Venison Jerky – Is this really necessary?

by Annie Scott on

In an effort to help you find the best jerky for your travels, we’ve tasted beef, turkey, and buffalo jerky from Jerky.com. Today’s challenge? Venison.

Venison. For the uninitiated, that means deer. Read on if you’re cool with eating Bambi. You’ll get no judgment from us — we totally did it.

We found the Black Pepper Venison Jerky easier to chew than the turkey or beef, much like the buffalo. Is it a more tender meat, or is it the black pepper spices making us salivate more? We’re not sure. But we’re fairly certain we don’t care why it’s easier to chew.

The venison jerky is less “meaty” than the buffalo, but definitely meatier than the turkey jerky. It’s like the other other not-really-white meat.

Remember when Bambi’s mother died? Sorry! Sorry!

The Black Pepper Venison Jerky has the same number of calories as the turkey and beef (just 356 in a 4 oz package), but more fat, more carbohydrates, and less iron than the beef. It has the same amount of protein as the turkey jerky (more than the beef), but then why not just get the Black Pepper Turkey Jerky? It’s healthier.

That said, the Jerky.com jerky is all pretty healthy stuff, and if you’re into trying new things, venison jerky certainly is unusual! The Black Pepper Venison Jerky is available for $9.99 per 2 oz package.

Peace Corps volunteer murdered in Benin

by Jamie Rhein on

“Did you hear that a Peace Corps volunteer was killed last week?” one of my friends asked me when we were at a restaurant with a group of returned Peace Corps volunteers. I hadn’t heard, and she didn’t have any information, only that the incident happened in some country in Africa and that the victim was a woman. The news was startling, particularly since I hadn’t heard or read anything about it.

After a bit of sleuthing, I’ve gathered some details. The information about what happened is sketchy, and the death is under investigation.

The volunteer, Kate Puzey was a 24-year-old living in Benin, West Africa. Last week on Thursday morning, friends found her dead outside of her house in the village of Badjoude where she was posted as an English teacher. It is believed that she was murdered, although, I haven’t found more details than what’s in this article at Finding Dulcinea. The official news is that she died sometime the night before she was found.

This story is one that resonates with me for a few reasons. One is because Puzey was the age I was when I was in the Peace Corps. It’s a time that I can recall as if it happened last week. There are certain sounds, sights and smells in a West African country that one doesn’t forget. There was also a coziness to being in a village with people who welcome you into their families and culture without reservation and an amazing amount of generosity. That the coziness could be dangerous is alarming. It doesn’t make sense.

From what I read, Puzey was one of those vibrant, loving volunteers who dove into her time in Benin with open arms and a giving heart. The fact that someone could have done such harm to her is hard to imagine. In general, a person who is an outsider but is welcomed into a village as a guest–and then brought into the fabric of village life, is given a high amount of respect and regard. The villagers would have seen ensuring Puzey’s happiness and safety as something to take seriously.

I can’t imagine what the 100 volunteers posted in Benin are feeling. This is not a death caused by not wearing a motorcycle helmet and having an accident–or becoming ill. This is maliciousness at work. People who may think their villages are safe may be thinking again. Families of volunteers who have heard the news most probably have the jitters.

For an occurrence that is so rare to have not made more of a news story is a bit stunning to me, particularly since both McCain and Obama praised Peace Corps as an important part of world development and volunteerism. Particularly when someone so engaging as Kate Puzey was killed in a place where such things virtually never happen.

My thoughts are with her family and the volunteers who have lost their friend, and possibly feel that the world is less safe than they thought before.

Here is another post I came across about Kate’s tragic death.

How not to ride an escalator

by Annie Scott on


How not to ride an escalator.

1. Do not step backward.
2. Do note sit down.
3. Do not, at any point, attempt a triple salchow.

According to MallCop6, who posted this video on YouTube, “The dude didn’t get hurt at all.” Otherwise, this would really be too mean to post. Also, the camera is pulled back far enough that we can’t see who this actually is. If we could identify this man, we would, again, feel it was too mean to post.

However, since he looks like he’s fine and we can’t see who he is, and he totally pulled a 360°, artistically commendable, epic escalator fail? We’re sharing.

This is one example of many ways not to ride an escalator. More rules after the jump.

4. Do not attempt multiple backwards somersaults.

5.Do not ski (keep watching, he rides up the escalator first before the awesomeness kicks in).

Lasty, and perhaps most importantly:
6. Do not wear Crocs. (Ever.)

Buffalo Jerky – Better than Beef or Turkey?

by Annie Scott on

We recently compared and contrasted some some beef and turkey jerky from Jerky.com. Were our cravings satisfied? Yes. Well, for the afternoon.

What about Buffalo Jerky? Is that chewier, meatier, more healthy than turkey or beef? We tried some Black Pepper Buffalo Jerky to find out.

Firstly, we loved the Black Pepper flavoring. It was spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. We could still taste the meat — and we think the bold flavor actually helped us salivate more. And to take down buffalo jerky? You’re gonna have to salivate.

We found the Buffalo Jerky chewier than the beef or even the turkey jerky, and think that the extra salivating from the spices may have been part of the reason. But we don’t really care why; it was just plain easier to eat.

The buffalo meat tasted lighter than beef, but definitely much heavier than turkey. Most importantly, check this out: A 4 oz package of Black Pepper Buffalo Jerky (no preservatives, MSG, or nitrites, and made from grass-fed buffalo) contains all the iron of Beef Jerky (32% of your daily recommended value), but has half the fat like Turkey Jerky (2 grams). Better still? It has more protein than either! 60 grams, folks. Bring it.

Buffalo Jerky is available from Jerky.com for $9.99 per 2 oz package.

Beef Jerky vs. Turkey Jerky

by Annie Scott on

I like beef jerky. I know I like it. When I go to the store and I see beef jerky, turkey jerky, ostrich, venison, buffalo … I get flustered and buy the beef jerky.

I was thinking “I wish someone would explain to me the difference between all these types of jerky” (other than that, you know, they supposedly come from different animals), and then I thought “oh wait, that’s my job.” So, I tried out some Beef Jerky and Turkey Jerky from Jerky.com and did some research on the health aspects for a little compare and contrast.

Obviously, all jerky is great for travel. It’s light, compact, and high in protein. It’s great for hikes, the car, the airplane, and anywhere where you know you might not be able to eat when you want to. When I don’t eat, I get cranky. And you know what? So do you.

Here at right you see the teriyaki beef (below) and teriyaki turkey (above) jerky. I rated them on their heaviness of flavor, chewiness, and nutritional benefits (/pitfalls).

Let’s start with the Teriyaki Beef Jerky. It’s very tough to chew. On a chewiness scale of 1-10, I’d give this a 3. The flavor is very rich and you can definitely tell it’s beef. As for the nutritional values, a 4 oz package contains 356 calories and 4 grams of fat (none saturated), a meager 16 carbohydrates, and a whopping 48 grams of protein! Holy awesome, no wonder this stuff gives you so much energy. It also contains 32% of your daily recommended iron. Hear that, women? Jerky is not just for men. I find the teriyaki flavoring a bit heavily sweet, but overall, I’d have no problem recommending this jerky to you, your mother, or your dog. I should add that it has no preservatives, MSG, or nitrites, and is made from “Grass Fed Beef.”

The Teriyaki Turkey Jerky also has no preservatives, MSG, or nitrites. It’s slightly chewier than the beef (I’d give it a 4 — it’s still tough jerky), and as it turns out, I like the flavor much better! I’m still not in love with teriyaki, but the fact that this is made from turkey makes it much lighter-tasting and less like a serious protein blast. That said, it actually has more protein than the beef jerky, 52 grams in the 4 oz package! Also, it contains only half the fat. The sacrifice here is that it also contains on ly half the iron, and if you’re like me and avoid carbs, you won’t like that it has twice as many of those. The calorie count is the same, and I totally took down the whole bag in one sitting.

Overall, the turkey wins in my book. And though both are very healthy, the thing to remember when choosing between beef and turkey is that the beef has more iron and fewer carbs, and the turkey has more protein and less fat.

The reviewed Teriyaki Beef Jerky and Teriyaki Turkey Jerky are available from Jerky.com for $9.99 per 3 oz bag with free shipping from Jerky.com.