In my earlier blog entries, you might recall that in the mid 80’s is where my beef jerky business started. Back then, you had two types of beef jerky. Wrapped, pieces of jerky individually wrapped for freshness and sanitary distribution and handling. And, unwrapped jars of beef jerky or beef sticks exposed in a glass jar or plastic container. Now lets compare the two, as stated above for the reasons of freshness and sanitary concerns wrapped beef jerky was in a league of its own. As opposed to unwrapped beef jerky where you can taste the jerky by just looking at it, and selling the jerky and was only a touch away. But which one sold better? Always without doubt the winner back then was the unwrapped Jerky, why? I think it goes to looking at a fresh baked cookies, or donuts. Who would prefer donuts in a sealed plastic bag not really knowing how long it has been on a shelf, or donuts in a glass case for everyone to see. My point exactly, but dispensing beef jerky in this kind of environment did not come without challenges. Drying beef jerky was always a problem, especially in the southwest. Nobody liked a shriveled dryer than usual jerky, also on beef sticks you would notice salt migrating to the surface, like white dots if it sat too long. Or the opposite of dried moist, too moist, yes moldy. Not very appetizing! I am glad to report most jerky today is sold commercially speaking in a vacuumed sealed bag or with little to no air in the packaging process. But the good old days, a lot could be said about unwrapped product. Yes it had its problems, but to smell a freshly displayed product, the aroma would fill the air, a paradise of spices and smoked flavor. Thinking back to the days of jerky in a jar, you could see the holes punched into the meat as this was the way volumes of beef were smoked on a string or wire in the smoke house. Flavors like teriyaki; peppered and natural style was always something I never tired of smelling. Just a trip into yesterday, by the Beef Jerky Guy! Glad you came along.

It’s hard to believe, but another year has come and gone. Now that we are in the gift giving season perhaps instead of the traditional gifts, try something different! How about a beef jerky subscription ? Think about the look on the beef jerky enthusiast that he or she is going to get a 3 month, 6 month or even a year of beef jerky delivered to their door month after month. The gift that keeps on giving, different flavors, different styles, makes going to your mail box a whole lot more pleasurable again. Let’s compare buying the traditional gifts, like a tie, or wallet, or cologne or perfume. All nice gifts, but some might say this might lack imagination, or originality. And please if somebody on your gift list needs a tie, or wallet as these are nice gifts. And remember it’s better to give than receive, right? And it’s not like big retail outfits do not sell thousands upon thousands of these type of items, and they do, and will continue to do so, but what if we think outside the box.

We already discussed about the monthly programs, like Jed’s Jerky of the Month Club, but every month your gift recipient continues month after month getting another installment of your gift. Plus, every time they receive a shipment they could think of the person who gave them this unique and thoughtful gift. And unlike that tie that needs to be dry cleaned, jerky on the other hand is good, and wholesome a snack. So the next time you are thinking about the person that has it all, do they??? Perhaps a monthly Beef Jerky club is something they were not expecting. At Jed’s Jerky .com we are always wanting to improve the customer experience, and with Jed’s Jerky club it’s one more program that promotes the idea of different flavors and different styles. And the biggest reason of all??? When you order your monthly program, it will not take you a hour to find a parking space at the Mall! Thanks for reading!

The Jerky Guy.

Adults are not the only ones that are watching what they eat these days. National polls show that an alarmingly high percentage of children are overweight, many considered obese. More and more parents are keeping close tabs on what their little ones are snacking on after school and on the weekends. Beef Jerky is one the most popular and fastest growing snack foods and with good reason: it is a low fat, high protein snack that offers a healthy snack alternative for people of all ages. Oftentimes when a new healthy snack hits the market the excitement is short lived because they tend to taste healthy and therefore is not a satisfying snack or there is a limited choice of flavors so it is easy to grow tired of eating the same old thing. This is not the case with Jerky and other dried meat snack foods. The flavors can range from sweet and tangy to hot and spicy and everything in between, allowing you to find just the right combination of bold flavors for your taste buds and healthy ingredients for your body.
I don’t care how healthy a between-meal snack is, if the taste is not there then I may try it once, but I will not incorporate it into my diet. Black Pepper Jerky and Teriyaki Jerky are two of the most popular flavor choices available today, but more and more choices are being introduced as many manufacturers are selling their Jerky online and able to reach a wider client base. On average, Jerky snacks have a very low fat content (most are 3 percent or less) and no sugar (unless you go for the Teriyaki or Honey Bar B Q flavors).
Even if you are not a red meat eater, you can still find a Healthy Jerky snack that is right for your diet and enjoyable for your palate. In addition to Turkey Jerky, there are plenty of other exotic meat choices, some of which may surprise you. There is buffalo, elk, venison, ostrich, and kangaroo just to name a few. Some manufacturers even offer alligator jerky (I would not want to be the person in charge of wrangling in one of them ‘gators!). I know it sounds like it would be tough and flavorless, but it is actually quite tasty. Just because one decides to be a healthy snacker, that does not mean you cannot be adventuresome when it comes to the snacks you eat.

Steady growth of Ecommerce (as online purchasing is often referred to) as well as the increasing popularity of low-carb, high protein snacks has catapulted the sales of Beef Jerky and other dried meat snack foods in recent years.  The repeat business enjoyed by this particular food industry has generated growing revenues and profits and is showing no signs of slowing any time soon.  It used to be that most Jerky purchases were impulse buys made by the unsuspecting shopper who is in line at the super market stuck behind one of those dinosaurs I like to call check writers.  You thought you had a hankering for some dried beef, but really you just made the mistake of going grocery shopping before eating a proper lunch and, in a moment of weakness, you let your hunger undermine your budget.
That was the past.  While many of us continue to make unwise trips to the market when our belly is growling, the vast majority of Beef Jerky consumers are making deliberate and brand loyal purchases.  Harry and David along with other leaders in mail order fresh produce game has helped to remove the stigma attached to received food goods via the mail box or delivery person.  It is no longer unusual to order Gourmet Jerky from an online distributor from out of state, across the country or even internationally.  The stuff you will find at the local grocery store is pricey due to the high cost of overhead as well as the middle man fee from the store and possibly even the delivery guy.  This is another reason why there is so much repeat business generated from online sales.
The current economic crisis and credit crunch has caused even the most liberal spender to reconsider frivolous purchases and to be more creative in the hunt for bargains.  Ordering direct from the manufacturer via the World Wide Web is one ways savvy consumers have found to save money without having to deny themselves simple pleasures such as a freshly opened bag of Teriyaki Jerky.  You would be surprised what one positive purchasing experience can do for an internet-based Jerky retailer.  The absence of unreasonable shipping costs or a pleasant customer services experience or even a swift delivery could be difference from a one-time customer to life-long loyal customer.  Jed’s Jerky is committed to keeping its online customers satisfied and coming back for more.  Tell a friend!

Jerky is one of the fastest growing snack items in the foodservice snack industry.  It is a high protein snack food that is much healthier than the artificially sweetened or sugar filled candy nonsense that many kids love to devour but parents hesitate to allow.  Many weight conscious Americans are trying various low-carb diets and Beef Jerky is perfect snack for someone who is trying to avoid eating too many carbohydrates.  The South Beach Diet and the ever controversial Atkins diet have many so-called health conscious people stocking up on one of the most popular snack foods ever invented.  Sales continue to soar for Beef Jerky manufacturer all over the world and I know from first-hand experience that it is difficult to turn down that tasty stack and it often ends up in my basket as an impulse buy.
It isn’t just the big name brands that are benefitting from all the new protein-intensive diet trends that have swept the nation.  Small, independent Jerky manufacturers are getting extra attention as well, and for good reason: a wider selection of gourmet flavors.  A farmer’s market could be a great place to discover some really tasty Jerky made locally and at a great price.  The internet is also becoming a hot spot for all kind of fantastic Jerky treats, and not just regular old Beef Jerky either.  There are plenty of exciting and exotic choices available online.  You could order Turkey, Ostrich, Salmon or any number of other non-traditional smoked meat treats.  Most Jerky has fat content of less than 3% which makes it a guilt free snack for a nation that is constantly under scrutiny for its out of shape citizens.
According to the Snack Food Association, sales of meat snacks grew over 30% in the 2000 and that number is rising steadily.  It is no surprise that almost every other checkout stand and end cap has at least one type of dried meat snack choice, whether that be Teriyaki Beef Jerky, Sausage style Meat Sticks, or those mysterious looking reddish nugget things.  A big part of Jerky’s long standing success as a snack food is due to its versatility.  It could be a quick snack between meals, a nutritious energy boost during a long strenuous activity (like fishing haha), or even as a meal in and of itself if you are on a road trip, at a ball game, or just hanging out on the couch.

How did I get my name you might ask? Well that’s easy, back in the day when my first business was to distribute Beef Jerky to Convenience stores, around the Mid-80’s. My primary territory was the greater Phoenix, and southern Arizona, the brand was Polley’s Beef Jerky.  So the best way that the managers of the various convenience stores, and small markets was to coin the phrase the “Jerky Guy”. Oh, look the Jerky guy is here, the average call back to a store that was getting serviced, was about 2 weeks.  For this reason it was better to refer to a person by the products they carried. Glad I did not distribute janitorial supplies, or personal items, no wonder what the nick name would have been!  So even today if you call me, “hey jerky guy”, chances are out of reflex, I will turn around to see. So back in the mid-80’s beef jerky was semi-popular, it was in most stores, and was most popular with men between the ages of 18 to 30. This does not mean that children or women did not enjoy, it was just more popular with the age group. Beef Jerky did not really take off until the Mid-90’s when a particular diet went ballistic! People discovered the low carb benefit of Jerkey.  People also discovered in bigger numbers how satisfying and how convenient beef jerky as a quick snack. But lets get some more background.  The Polleys beef jerky product line up was pretty extensive we had Natural Beef Jerky, to Beef Sticks, to Pepperoni sticks, to Premium Beef Jerky.  Interesting to note, in that day bag jerky was in my perspective was a very small portion of the overall business, most was unwrapped and was usually in glass jars.  But this was not good for keeping the product fresh. Look for my next exciting blog, where we will dive in deeper to the product development of what is called the beef jerky business.

~ The Jerky Guy ~

The great debate, natural or chopped and formed beef jerky.  Before we get into comparisons, let’s examine both.  What is Natural Style?  What is Chopped and Formed?  Well let break it down, the title really gives it away.  Natural style is exactly that, natural, meaning strips of beef naturally cut for a Natural style.  As apposed or opposite would be Chopped and Formed, meaning the beef product is ground down into a formula that can be formed because of the small pieces and adjoined together for a shape that is desired.  Now you might think that I oppose chopped and formed, but that would not be true.  Just like my taste for a hot dogs or hamburgers, it depends on my mood, and my pocket book.  The reason is mostly cost, and for that reason I do not oppose Chopped and Formed Jerky.  But it’s my belief that when making a top rated beef jerky, you need to use quality beef.  So on a quality position, Natural style always wins, and has always been our policy when making our Jedidiah’s Beef Jerky.  How can you make a world famous product by not using the best beef and the best quality ingredients?

That does not mean that chopped and formed jerky does not sale.  And for the reasons stated above, mainly price, there is a place in the market for such a product.  And for the same reason more hot dogs and hamburgers out sale Porterhouse steaks.  But if you really want an experience that sets apart the normal, run of the mill meat snack try Natural style Beef Jerky!

Let’s face it folks, you can buy Jerky almost anywhere, but for the same reason you might drive a little further, or crave a particular culinary delight, remember this, not all beef jerky is the same! Again, if you want to learn more, please read my blog on Brisket.

Jedidiah’s makes the finest beef jerky you will find anywhere. Our jerky is made from the finest cuts of beef and the best time tested recipes that will keep you coming back for more. Once you try Jed’s Private Reserve, you’ll never want anything else! Shop Now!

Jedidiah’s makes the finest beef jerky you will find anywhere. Our jerky is made from the finest cuts of beef and the best time tested recipes that will keep you coming back for more. Once you try Jed’s Private Reserve, you’ll never want anything else! Shop Now!