Gasparilla Gold Smoked Pork Sticks

Gasparilla Gold is a brand of smoked pork snack sticks owned by Beepco, Inc., based in Ocala, FL.

The family-run company goes back 30 years making and selling its snack sticks through school groups for fundraising. Today, it's run by the three sons of the original owners who moved the business into a larger manufacturing facility to grow its Gasparilla Gold brand.

Thus far, the company is targeting retail locations in the South Eastern states, with plans to distribute globally.

Gasparilla Gold are made with lean fresh meat, smoked for 18 hours, adding premium blended seasonings, with zero trans fat.

Three flavors include:

Originale - A mild flavor with a balance of sweet and smokiness, touched by a light seasoning.

Barbeque - Just a little bit more spicy than the Originale, but with a clearly distinguishable barbecue sauce flavor, though not overpowering. There's a bit of tanginess in the chewing, and still a noticeable sweet and smokiness.

Cajun Style - Less sweet than the Originale and the Barbeque, with a clearly higher spiciness, and a moderate amount of heat. These have a light vinegar flavor, comparable to what you might find in chile pepper sauce, but still allowing some of the smokiness to come through. I can also taste the unique seasoning blend in this, and find bits of red chile peppers inside.


The meat consistency in all three flavors is by far, less oily than major brands of snack sticks, perhaps because there seemed to be a more meat and less fat than found in major brands of sticks.

The skin on these sticks are very easy to chew, offering just a slight bit of snap, but never resulting in anything chewy or tough.

The Originale tended to have the highest amount of smokiness and sweetness, while the Cajun Style tended to be much less sweet, but much more spicy.

My favorite overall?

I liked the Barbeque the best. It has the best balance of sweet, spiciness, and smokiness. I did, however, think the Cajun Style had a softer, meatier chew.

Overall, snack stick fans will definitely appreciate smokiness and rich seasonings of Gasparilla Gold snack sticks compared to major brands. I also liked the cleaner handling, not getting any of the greasiness on my fingers like I do with other brands.

Next time you think about stocking up on some sticks, give Gasparilla Gold a try.

Where to buy online: http://gasparillagold.com/

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by Steve Johnson ~ Friday, May 20, 2011 1 comments

Tijuana Mama Pickled Sausage

I first reviewed the Tijuana Mama Pickled Sausage back in June of 2006 on my Junk Food Blog. And when I wrote that review, I apparently found a bad sausage, because it broke apart rather easily and was mushy.

So now armed with this new blog dedicated to just reviewing beef sticks and snack sausages, I thought to find a better Tijuana Mama and give that thing another chance.

Tijuana Mama is produced under the Penrose brand, but is actually a product of ConAgra Foods. You find these things at just about every convenience store at the check out counter. Popular with truckers and travelers, they relieve hunger pains for millions of Americans and keep rest stop toilets busy at all hours of the day.

"300% Hotter" is stamped on the package, but 300% hotter than what? It doesn't say. But that's been on the package for a long time.

So are these things hot?

Well yes. There's indeed some heat to Tijuana Mama, but being someone who loves to eat hot spicy foods, it doesn't really phase me all that much, but I can certainly feel some burn.

Otherwise, the dominant flavor of these mechanically separated chicken and pork parts is a vinegar flavor, along with a weaker chicken sausage flavor. And it does taste like chicken sausage in contrast to a beef sausage.




Also the smell of these devilish beasts is horrid. It's very much like a musty old dish rag that had already been used a hundred times with the last time wiping up some spilled vinegar. I imagine ConAgra has a high turnover rate for the Tijuana Mama Quality Control.

And I do have to say this review sample I'm eating here is quite different than the one I reviewed in 2006, not as mushy, and it doesn't fall apart under its own weight. It has the consistency of a real frankfurter, but just a bit more stiff due to the pickling.

Overall, it packs a lot of salty, vinegar, chicken sausage flavor. The name "Tijuana Mama" is perhaps quite fitting for this 2.4oz snack stick if you've ever visited Tijuana. It's something you're better off eating when spending a night alone with a tall bottle of Colt 45 and a full roll of Charmin.

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by Steve Johnson ~ Monday, May 24, 2010 17 comments

Wild Hare Brand Beef Sticks

Scott Hare, owner of the Wild Hare Brand, sent in these beef sticks for review. His company also produces beef jerky, which I wrote a review of about a year and a half ago.

Wild Hare currently offers five different flavors of meat sticks...

• Original
• Teriyaki
• Cajun
• Hot Cajun
• Maple

Their sticks are made from 100% beef, hickory smoked, with no MSG.

Original: Nice smoky flavor, and very smooth flavor too, with a moderate level of saltiness. There's a light bit of tangy flavor in the chewing, and a fatty, meaty flavor. These are also very soft and moist.

Teriyaki: Also a smoky flavor, though not quite as smoky as the Original. But this clearly has a sweeter flavor than the Original, with a bit more of a tanginess. It doesn't necessarily have the same teriyaki flavor that you'd get from a Japanese restaurant, nor gives me any sense of having an Asian flare. But the heavier sweetness is perhaps what you'd want to get from a meat stick labeled as "Teriyaki".

Cajun: This one didn't seem to have much cajun flavor, or doesn't provide enough of a spiciness. In comparing this with the Original, it's only a little bit more spiced. If you didn't have the Original to compare with, you might think this was the company's Original flavor.

Hot Cajun: This isn't really all that hot, in fact I don't pick up any heat at all. It seems to be a little bit more spiced than the Cajun, but still nowhere near being "hot".

Maple: This has a light sweetness, but not as sweet as the Teriyaki. However, it seems to have a stronger smokiness. I do taste the maple flavoring in this, and it seems to work really well with the smoky flavor. It's almost like eating maple flavored bacon. There's the same light bit of tangy flavor in the chewing.

From left to right: Cajun, Maple, Original, Hot Cajun, Teriyaki

The Original, Cajun, Hot Cajun, and Teriyaki sticks have a moderately soft chew, quite consistent with most brands of beef sticks. The skin has a light bit of crunch and is somewhat chewy.

However, the Maple variety was notably more soft in chewing, with a much softer skin.

There's a noticeable fatty feeling in the chewing, which seems consistent with many other brands of beef sticks.

The level of saltiness in these sticks seems moderate, not too salty, and not too light.

Summary

Between these five flavors, my favorite seems to be the Maple. It's a bit sweeter than the Original, but has a slightly stronger smokiness and the maple flavoring is noticeable. It also comes with a softer chew than the others.

I also thought the Teriyaki did a decent job of holding up to its advertised flavor. But the Cajun and Hot Cajun really don't provide much of a cajun flavor nor provide any bit of heat.

Overall, I think you're getting a better beef stick with Wild Hare Brand than if you were to pick up a mass produced stick at your local convenience store. They're moist, easy chewing, plenty of flavor, and a decent amount of smokiness.

Buy 'em by the carton at Wild Hare Foods...
http://www.wildharefoods.com/

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by Steve Johnson ~ Wednesday, May 5, 2010 0 comments

Pop's Authentic Snack Sticks

Pop's Authentic Snack Sticks is a brand of Jennings Premium Meats of New Franklin, MO. It's a relatively new business, based on an old family recipe passed down by "Pop Jennings", the patriarch of the family. Pop used to run a butcher shop back in the 1950s.

Their marketing firm sent these to me for review.

Pop's Authentic actually refers to these as "Handmade Artisan Meat Snacks", perhaps taking meat sticks into the realm of gourmet. I'm prepared to nibble these sticks with my pinky finger extended.

I'm evaluating three of their varieties, the Original, the Peppered, and the Habanero.

These are all a mixture of beef and pork.

The Original has a mild flavor, mostly noted by a light tanginess. I note the ingredients list shows "encapsulated citric acid", maybe that's where it comes from. There's also a mild to moderate saltiness, along with a meaty flavor, and faint garlic touch.

The Peppered variety does indeed have a black pepper flavor, but not overpowering. It shows up a lot better after having eaten the Original variety. I'm getting a decent black pepper aftertaste as well. It also has the same tanginess, saltiness, as the Original, and the meaty and garlic flavor.

The Habanero variety has a notciecable light chile pepper flavor, as well as a light chile pepper burn. I wouldn't let the word "Habanero" scare anyone however. I don't really see this as "hot". On my hot scale, I'd rank this as "mild-medium", but then again, I'm used to eating hot foods. This too has the same tanginess, saltiness, meat flavor, and garlic as the Original.




The texture of these sticks are all moderately soft, easy to bite off chunks, and easy to chew. The Peppered variety seemed to be more dry than the Original and Habanero. The skin of these sticks provide some crunch, while the sticks themselves have a little bit of snap to it as I bite off a chunk.

They're also pretty clean eating, in that my fingers don't feel greasy, wet, or sticky. There's actually still a slight bit of residue on my fingers, yet still dry enough to type away on my keyboard without having lick them or wipe them.

As for being dubbed "Handmade Artisan Meat Snacks" I do see indeed see these as better quality than the Slim Jims and the other national brands found in convenience stores. They're softer, meatier, and have more flavor.

Overall, my favorite between the Original, Peppered, and Habanero, goes to the Habanero. The flavor is actually quite good, though I'm partial chile peppers. However, the consistency and texture of the Habanero I felt was superior to that of the Original and Peppered varieties. The skin was easy to pierce through, but gave off a nice little crunch, and the meat stick itself had a snap to it everytime I bit off a piece. Yet overall, it provided a soft, moist chew.

But compared to some other gourmet brands of meat sticks like Timberline Smokehouse or House of Jerky, these sticks from Pop's Authentic seem to be pretty competitive. I'd say the Original and the Peppered are right there in the ballpark with the other gourmet brands. However, the Habanero was pretty good I think in both taste the texture, and those other gourmet would be hard pressed to top it.

You can buy Pop's Authentic Snack Sticks from their website...

http://www.popsauthentic.com/

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by Steve Johnson ~ Monday, September 14, 2009 0 comments

Timberline Smokehouse - Baby Jack's Snack Sticks

Last week I wrote about Timberline Smokehouse, reviewing their Mountain Man Timber Sticks. Today, I have their Baby Jack's Snack Sticks.

Read that previous review for more background info about Timberline Smokehouse.

These Baby Jack's Snack Sticks are described as being made with Pepper Jack Cheese. The ingredients shows both beef and pork, and the cheese shows including Jalapeno Pepper.

Oddly enough, the ingredients does not list Pepper Jack Cheese, but American Cheese.

So do these taste anything like cheese?

Yes they do! Compared to their Mountain Man Timber Sticks, these Baby Jack's Snack Sticks have a well-noticed cheese flavor. The cheese itself has an ever-so-slight peppery flavor. I wouldn't pin it as a jalapeno flavor, but certainly a spicy, peppery flavor.




These sticks also have that tangy, vinegar-like flavor as the Mountain Man Timber Sticks, which I think comes from the lactic acid starter culture, commonly found in most sausages.

The meat consistency of these Baby Jack's are very comparable to the Mountain Man Timber Sticks, moist, but not too moist, and generally easy to chew. The skin on these things are a bit chewy.

I don't really taste the beef and pork, but they do offer a meaty chewing texture, not papery, or mushy like some other brands.

And they're fairly clean eating, I don't find them greasy at all.

Overall, these Baby Jack's Snack Sticks are still quite mild despite the "Pepper Jack" labeling, and are very comparable to the Mountain Man Timber Sticks, but with that cheesy flavor added.

Between the two, I think I prefer the Mountain Man Timber Sticks.

You can buy these online from Timberline Smokehouse:
http://www.timberlinesmokehouse.com/

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by Steve Johnson ~ Monday, August 3, 2009 0 comments

Timberline Smokehouse - Mountain Man Timber Sticks

Timberline Smokehouse is a relatively new brand of meat snacks, appearing on the market first in August of 2008. The brand is owned by Timberline Smokehouse, Inc., based out of Johnstown, PA.

Adam Thomas, who runs the company, also runs another business called "Thomas Smoked Meats", a smokehouse and store located in the same town, which he's been running since 1998. He's been offering meat sticks and jerky under that brand, and still does today, but only locally since that business only has state inspection approval.

He wanted to go national with his meat snacks, and so created this new business Timberline Smokehouse. Timberline's products are manufactured by other meat processors that have USDA inspection approval, but using the same recipes that Thomas uses for his Thomas Smoked Meats brand.

These "Mountain Man Timber Sticks" are marketed as beef sticks, but are actually a combination of beef and pork.




They have a strong tangy flavor, very much like vinegar. There's no vinegar mentioned in the ingredients, but I think it's from the lactic acid starter culture, commonly used in many sausages.

It's quite mild, I don't sense anything spicy.

The saltiness is well noticed, but not overpowering.

It doesn't really have much of a meat flavor, likely due to the stronger vinegar flavor and saltiness.

They're slightly chewy, with a meaty texture. I find them moist, comparable to salami. The skin is a little chewy.

And they're not very greasy like other sticks can be.

Overall, I really like the flavor of these sticks, noted by that tangy, vinegar-like flavor. They have a meaty chewing texture, not too soft, not too hard. Good sticks!

Buy these online from Timberline Smokehouse:
http://www.timberlinesmokehouse.com/

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by Steve Johnson ~ Thursday, July 23, 2009 0 comments

Buffalo Bills Ole Smokies - Big Buffalo

Buffalo Bills has been a favorite brand of mine, mostly due to their wide varieties of meat snacks, including at least four lines of jerky, and several lines of meat sticks.

When I wrote reviews of their jerky, the company sent me samples of their meat sticks, but I wasn't able to review them right away, since I was still planning to build a separate website to review meat sticks. It took me several months to build this site, but now that I'm here, on with the reviews...

These "Big Buffalo" sticks are thicker than most meat sticks, about the thickness of a cigar, and about a foot long.

The package is stamped with a date "Jul 2009", so it seems I'm at the tail end of freshness here.

These sticks have a very soft feel. In fact, they feel rather mushy.

Taking a bite from one of these sticks reveals the same, it's very mushy. It's almost like eating a clump of split pea soup paste straight from the can. Or perhaps, it's comparable to what "buffalo pâté" might be like. It's a very smooth texture, almost as smooth as a meat version of Gerber baby food. The only thing that allows me to handle this Big Buffalo stick is the skin, which keeps that pasty meat from my fingers.

These sticks also contain a good deal of fat, because the roof of my mouth is getting coated with fat, or lard, or whatever it is.

Again, I'll condition that review with the fact that these sticks have reached their "best by" date, so perhaps a fresh stick is much more like a true meat stick.




These sticks don't really taste like meat. They're salty, they have some spiciness to it, a bit of smokiness, and that's about it. The taste is comparable to most meat sticks, but just very mushy and pasty.

On the plus side, they don't leave my fingers oily or wet. They're very clean handling.

If you'd like to try one of these Ole Smokies Big Buffalo, visit Buffalo Bills at...

http://www.bbjerky.com/

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by Steve Johnson ~ Wednesday, July 8, 2009 0 comments

House of Jerky - Buffalo Snack Sticks

Janie at House of Jerky sent me this package of Buffalo Snack Sticks just last week, after writing a review of her Elk Snack Sticks based on a really old package.

So thankfully for her, I can write a review of these sticks based on what you'd actually get. But I also happen to have package of Buffalo Snack Sticks from several months ago as well. So, I can actually compare a new package with an old package.

Not being a true connoiseur of meat sticks, I never expected to taste the full flavor of beef, buffalo, elk, or any other meat, in a meat stick. For me, meat sticks are purely about snacking. Beef jerky, on other hand, is where you enjoy the flavor of meat, the chewing texture meat, along with the spices and marinades.

But like beef jerky, I know there are really good meat sticks, and really bad ones.

Having a couple sticks of House of Jerky's Buffalo Snack Sticks, these are definitely good meat sticks.

I tend to use Slim Jim as the base line of what a poor meat stick is like. Slim Jims are very oily, kinda bland in taste, and have a papery chewing texture.

By contrast, House of Jerky's Buffalo Snack Sticks are not really oily, but rather moist. They have a meaty flavor, though not necessarily resembling natural buffalo meat flavor. It's more similar to what you'd expect from a summer sausage, with a saltiness, and some spices, but still a "meaty" flavor.

In terms of meat consistency, these sticks are also comparable to summer sausage, having a soft, moist inside. They don't coat my mouth with a greasy film like Slim Jims and other brands often do, they don't have that "papery texture" like Slim Jims seem to have.




But going back to the flavor, I find these Buffalo Snack Sticks having a light spiciness, and with a bit of tanginess, as if some kind of vinegar was used (though vinegar is not mentioned in the ingredients).

The skin on these sticks seem thicker than other brands I've had, and are rather chewy.

I was about to say that I didn't find any crunchy hard bits of animal material, when I bit into a small piece of bone. But having eating four of the newer sticks, and three of the old, that was the first chunk of bone I encountered.

Overall, it's a better meat stick than the mass-market brands you'll find at the grocery store.

So, how does the newer package of these Buffalo Snack Sticks compare to the several-months-old package? The newer package is more soft and moist, just a little bit easier to chew. But they both have the same chewy skin, the same spiciness, the same tanginess. The older package seems to have a more stale flavor, but not necessarily a bad flavor. If all you had were old sticks, you'd still think they tasted good. But compared to the newer sticks, the newer sticks are definitely better.

BTW, the photos you see above are the newer sticks.

Buy these Buffalo Snack Sticks online at House of Jerky...
http://www.houseofjerky.net/

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by Steve Johnson ~ Monday, July 6, 2009 0 comments

House of Jerky - Elk Snack Sticks

House of Jerky became one of my early favorites for beef jerky. Having tried all of their jerky varieties, I found their flavor outstanding.

I didn't realize they offered meat sticks until Janie, the president of the company, sent me some sample sticks. I held on to them for quite some time, until I got around to creating a special website just for meat sticks.

These "Elk Snack Sticks", are of course made from elk, but they also contain beef.

The flavor is quite unlike meat sticks from other brands, but I'm not sure if that's due to the Elk meat, or just something unique with House of Jerky.

It's a very smooth flavor, not very spicy, though I do pick up a light spicy bite. I can detect some garlic, and a black pepper aftertaste. They're salty, just like most meat sticks, but not too terribly so.




For the most part, it has a very meaty texture. The skin does have a tougher papery chew, but it doesn't really get in the way. Overall, the chewing is about similar to dry salami, though flavorwise, I think I prefer the dry salami.

But if you're curious about elk-based meat sticks, these are certainly a worthy buy.

Interestingly, House of Jerky doesn't sell these Elk Snack Sticks by themselves. It seems you have to buy them through one of their exotic meats "Jerky Variety Packs".

Visit House of Jerky online...
http://www.houseofjerky.net/

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by Steve Johnson ~ Monday, June 22, 2009 1 comments

Buffalo Bills - Extra Smokey Beef Sticks

If you haven't already tried these Extra Smokey Beef Sticks from Buffalo Bills, you might wanna. They're are indeed "extra" smokey.

They have a great smokey flavor to them, and a somewhat spicy flavor as well, though I don't see anything in the ingredients list suggesting anything spicy. This even has some slight chocolatey notes to it, perhaps indicating something roasted, I dunno.

Unlike other meat sticks, these are very meaty. I mean, it's almost like eating a stick of salami, where you can see the meat fibers pulling away as you bite off a piece. In fact, this has a rather dry taste to it, kinda like salami.


My only "beef" with these beef sticks is they're rather salty. They're not too bad in the first several bites, but when you towards the end, the salt wears me down. I need some swigs of drink, and about 10 minutes of rest, before attacking another stick.

But mind you, these are beef sticks for real beef stick lovers. They're extra thick, the same width as a wine bottle cork, and about five inches in length. They might actually make a great cure for a hangover.

Comparison

I brought a bag of these beef sticks to a get-together that my friends and I attended last weekend. It was at the Long Shadow Ranch Winery in Temecula, where they have a "bonfire" every Saturday night. Another friend brought several sticks of Slim Jims in a variety of flavors.

I handed out these Buffalo Bills, and people thought they were pretty good.

But when they sampled the Slim Jims, they about ralphed. No one else could finish their Slim Jim samples. One guy said it was eating "meat flavored toilet paper". I mean, it actually did feel as if you were eating a chunk of toilet paper (not that I know from experience, mind you).

After the Slim Jims, my friends really loved the Buffalo Bills.

Funny how the best things in life are not readily available. The worst stuff is always easily found at a convenience store, but the better stuff you have to order online. It's just one of those things.

Get your Buffalo Bills Extra Smokeys here...

http://www.choochoorsnacks.com/

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by Steve Johnson ~ Tuesday, June 9, 2009 0 comments

Buffalo Bills - Long Shots

Meat snacks have been my favorite snack food for a long time, as evidenced by my Beef Jerky review blog. So as I've been writing that blog, beef jerky companies have sent me lots of free jerky to write about, and in addition, beef sticks.

I never created a blog just for beef sticks, and didn't really want to mix them into my beef jerky blog, so I've been writing about them here on Junk Food Blog.

These "Long Shots" are from Buffalo Bills, a meat snack brand based out of Lebanon, PA.

Beef sticks seem to take up the "dark side" of meat snacks compared to beef jerky, which the industry has managed to paint in a healthier light as being low fat, and low carb. But beef sticks are like sausage, where you love to eat them, but don't want to know what goes in 'em.

Part of the bad rap that beef sticks, in my opinion, comes from the God-awful Slim Jims. How that brand ever got to be #1 in the beef stick market is beyond me. Honestly, they're like chewing wads of toilet paper, but with a meaty flavor.

These "Long Shots" from Buffalo Bills are perhaps the closest thing they have to a Slim Jim in that they're a the same thin and long shape, and they seem to have a similar "toilet paper" chewing texture, except I think Buffalo Bills has managed to shred the toilet paper into a finer pulp for easier chewing.

And these are beef sticks, not meat sticks, in that they only use cattle carcass.


Buffalo Bills offers several varieties of beef sticks, in fact I reviewed their "Extra Smokies" on this blog, and found those to be very good. Very meaty, very smoky, with some slight chocolatey notes, and chews very similarly to hard salami. If you're looking for a good beef stick, try those.

But if you're someone who just really likes Slim Jims, then you might want to check out these Long Shots, I think they're a tad better than Slim Jims.

Otherwise, get those Extra Smokies instead.

Visit Buffalo Bills online at: http://www.choochoorsnacks.com/

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by Steve Johnson ~ Monday, June 8, 2009 0 comments

Contact Me

If you'd like submit a meat snack for review, or just contact me for some reason...

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by Steve Johnson ~ Sunday, June 7, 2009 2 comments