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Maybe you’re a Keto devotee, or perhaps you just like the chewy, satisfying texture of high-protein beef jerky as your quick snack between back-to-back meetings. Either way, beef jerky (the word comes from ch’arki, which an indigenous Andean people used around 1500 to mean dried, salted beef) is everywhere from highway rest stops to fancy artisanal gourmet shops.
To be sure, not all dried meat is jerky (biltong, for instance, is a South African dried beef that’s processed differently) and lots of proteins can be dried and cured—game meat, chicken or turkey, even salmon or soy or even jackfruit.
But there’s something to be said for the old-fashioned smoky-tasting imagine-you're-a-cowboy beef variety. Aside from sliding perfectly into paleo and all iterations of the low-carb diet, meat offers necessary nutrients, says Good Housekeeping’s registered dietician Stefani Sassos, MS, RDN, CSO, CDN. “Meat in general is rich not only in protein, but also in vitamins and minerals such as zinc and iron,” she says. Plus, unlike most protein snacks like hardboiled eggs, cheese or cold cuts, “jerky is a portable, on-the-go protein option that also typically has a long shelf life.” It’s usually made from leaner cuts of beef, which keeps saturated fat relatively low, she says.
Still, you don’t want to make jerky an every-single-day thing, says Sassos. Jerky can be extremely salty (most of us eat almost 50% more sodium than we should each day) and many brands and flavors of jerky have loads of added sugar. Plus, processed, cured meats of any kind (including salami and bacon) may increase your risk of certain cancers, including colorectal cancer, says Sassos.
That said, if you're a jerky person, you are powerless against the cravings. Luckily, Sassos says a jerky break a couple of times a week is fine, although, she favors chicken or turkey jerky because they have even less saturated fat. Whichever jerky you choose, “Aim for 400mg sodium or less per serving,” she says, and be on the lookout for too much added sugar. “I would max out at 8 grams of sugar per serving of jerky, which is the equivalent of two teaspoons.” Grass-fed and organic beef are always a plus, and you should skip synthetic nitrates and MSG. “Take a look at the ingredients list and make sure it includes only ingredients that you can say and pronounce—protein source, seasonings, some salt, but that’s about it! Ingredients that just don’t make sense on the label are high fructose corn syrup or additives,” she adds.
There are dozens of beef jerky brands, and if you want to compare and contrast, there are even subscription boxes (we like Craft Jerky Co, which works with small-batch makers) that’ll send you a curated collection every month. (Who even knew?) Below, some of the best beef jerky brands we’ve found, all of which meet GH's criteria.
1 Umami Beef Jerky
Prevail Beef Jerky prevailjerky.com
$7.99
Testers liked that Prevail had interesting flavors, they weren't so overwhelming. The Umami was chewy (not too hard in texture) and just the right amount of sweet and smoky, while the Lemongrass was subtly in the Thai zone. Also cool: The brand uses 100% grass-fed beef, and coconut sugar (the Original flavor has 4g/serving), which is good for paleo dieters. And for those with allergies and sensitivities, it is also gluten-free, safe for celiac sufferers, soy-free and cane sugar-free too, with no added hormones, no added nitrates or preservatives.
2 Grass-Fed Beef Jerky
Country Archer Provisions countryarcher.com
$5.99
This brand has a bunch of zero-sugar versions of their grass-fed, no MSG, no nitrites or nitrates beef jerkies. This pleased one hard core low-carber, who favored the Classic, but also loved the Mustard BBQ flavor. This brand has a dryer, stringier texture (if that's your jam) and the garlic and spices give it a natural, not chemical taste. And while the Teriyaki had a bit of sugar (5g per serving) the less carb-conscious tasters appreciated the sweet, ginger-pineapple taste.
3 Lime and Serrano Pepper Beef Jerky (pack of 4)
BAJA BEEF amazon.com
$11.99
If you're falling asleep at your desk, one bite of the tasty Lime and Serrano Pepper flavor will have you up and possibly running to the water cooler (it has a heat rating of 7). With only 3 grams of sugar and 11g of protein in its no-added-hormones, no nitrites or nitrates beef, Baja brand is well worth a nosh.
4 Beef Jerky (pound bag)
People's Choice amazon.com
$29.99
With only 3 grams of sugar and 10 grams of protein, People's Choice's Garlic Ginger flavor has a sophisticated natural taste that's not sweet, but is definitely moist. The brand's Carne Seca Limon Con Chile (a zero sugar option), by contrast, is ropey, rustic and tart.
5 Smoked Beef Chipotle Cracked Pepper Jerky
Chef's Cut amazon.com
$8.22
So there's a lot going on with the Chipotle Cracked Pepper flavor here. First of all, it's smokey, but also sweet, but also spicy, but also... that's probably because there's horseradish and molasses and green tea extract on the ingredient list, in addition to some of the usual suspects, and the whole situation is slow smoked. Feels like a meal when you eat it.
6 Grass-Fed Sweet Chipotle Beef Jerky (5 pack)
Think Jerky amazon.com
$20.99
One happy snacker referred to the Sweet Chipotle flavor as "an excellent dessert jerky," because of its relatively sweet taste, and said it had "great flavor, good texture," on the smooth side with a hint of berry. This one does hit Sassos's ceiling for sugar (8g per serving) but with 16 g of protein, it's a yummy trade-off.
7 O.G Hickory Beef Jerky
Righteous Felon Craft Jerky righteousfelon.com
$5.49
This line features cow criminal mug shots on every packet, but our tasters found that the baddest of the bunch was the O.G. Hickory, which was exactly smoky enough with a perfect texture (which kept your mouth busy longer than usual, a plus, according to one tester.)
8 Thinly Sliced Beef (pack of 4)
Kalahari Biltong amazon.com
$29.99
So, biltong looks like jerky and is as easy to toss in your purse as jerky, but it isn't jerky—this South African dried meat is marinated and then air dried, versus smoked or heated and flavored. The result is that it tastes more like meat and less like everything else — simpler, really, but with more protein (32 g per serving!) and no sugar. It is, however, a big salt hit, so you’ll want to cut back elsewhere during your day of eating. Tasters argued over which was better, Garlic or Peri Peri flavor. In the end they took their bags to their corners and finished them.
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The Link Lonk
July 31, 2020 at 05:29AM
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8 Best Beef Jerky Brands 2020 - Healthy Beef Jerky - GoodHousekeeping.com
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