I've been writing that blog, beef jerky companies have sent me lots of free jerky to write about, and in addition, beef sticks.

I never created a blog just for beef sticks, and didn't really want to mix them into my beef jerky blog, so I've been writing about them here on Junk Food Blog.

These "Long Shots" are from Buffalo Bills, a meat snack brand based out of Lebanon, PA.

Beef sticks seem to take up the "dark side" of meat snacks compared to beef jerky, which the industry has managed to paint in a healthier light as being low fat, and low carb. But beef sticks are like sausage, where you love to eat them, but don't want to know what goes in 'em.

Part of the bad rap that beef sticks, in my opinion, comes from the God-awful Slim Jims. How that brand ever got to be #1 in the beef stick market is beyond me. Honestly, they're like chewing wads of toilet paper, but with a meaty flavor.

These "Long Shots" from Buffalo Bills are perhaps the closest thing they have to a Slim Jim in that they're a the same thin and long shape, and they seem to have a similar "toilet paper" chewing texture, except I think Buffalo Bills has managed to shred the toilet paper into a finer pulp for easier chewing.

And these are beef sticks, not meat sticks, in that they only use cattle carcass.


Buffalo Bills offers several varieties of beef sticks, in fact I reviewed their "Extra Smokies" on this blog, and found those to be very good. Very meaty, very smoky, with some slight chocolatey notes, and chews very similarly to hard salami. If you're looking for a good beef stick, try those.

But if you're someone who just really likes Slim Jims, then you might want to check out these Long Shots, I think they're a tad better than Slim Jims.

Otherwise, get those Extra Smokies instead.

Visit Buffalo Bills online at: http://www.choochoorsnacks.com/

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Buffalo Bills Extra Smokey Beef Sticks

If you haven't already tried these Extra Smokey Beef Sticks from Buffalo Bills, you might wanna. They're are indeed "extra" smokey.

They have a great smokey flavor to them, and a somewhat spicy flavor as well, though I don't see anything in the ingredients list suggesting anything spicy. This even has some slight chocolatey notes to it, perhaps indicating something roasted, I dunno.

Unlike other meat sticks, these are very meaty. I mean, it's almost like eating a stick of salami, where you can see the meat fibers pulling away as you bite off a piece. In fact, this has a rather dry taste to it, kinda like salami.


My only "beef" with these beef sticks is they're rather salty. They're not too bad in the first several bites, but when you towards the end, the salt wears me down. I need some swigs of drink, and about 10 minutes of rest, before attacking another stick.

But mind you, these are beef sticks for real beef stick lovers. They're extra thick, the same width as a wine bottle cork, and about five inches in length. They might actually make a great cure for a hangover.

Comparison

I brought a bag of these beef sticks to a get-together that my friends and I attended last weekend. It was at the Long Shadow Ranch Winery in Temecula, where they have a "bonfire" every Saturday night. Another friend brought several sticks of Slim Jims in a variety of flavors.

I handed out these Buffalo Bills, and people thought they were pretty good.

But when they sampled the Slim Jims, they about ralphed. No one else could finish their Slim Jim samples. One guy said it was eating "meat flavored toilet paper". I mean, it actually did feel as if you were eating a chunk of toilet paper (not that I know from experience, mind you).

After the Slim Jims, my friends really loved the Buffalo Bills.

Funny how the best things in life are not readily available. The worst stuff is always easily found at a convenience store, but the better stuff you have to order online. It's just one of those things.

Get your Buffalo Bills Extra Smokeys here...

http://www.choochoorsnacks.com/

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Ole' Smokies Beef Sticks

Ah, the beef stick!

Where would the good ole U S of A be without it?

Where would fishing be without beef sticks? Where would truck driving be without them? What would the Boy Scouts be without them?

I managed to get myself some of these Ole' Smokies Beef Sticks, in this case the Jalapeno Cheese Beef Sticks. These things have pieces of jalapenoes in them making them good and spicy.

Seems like I have to have everything spicy now.

The cheese part was something I had to have at one point in my life, but now it's not important. Instead, it has to be spicy now. I prefer my burgers with jalapeno's on them now. I have to add hot sauce or salsa to my chili. I even sprinkle black pepper on my salads now (I never used to do that).

So I guess having these jalapeno beef sticks is only fitting.

These Ole' Smokies Beef Sticks are made by a company called "Choo Choo R Snacks". They make beef jerky as well, which I have had and found to be pretty good.


That green piece in the beef stick? That's a jalapeno chunk!

Do You Know What's in Them Things?

Every now and then someone warns me that I don't want to know what goes into a beef stick. The fact is that no one really knows what goes into much of the food they eat anyways. How many people buy stuff at an organic food store without reading the nutrition label? They just assume it's all good for them. That's called trust. It's what we all do, whether it's a beef stick or a package of soy jerky.

Most of humanity grew up on scraps. The impoverished folks have always had to settle for the cheaper cuts of meat. Pork ribs was something that was once considered scrap meat, handed off to the blacks, who found a way to barbecue them. And now, everyone wants barbecued pork ribs. Mexicans largely grew up on chorizos, which is the guts and entrails of pigs, ground up into sausage. Now, you can find chorizos on the menu at any upscale Mexican restaurant.

The beef stick is to American junk food as the apple pie is to American desserts, as sunflower seeds are to baseball.

As for those Ole' Smokies Beef Sticks, you can buy them online at Choo Choo R Snacks...

http://www.ccrsnacks.com/

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Win Free Beef Jerky for a Year

House of Jerky announced their video contest, where you can win free beef jerky for a year.

What you do is create a video saying how much you love House of Jerky's jerky, and upload it to their contest site...

http://youtube.com/group/houseofjerkycontest

The top two winners get the free chew.

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Gallo Salame and Provolone Cheese Snack

I had the munchies late last night, and like a bad boy I found myself rummaging through the refrigerator, and found this package of Gallo Salame & Provolone Cheese Snack.

My wife bought it months ago. I don't know what plans she had for it. Sometimes she buys stuff just because she thinks I might like it. She's all too familiar with Junk Food Blog, and knows that I need material for it.

My first thought was, "I don't feel like having a sandwich". But then an idea hit me, "Who needs bread anyways?"

So I opened up the package, and put a cheese and salami together, folded it over, and voila! A sandwich.

I guess it's similar to having a hamburger without the bun. This is just a "low-carb" salami and cheese sandwich.


The package actually says "Snack Pack", so I feel better that I ate this to satisfy a snacking urge. Even if it was already past midnight.

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Beef Jerky - and a New Focus

I wanted to announce my beef jerky review blog...

http://www.bestbeefjerky.org

There's a long story to why I started this, which also explains the new focus of Junk Food Blog.

When I launched Junk Food Blog, almost immediately companies started sending me samples of their products. These companies were PR firms working for food manufacturers. Mostly they'd send me candies, chewing gum, crackers, chips. Once in a while, I'd get something more substantial, like a coupon for a free hamburger, and sometimes, a bag of beef jerky.

Beef jerky is my favorite snack food. I started wondering, what can I do to get more, for free? Despite having reviewed more beef jerky on Junk Food Blog, I was still getting a lot of candies and chewing gum.

So I launched Best Beef Jerky as a way to encourage beef jerky manufacturers to send me free jerky. I can now eat more of the food I love, for free, publish a blog that will attract a loyal following (albeit a smaller one), and earn a little income from the Google ads.

Hopefully, I can eventually attract enough free beef jerky to get me one bag of jerky each day.

That takes me to the new focus of Junk Food Blog.

I want Junk Food Blog to attract more free food, but not candies and chewing gum. I want stuff more substantial, more coupons for free burgers and sandwiches, gift certificates for restaurants, or just send me a frozen pizza if you can do it. I'll give those products a mention here, along with a photo, and a link to the product's website.

So I'm going to focus on doing more reviews, particularly the "sustantial foods". I'll focus on new products, or obscure products, just like I've done before. I'm going to broaden the scope to include foods that you might not consider "junk", but what I would consider as "snack" or "convenience item". For the most part, you may not notice much difference at all between the new JFB and the old JFB. But now you know about my new focus.

Junk Food Blog has never earned much income for me. I don't have another job to support me, hence I blog for my sustenance. So if this blog can't pay me back for what I put into it, then I can't blog it. On the other hand, if it can feed me, literally, then I'll still do it.

I'm looking down the road and seeing food prices going higher as the price of fuel goes up. I'm seeing the unemployment rate going up. I'm seeing harder times ahead. It may be that food will become as good as money.

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Green Light Beef Jerky

Green Light Jerky Company, based in Redwood City, CA, is a new entry into the world of beef jerky. If you're a fan of thin-sliced jerky, you'll want to take note.

For this review, I'm reviewing three of their flavors, "The Classic", "Pepper Grinder", and "PRD" (Prime Rib Dinner).


Overview

All three of the varieties reviewed here are flavored with soy sauce, onions, vinegar, salt, apple cider, and honey.

The pieces are thinly-sliced into strips of about half-inch to an inch wide, and about three to six inches in length. The texture is more drier than moist, but are still soft enough to bite off chunks easily.

The strips appear to be cuts of real meat.

Green Light says they use no MSG, no nitrates, no liquid smoke, no added sugar, and no thickening agents.

The Classic

The Classic flavor has a mild soy sauce flavor and smell, not very salty, with a very subtle spicy tingle in the back of your throat. That spiciness comes from the guajillo and pasilla chile spices that they sprinkle on.

The beef flavor is still very evident, and there's a slight taste of beef fat.

Pepper Grinder

Pepper Grinder is the same as The Classic, but with ground pepper corns sprinkled on. There's a pretty good amount of pepper there, but not overdone like on some other brands.

It has a very peppery flavor that balances out the soy sauce, and as to be expected, has a medium-degree of spiciness.


PRD (Prime Rib Dinner)

There was a clear scent of thyme when I opened the package of PRD and took a whiff. That's because it's flavored with thyme and horseradish, to emulate eating a cut of prime rib.

And you can definitely taste the thyme and see the pieces of thyme seasoning also.

As for the horseradish, I don't really taste much of it, probably because the thyme seems to overpower it. You figure with horseradish, this variety of jerky will be spicy, but it's not. It's quite mild.

Product Value

Green Light's jerky offerings are priced on the high side, at $10.00 for a 4oz bag, or $5.00 for a 2oz bag. That works out to $2.50 per ounce. Compare that to the $1.00 per ounce average for the garden-variety brands out there. But then again, you're getting a higher quality product here.

My Thoughts

If you consider yourself a beef-jerky afficionado, you'll appreciate the quality and taste of Green Light as I have. The high price-point takes this brand out of the realm of general purpose snacking, but for those times when I want to sit in my back patio and listen to the birds, a 2oz bag of Green Light makes a great companion.

While my personal preference is jerky more moist and sliced a little more thick than Green Light, I still enjoyed sampling these varieties for this review. The "Classic" variety is quite tastier than the regular flavors of other brands.

Visit Green Light Beef Jerky online...
http://www.greenlightjerky.com

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NASCAR Summer Sausage

There's nothing better than sitting in the grand stands of a NASCAR race on a sunny day, watching your favorite driver, sipping down a tall Coke, and buying a big stick of beef from the summer sausage guy.

Except of course when he throws the sausage your way, and ends up wacking another guy in the face. That's when summer sausages start flying across the stands, with lots of expletives and spilled drinks. Not a good sight.

So to remedy this, NASCAR is getting rid of the walking summer sausage vendors, and selling these babies via retail. Now you just buy 'em before the race, and enjoy. No more black eyes!


NASCAR Summer Sausage is produced by Chandler, MN-based Monogram Meat Snacks, LLC, in partnership with NASCAR. They come in three sizes, 5oz, 9oz, and manly sized, 18oz.

They'll be sold at convenience stores.

Visit Monogram Meat Snacks, LLC at...
http://www.tastetheexcitement.com/

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King Cheese - Spicy Sopresatta

For lunch today I decided to eat this spicy sopresatta wrapped in mozzarella cheese. It's sold under the King Cheese brand, and I found it today in the international deli section of my local Albertsons.

It just looked so appetizing, most likely because it was 1:00pm, and I hadn't eaten anything yet.


It comes in a log, which you're supposed to cut into slices. I thought about sticking to my junk food tradition by just grabbing the whole thing and eating it like a Snickers bar, but it's rather greasy.

The mozzarella is very soft and has a smooth creamy texture in my mouth.

The spicy sopresatta is medium in spiciness, very thinly sliced, and gives off a subtle flavor. It's probably more oily than anything, but then again, I'm not an expert in spicy sopresatta.

The cheese itself has a spiciness to it also because its topped with red peppers.

Together it's absolutely delish.

But it's not something you'd eat like a snack, nor eat whole the way I did. You'd probably eat just a couple of slices and share with friends.

In terms of fat, cholesterol, sodium, and carbs, it's not that bad actually. The entire roll is..

560 calories
32gm fat
20mg cholesterol
1,360mg sodium
16gm carbohydrates

There are 8 servings per roll.

I guess I'd call this junk food since I ate the whole roll. But if you eat just one serving you can feel better by calling it an "appetizer".

I paid $6.99 for this at Albertsons. Add a Dr Pepper to wash it down, and it's not too bad of a price for lunch.

Visit King Cheese online at...
http://www.kingcheese.com

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Famous Dave's Beef Jerky

Famous Dave's, well known for his line of BBQ sauces and marinades, has apparently gotten into the beef jerky business.

The Eden Prarie, MN-based manufacturer offers up three varieties...

• Original Recipe - seasoned with Famous Dave's steak and burger seasoning


• Apricot and Bourbon - which I assume is based on the marinade of the same name (describned as a blend of sweet apricots with chipotle peppers for heat and finished with a hint of bourbon for an amazing flavor experience)


• Pork Jerky Seasoned with Rib Rub - which is probably like eating tough pork ribs, but without the bones

Defintely going to have to try the Pork Jerky and the Apricot and Bourbon.

Read reviews of Famous Dave's Beef Jerky here...
http://www.bestbeefjerky.org/search/label/Famous-Daves

Visit Famous Dave's online at...
http://www.famousbbq.com/

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Beef Sausage Snack Bites

These bite-sized beef sausage snacks are quickly becoming my blog meat of choice.

For years, I've relied mainly on beef jerky, but I really like these sausage snacks. I guess it's because it offers my palate a change to my snacking habits. I think another reason why these are so good is because they're cold right out of the refigerator, whereas jerky is room temperature.

Like beef jerky, they're low in carbohydrates, almost nil in fact. But these are much higher in fat, whereas jerky is low in fat and carbs.

The nutrition facts says there are 8 servings in one bag, and each serving contains 9g of fat. I'll eat an entire bag in one day.

But most of time, I'm able to offset some of the fat intake by popping 8-10 of these bite-sized morsels to my dogs, who wait patiently in my office for a handout.

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Jeff Foxworthy Branded Beef Jerky

Monogram Meat Snacks is offering a new line of Jeffy Foxworthy Meat Jerky.

The varieties are:

• Original Beef Jerky
• Peppered Beef Jerky
• Teriyaki Beef Jerky
• Maple Brown Sugar Ham Jerky

They come in 4 oz. (113g) pouches with a reassuring photo of Jeff Foxworthy telling folks it has "Big tender taste."

Made in the USA. Official website.

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Hillshire Farm adds new Chipotle Hot Lit'l Smokies

Hillshire Farm introduced a new variety to its line of Lit'l Smokies cocktail links, "Chipotle Hot Lit'l Smokies".

A perfect companion for watching television, the new spicy flavored Chipotle Hot variety is sure to get meat lovers reaching for beverage to cool their tongues.

Now available at grocery stores nationwide, they have a retail price of $3.99 each.

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Smoke Stack Snack Sticks Flavors

Smoke Stack Snack Stick and Cheese from Old Wisconsin Food Products company are offering new varieties of their popular meat snacks that combine convenient shelf stable cheese and beefsticks.

New flavor combos include:

• Beef Sausage & Cheddar Cheese
• Turkey Sausage & Swiss Cheese
• Beef Sausage & Jalapeno Cheese

Sticks are 2.75 ounces and gluten free. Retail price is $2.99.

Look for them at convenience store locations, grocers and drug stores.

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Harley Davidson Beef Jerky

ConAgra Foods announced yesterday that it signed a multi-year licensing agreement with Harley-Davidson to produce a new brand of beef jerky, dubbed "Harley-Davidson Beef Jerky".

"Tough jerky for tough bikers", I imagine.

Tom Parsons, Harley-Davidson's acting general manager of general merchandise, said that...

Harley riders live for the time they spend on their motorcycles, and beef jerky is a convenient food for the open road. It's a great way for riders to grab a snack and keep on rolling, and we look forward to working with ConAgra Foods to bring this road food to market.

I wonder why Harley-Davidson didn't opt to use "hog" meat instead?

Harley-Davidson Beef Jerky will be available in three flavors, Original, Teriyaki and Pepper, and sold in 3.25-ounce packages. Shipping is expected to begin in January 2007 to convenience stores and authorized Harley-Davidson dealerships.

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Boy Girl Beef Sticks

Gone are the days when fathers handed out cigars in celebration of their new born baby. These days, they hand out sticks of mechanically separated beef.

Actually, I don't really know if these Boy Girl Beef Sticks are from "mechanically separated beef", but considering they're labeled as "beef sticks", I'm guessing they are. Besides, I wouldn't have it any other way!

But since it's no longer politically correct to hand out cancer sticks, handing out sticks of rendered left-overs is perhaps the next best thing to celebrating the miracle of life in a manly way.

You can order a 24-count jar for just $19.95.

Thanks CandyAddict.

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Enjoy the Game Beef Jerky 4 Kids

CorBranz Marketing Group LLC is now offering a new brand of beef jerky marketed to kids.

"Enjoy the Game" is actually the name of a youth sports organization dedicated towards eliminating the self-centered attitudes that dominate youth sports and makes life miserable for coaches and assistants.

CorBranz is partnering with Enjoy the Game to offer this new meat snack. In fact, the two organizations are launching an entire line of snacks and drinks marketed to young athletes called, "Sportables".

The new jerky is made from U.S. raised 100 percent whole muscle beef, and cut into "kid-friendly moist and tender bite sized pieces". It's available in Mild Hickory, Sweet Teriyaki, and Natural Style varieties.

A 2 oz. bag has a suggested retail price of $2.99.

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Tijuana Mama Pickled Sausage

As far as junk food goes, this pickled sausage from Penrose is about a junky as junk food can get. Penrose is a brand of pickled snack foods that's been around for 40 years, and is the industry leader in sales of pickled sausages.


I picked this up at my local AM/PM convenience store. It was sitting right by the check out counter, with the Slim Jims and the travel-sized packs of beef jerky. I decided to try it on for size. The store clerk shuddered in disbelief that I would actually want one of these.

In short, this like a "red hot" but pickled. The ingredients list on this thing says it's made with "mechanically separated chicken", pork, pork hearts, and beef, among the list of flavorings and chemicals.

It was kinda difficult removing this sausage from its package without damaging it. The thing wanted to crumble apart.

Once it was removed, the aroma (or should I say "odor") that permeated from this potent weenie was easily apparent within seconds. It didn't attack your nostrils the same way that a gob of wasabi might do, but it was enough to make you pull your head back.

Taste

The first thing that hits you is the potent and pungent flavor of the pickling juice. It's the same pickling juice they use with pickled eggs, mostly just vinegar and salt, and some paprika, according to the ingredients list.

It's hard to differentiate the taste of the sausage from the taste of the pickling juice. I'm not sure I can taste the sausage.

The label says that this is "300% Hotter". Compared to what? I don't know. These are definitely hot. The first bite won't burn you, it's after the fifth or sixth bite that'll have you waving your hand across your mouth. After eating half the weenie, my tongue is burning, my eyes are getting misty, and my scalp is starting to itch. But I can still eat more.

Quality

If you like pickles with extreme flavor, this has Extreme Flavor. If you like pickled eggs, you'll like this too, it's the same flavor.

The sausage leaves a thick film in the back of your throat, probably mucus as a natural defense against the hot spiciness.

I found it difficult to eat mainly because it kept crumbling apart. It's probably better to tear a hole at the top of the package, and squeeze the weenie out a bite at a time. Otherwise, you'll want a fork because it'll leave an oily-orange residue on your fingers.

Summary

This is definitely not something you'd want to eat on an empty stomach. I actually ate this just having finished a couple burritos from Del Taco. This is probably best as an after-meal snack.

On the snackability factor, one might desire to eat one of these things, but not several of them one right after another. I'd rather just eat one-half, and save the rest for another day. It's kinda like Kim Chi, you want to eat it, but you can only eat a little bit at a time.

I think this will be great in a bowl of chili, but crumbled up into pieces. It's got such intense flavor, that it'll give each spoonful a real kick.

Particulars

Where purchased: AM/PM convenience store
Cost: $1.29 each
Buy it online: JerkySupermarket.com

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