Oh Boy Oberto Original and Hickory Jerky!

The folks over at the Kent based Oh Boy! Oberto Jerky company were nice enough to send us a ton of Jerky products to review, and we are happy to announce we'll be covering plenty of Jerky in the next few weeks.  We're going to work our way up the ladder from their basic Jerky producs to some of their newer offerings in the next few weeks. :)

To start with we're going to cover Original and Hickory, two staples of any Jerky line.  Made out of lean beef, smoked, and seasoned this is a snack I immediately get whenever we're going to be on the road for a while.  These treats come in really eye catching packaging, with a nice warm color scheme of reds and oranges and a see through section in the center so you can look at the tasty strips of jerky.  The resealable nature of these bags is awesome too, I could immagine eating these throughout the day on a hike.  The smoky, semi sweet aroma that greets you when you open a bag is seriously mouth watering on these.

The Original variety of Oh Boy Oberto! Jerky is simple in flavor with a mildly salty and smoky theme.  They have a bold meaty flavor with mild sweet accents in between bites and aren't too chewy.  The strips are decently sized and the texture of these is pleasant.  Its their flagship and its solid.  I let my sister try these(being uninitiated to the jerky world) and to my surprise she kept poking into the office to get another strip. :)  That was a good sign, if any.

The Hickory variety offers a subtle variation on the Original, using a different smoke using Hickory wood.  The difference is quite noticeable, with the strips having a meaty start with a sweet (and delicious) aftertaste after each bite.  I loved the little salty to sweet adventure that I had every time I took a bite of the hickory strips.  The difference is subtle but delicious nonetheless.

We think these initial two flavors were delicious, and recommend you give these a try if you're gaming, on the road, or need a portable snack for any occasion.  Full body flavor with portable resealable packaging, and packed full of protein.  What more could you ask for?  :)

Buy this snack! :)

Pan's Mushroom Jerky!

We first heard about Pan's Jerky via one of our readers that pointed us to their twitter account. The whole idea of this jerky really called out to us thanks to its definitely plausible concept.

I mean, mushrooms in general have been used to make plenty of very good meat substitute products (As a non vegetarian, I can attest to the yumminess): Portobello burgers, Chik'n products and more. They were nice enough to send us
some samples to review.

For some back-story about this product, this Mushroom Jerky recipe is a family recipe from the island of Borneo, Malaysia that's been prepared for 15 years by the Pan family. The recipe was recently brought over to the US, and we can happily say that it impressed all of us. There was some skepticism about how close to a beef jerky experience this variety would come, but we were pleased by the result.

If presented out of bag, you really cannot tell that this is a vegetarian product. The color, texture and general look are really reminiscent of any other beef jerky. This can probably be attributed to the usage of the mushroom stems to make this jerky. Their fibrous, meat like texture lends itself really well to making it fit in as a Jerky.

This jerky is damn good, with a tough consistency that is very easily chewed. There are a few things I noticed about this flavor wise off the bat: It’s more sweet than salty, and it has quite a pleasant aftertaste. The jerky also has a mildly moist quality to it, unlike most other dry jerkies. This could be thanks to the palm oil used in its preparation. I really enjoyed that aspect, because unlike other jerky products I wasn't reaching for a glass of water every few minutes.

The oddly appealing mix of mildly salty and sweet flavors kept us reaching into the bag until there was none left. We give this jerky a resounding awesome for pulling off a delicious vegetarian jerky that has the right mix of elements to appeal to any meat lover(Myself included!). Two thundering thumbs up for waaaaaay exceeding our expectations. Link below for purchasing a bag of this goodness($3.99!)

-Sirio & Rachael

Buy this snack! :)

Ostrim Natural Beef & Ostrich Stick!

These ostrim snack sticks are a product I ran into at a smoothie store a few weeks back. Not knowing what to expect I picked one up simply out of the label saying it contained ostrich. They're decently sized, perfectly snack sized for a mid day craving for something a little meatier. They resemble a pepperoni stick and come in an eye catching gold wrapper.

In terms of flavor I had no idea what to expect, but upon first bite the first thing I noticed is the lack of that typically greasy, gristly flavor that alot of beef/snack sticks tend to possess. It has more of a nice, firm texture with a spicy bite and really nice hints of garlic and seasoning that make it quite delicious. It has a nice, strong meaty taste, and the ostrich contributes an interesting albeit different and more beefy flavor. Another thing thats great is that these are 96% fat free and have no preservatives/nitrates, and actually taste waay better than most grocery/convenience store offerings. I'd definitely reccomend these for any snack stick/jerky lover out there. Amazing flavor, the exotic meat flavor and great seasoning make this a must try.

They're a little harder to find in stores, but are readily found online. Theres lots of other Ostrim flavors too! Teriyaki, Pepper and BBQ varieties are also available.

Buy this snack :)