Gadling Take FIVE Week of March – April 3

by Jamie Rhein on

Perhaps you noticed our annual April Fool’s offerings. Although there are some odd TRUE stories here at Gadling every once in awhile–sometimes daily, nothing this past Wednesday was true. At least, I don’t think China is planning to put an escalator up Mt. Everest.

Here is a sampling of what has been true this week.

  • Annie has happily continued to sample jerky. This week’s post on Oberto Beef Jerky made me hungry and itching for a road trip.
  • If you have not taken the time yet to watch the video in Jeffrey’s post “Afghanistan, an accordion, ‘Elvis’ and Johnny Cash,” do. It’s a wonderful example of an unexpected cross cultural-exchange.
  • For anyone 30 years or younger, Allison has news about a way you can win a trip through STA. There is a free trip being given away every day this month. With several days left, you might get lucky.
  • The golden arches of McDonald’s are almost a world-wide icon, although every country has its own version of some menu items. Aaron names some of them like Israel’s The McShawarma. He didn’t say if he tried some on his trip there.
  • In his post on tourism’s effect on the Amazon, Kraig talks about his upcoming trip to Peru where he’ll be traveling on the Amazon in a riverboat. We’re looking forward to what he discovers on this venture and shares with us here at Gadling.

And here’s one more. In case you missed this bit of news, our favorite pilot Kent Wien and his wife Linda won the Competitours race in Europe. Set up like an Amazing Race challenge, Competitours is offering a unique way to travel that Kent and Linda were happy to try. We’re certainly proud!!!

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.

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.