Jack Link’s Original Beef Jerky Review

Jack Link’s Original Beef Jerky I spotted at Walmart while rounding up similar products for review-writing. I’ve since tested a jumbo-sized 6.2 ounce 175 grams bag, and think this beef jerky is pretty darn good. Its smoked beef strips are long, thick, and chewy, while bursting with that classic smokehouse beef flavor. This is a low-fat, low-carb snack food as well. But don’t go crazy eating it, as it still contains considerable sodium as well at nitrites. But for a easy-to-preserve snack food to take to work or on a long trip, Jack Link’s original beef jerky fills the bill. It will not make you sleepy as higher-carbohydrate snacks can, and it’s hard to eat very quickly. This gives your body the chance to realize that it’s getting full before overeating takes place. You have to work a little to eat this food.

Benefits, Pros, Advantages, and Features

This jerky is not as sweet as the Sweet Baby Ray’s original beef jerky that I recently reviewed.
Since these beef pieces are thicker and longer, this food requires more effort to put down. I’d debated about whether to place this trait as an advantage or disadvantage. However, I decided to make this a benefit of this food, since most of us really need to slow down while eating. This beef jerky gives that so-needed opportunity.
This beef jerky is mildly spiced and smoked, which makes its flavor closely resemble beef sticks, as they are processed in largely the same fashion.
This form of preserved beef never requires refrigeration; not even after opening. So it will keep at least a couple years in your pantry prior to the first opening.
Beef jerky is well-known for its longevity under unusually hot conditions, as military soldiers routinely make jerky part of their back pack food rations when heading into battle.
This snack is a cinch to find in just about any store, service station, or other convenience center.
No bone fragments in this snack to crack your teeth. They do a peak job of getting rid of all that unwanted material from the beef.
It has a pleasant, subtle aroma that mirrors the actual taste closely. So smelling these spiced beef pieces indeed moves the mouth to watering, as the scent portends the awesome taste experience to come.
This beef jerky is a low-fat food with just 1 gram of fat per serving, and zero of those grams is saturated fat. It’s also low carb, at 3 grams, and this mesquite-smoked snack is high in protein at 15 grams per serving. It’s a low-fat, low-carb, high-protein taste treat.
No problems resealing the resealable bag were encountered. Sometimes, the zipper part separates from the bag sides, creating a hole that totally nullifies the freshness-retaining effects of this zipper. But not here. All bag components worked well.

Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Concerns

This beef jerky leaves little stringy pieces stuck in the teeth quite often that require flossing or brushing to remove.
After opening, this stays fresh for only three days or so. The instructions say to refrigerate this product if, once opened, you want to keep it fresh for longer than three days.
People typically do not include beef jerky at party buffets, perhaps because it’s so much harder to chew than other more popular foods. I’d appreciate seeing some though.
Store-brands of beef jerky like Jack Link’s is a highly processed snack food with a large list of undesirable food additives, including sugar, monosodium glutamate, and sodium nitrite.
It’s also somewhat high in total sodium at 590 milligrams per serving. This sodium amount qualifies this product as an once-in-a-while-only treat, though its deliciously satisfying beef and spice flavors might entice you to eat it way more. But if you’re working in hot environments, eating this a few times throughout your workday would help replenish your body salt and satisfy your appetite too.

Ingredients

Beef, water, sugar. Less than 2% of salt, corn syrup solids, dried soy sauce (soybeans, salt, wheat), hydrolyzed corn and soy protein, monosodium glutamate, maltodextrin, flavorings, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite.

Contains: wheat and soy.

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 1 ounce, 28 grams. Servings per container: about 6.
Amount per serving: Calories: 80. Calories from fat: 10.
Total fat: 1 gram, 2% DV.
Saturated fat: 0 grams, 0% DV.
Trans fat: 0 grams.
Cholesterol: 20 milligrams, 7% DV.
Sodium: 590 milligrams, 25% DV.
Total carbohydrate: 3 grams, 1% DV.
Dietary fiber: 0 grams, 0% DV.
Sugars: 3 grams.
Protein: 15 grams.
Vitamin A: 0% DV.
Calcium: 0% DV.
Vitamin C: 0% DV.
Iron: 8% DV.

Product Rating

I’d recommend highly Jack Link’s Original Beef Jerky given its mostly healthy nutritional figures and because this particular snack is not overly sweet. So I’d rate this snack product at 92 out of 100.

Where To Buy Jack Link’s Original Beef Jerky

Look for this beef jerky in 24-hour convenience stores and in larger grocery outlets. It comes in a red, gray, tan, and white wrapper with black and white text. The bag has a little window on the front so that you can see the beef jerky inside.

References

Revision History

2015-02-05: Moved this post to the Tom’s Diet Quest blog, added whitespace, adjusted ad placement, and tweaked the content.
2012-05-07: Originally published.