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/