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.

Read more

by Steve Johnson ~ Monday, May 24, 2010 29 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/

Read more

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