Guest - Not logged in | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Reviews > Food > Packaged Meals > Bridgford - Sweet Baby Rays Beef Jerky > Test Report by Ray Estrella
Bridgford Sweet Baby Ray's Beef Jerky
INITIAL REPORT - September 21, 2012 TESTER INFORMATION
I've been backpacking for over 30 years, all over California, Minnesota, and many western states. I hike year-round in all weather, and average 500+ miles (800+ km) per year. I make a point of using lightweight gear, and smaller volume packs. Doubting I can ever be truly ultralight, I try to be as light as I can yet still be comfortable. I start early and hike hard so as to enjoy the afternoons exploring/chilling. I usually take a freestanding tent and enjoy hot evening meals. If not hiking solo I am usually with my brother-in-law Dave or my twin children. The Product
Manufacturer: Bridgford Food Corporation Product Description
Sweet Baby Ray's Original Beef Jerky Ingredients: Beef, Water, Seasoning Blend (salt, Brown Sugar, Sugar, Mustard, Monosodium Glutamate, Dehydrated Garlic, Red Pepper, Sodium Erythorbate, Onion Powder, Spice Extractive), Brown Sugar, Sweet Baby Ray's Jerky Base (vinegar Powder [dextrin, Modified Food Starch, Vinegar Solids], Tomato Powder, Pineapple Juice Powder [maltodextrin, Pineapple Juice], Worcestershire Sauce Powder [{distilled Vinegar, Molasses, Corn Syrup, Salt, Caramel Color, Garlic Powder, Sugar, Spices, Tamarind, Natural Flavor And Sulfiting Agents}, Maltodextrin], Natural Smoke Flavor, Spices And Not More Than 2% Silicon Dioxide Added To Prevent Caking), Sodium Nitrite.
Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle Beef Jerky Ingredients Beef, Water, Brown Sugar, Seasoning Blend (salt, Brown Sugar, Sugar, Mustard, Monosodium Glutamate, Dehydrated Garlic, Red Pepper, Sodium Erythorbate, Onion Powder, Spice Extractive), Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle Jerky Base (honey Powder [maltodextrin And Honey], Vinegar Powder [dextrin, Modified Food Starch, Vinegar Solids], Tomato Powder, Chipotle Powder, Natural Smoke Flavor, Pineapple Juice Powder [maltodextrin, Pineapple Juice], Worcestershire Sauce Powder [{distilled Vinegar, Molasses, Corn Syrup, Salt, Caramel Color, Garlic Powder, Sugar, Spices, Tamarind, Natural Flavor And Sulfiting Agents}, Maltodextrin], Spices, Grill Flavor [from Vegetable Oil], And Not More Than 2% Silicon Dioxide Added To Prevent Caking), Ground Black Pepper, Sodium Nitrite. Bridgford Food Corporation's Baby Ray's Original, and Honey Chipotle Beef Jerky (hereafter called Baby Ray's or the jerky) is a "gourmet" step up on the company's normal Beef Jerky line. The gourmet part comes from the flavoring provided by Sweet Baby Ray's brand of gourmet sauces. Sweet Baby Ray's is a very popular sauce made in Chicago, but not available where I live now in Minnesota. Funny thing, while I was just in California at my Dad's place they made Sweet Baby Ray's Original ribs for dinner earlier this week. Good stuff. The jerky is made from whole cuts of beef, not chopped and formed like I make in my dehydrator. It is somewhat soft and pliable, not rock-hard. There is a bit of discrepancy on the nutritional labeling between the two flavors. Both have a serving size as 1 oz (28 g) with it coming in at 90 calories, 10 calories of which come from fat for both. They both show sugar carbs coming in at 6 g yet total carbs for the Honey Chipotle is 7 g while the Original's total carbs remain at 6 g. The Original has 11 g of protein while the Honey Chipotle is only 10 g. That tells me that somewhere in each ounce (28 g) of Honey Chipotle there is 2.3 g (0.08 oz) by weight of non-sugar (complex) carbohydrates. I don't see any chipotle pepper (smoked jalapenos) flesh or seeds to account for it. One interesting thing is the vitamin C contribution of the Honey Chipotle that comes in at 2% of the Daily Values as jalapenos are chock-full of the stuff. The packages of jerky all have expiration dates showing almost 1.5 years of shelf-life and are suggested to be eaten within seven days of opening. Unlike some of my local jerkys the Sweet Baby Ray's does not need to be refrigerated after opening. This makes it easy to take hiking by just placing the amount needed in a small zip-locking bag, but I will most likely put it into small Food Saver bags to make it last even longer, plus take less space. Now it is time for this rotten old Ray to get the Sweet Baby Ray's beef jerky on the trail where I will be eating it by itself, along with other foods, and even as an additional ingredient to packaged meals. Please come back in a few months to see how it all worked out. Field Data I have been eating my way through the 12 packages of Sweet Baby Ray's beef jerky all fall and winter. I also took it for lunches on a few day hikes, all around my area of Moorhead, Minnesota. Observations
I have liked beef jerky my entire life. Well since I can remember my dad giving me my first taste when I was about seven at least. I buy a lot of it from stores and custom meat shops and even make my own. Both flavors of the Sweet Baby Ray's beef jerky are very good. Once the temps dropped I stopped repackaging into Food Saver bags and just used small zip-locking bags. Because I had so much to eat I also used the jerky to add calories and protein to meatless freeze dried entrees. For this use I would chop the jerky up at home and add it at the same time the hot water goes into the meal. I used the Honey Chipotle for all Mexican meals and the Original for American or Italian meals. It worked very well adding both flavor and texture to the meals. Here is a shot of the jerky being readied for dinner time. That is about all I can say about this fine jerky. I think that Bridgford has a real winner here and I know that my daughter and I will be buying it in the future. I would like to thank them and BackpackGearTest.org for letting me participate in this flavorful test. I leave with a shot of some jerky in my Grub Sack at another campsite. This report was created with the BackpackGearTest.org Report Writer Version 1.5 Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. Read more reviews of Bridgford Foods gear Read more gear reviews by Ray Estrella Reviews > Food > Packaged Meals > Bridgford - Sweet Baby Rays Beef Jerky > Test Report by Ray Estrella |