Old Trapper – Hot & Spicy Beef Jerky

Bitter: 🟡○○○○

Salty: 🟡🟡🟡🟡○

Sour/Tangy:🟡🟡○○○

Sweet: 🟡🟡🟡○○

Umami: 🟡🟡🟡○○

Heat: 🟡○○○○○○○○○

Quick Flavor Notes: Beefy, black pepper, sweet, smoke

Recommended: Yes

Texture: Moist but with good chew

Ingredients: Beef, Brown Sugar, Water, Salt, Flavorings, Beef Stock, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Vinegar, Sodium Nitrite

Old Trapper Beef Jerky has a history that dates back over 55 years. Founded in 1969 in a rural area west of Portland, OR the company originally sold handmade beef jerky at a local country store. Over the coming decades they expanded first statewide and then nationwide and through clever marketing and sponsorships with sporting events they have become the second largest producer of beef jerky in the US market. I’ve always enjoyed beef jerky, especially spicy versions, so I was eager to give this a try.

One of the things I don’t like about a lot of commercial beef jerky is the high sugar content. If you look online most recipes even more making your own seem to include sugar. While sugar does have some preservative qualities it’s not actually necessary to make jerky if you use enough salt and dehydrate well. I believe most companies include it under the mistaken impression that people want sweet jerky. While some at least put the sugar by volume fairly down the ingredients list Old Trapper has it as the second ingredient after the beef. They’re not alone in this by any means but I do prefer brands that, if they contain sugar, push it down so it’s not a major flavor element. Beyond that this has salt, “flavorings”, beef stock, hydrolyzed corn protein, and vinegar. Another big pet-peeve of mine is when labels contain generic catch-all terms like “spices” “natural flavor” “flavorings” instead of being explicit in what is included. Hydrolyzed corn protein is the result of doing to corn what cheap soy-sauce producers like La Choy do to soybeans to create cheap soy sauce – soaking corn in hydrochloric acid to break the starches and proteins down into amino acids then neutralizing that acid with a base. The result is an umami-rich substance that mimics the result you’d get through natural fermentation with koji mold, just with far less depth and complexity of flavor. Vinegar is a nice addition however, and not one I’m used to seeing in beef jerky. I’m always down for extra tang.

Texturally Old Trapper Hot & Spicy Beef Jerky sits towards the happy medium between the ultra-dry ultra-tough jerkies and the too-wet too-tender beef jerkies. If anything it leans a tad bit more towards the moist and tender for my personal preference but it’s a texture I believe most people will enjoy. I do like that there are obvious chili seeds visible on the surface of the jerky which makes it more appetizing. The aroma is of smoke, beef, and an underlying umami. That umami soy-saucy flavor from the hydrolyzed corn protein is at the forefront of the flavor of this jerky along with the sweetness from the brown sugar and some woodsmoke. Interestingly I get a big hit of black pepper before I get any of the chile pepper, but as the black pepper fades the flavor of crushed red pepper slides in as almost an aftertaste along with a gentle warmth of heat that stops just short of any burn. There is some good beef flavor as well and I believe the beef stock used adds to this as well as the corn protein which does add a rich umami depth of flavor. The vinegar doesn’t really add tang the way it does to a hot sauce, this is a dry product after all, but I do feel like these have a better balanced acidity because of that vinegar than many other beef jerkies I’ve tried. In terms of heat it’s no Dublin Jerky Hellfire, but it has a (slight) kick.

While I don’t love the high sugar content nor the obfuscation of the spice blend on the ingredients label (seriously, no one is trying to steal your secret recipe) I will go ahead and recommend Old Trapper Hot & Spicy Beef Jerky. It’s tasty, it does actually have a hint of spice, and the texture is better than many jerkies I’ve tried. I do also like that it’s made in Oregon, a place I’ve always admired.