Review: Chef’s Cut Real Jerky Co.

Who doesn’t love jerky? I sure do. It’s salty and it’s meat. What’s not to love? And my motto has long been, “Processed meat is my friend.”

I’ve recently had the opportunity to try some products from Chef’s Cut Real Jerky Co. The company was founded at a country club by two chefs, who soon found themselves selling their jerky to club members. Here’s what the website has to say about it:

Blair Swiler needed a break from the kitchen. He was caddying alongside co-founder Dennis Riedel and shared his homemade jerky with him. Real cuts of premium beef, right there on the golf course, was all Dennis needed. And with some convincing, Chef Blair shared his recipe and the pair began smoking and selling Chef’s Cut Real Jerky Co® to golf and country clubs across the U.S.

Here’s a little more info:

Chef’s Cut Real Jerky Co.™, the #1 premium jerky on the market, was crafted in the kitchen of Bayonne Golf Club by Chef Blair Swiler and Dennis Riedel. Their beef jerky has gained a loyal following which launched the duo’s product as a ‘must-have’ in any gear bag. The real jerky has ranked #58 in Inc. 5000 awards and is sold in more than 1,000 prestigious golf courses.

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Chef’s Cut Real Jerky uses only hand-cut, premium pieces of meat cured through a proprietary smoking process and have proven their place in the booming snack meat industry with a 5,669% revenue spike over the last three years.

Fresh, never frozen, top round USDA choice beef. All white turkey and chicken breasts. Gluten free, no nitrites, high in protein, low in sugar and sodium.

So let’s get down to it. First of all, I personally didn’t taste all of the products. Most of it is too sweet for my taste; I like my jerky salty instead. Happily, my wife loves sweet food that ought to be savory, so she was my official taste-tester for the jerky.

Jalapeño Cheddar Pork & Beef Stick

This jalapeño meat stick was pretty dry, and had more jalapeño flavor than anything else. Needed more salt and fat. Tender, though.

Turkey Stick Pepperoni

I love me some pepperoni, but the Turkey Stick Pepperoni didn’t really qualify in my book. It was a bit bland and not at all pepperoni-ish.

Teriyaki Turkey Jerky

The Teriyaki Turkey Jerky had great flavor, and was tender but a little dry.

Honey Barbecue Chicken Jerky

The Honey BBQ jerky was tasty and tender, and more moist than the Teriyaki turkey.

Original Recipe Beef Jerky

They call this “real steak jerky,” and the meat cuts are nice. It was pretty sweet to me, so I handed it off to my wife who said it has GREAT flavor — and it was certainly the most tender.

Buffalo Style Chicken Jerky

This jerky has authentic buffalo wing flavor but disappointing texture. In the words of my taster, it was “very dry, but better than cardboard soaked in wing sauce.”

Conclusion

So, there you have it. If you like sweet with some heat, I’m sure you can find something to love among the wide variety of Chef’s Cut products.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.