Vermont Smoke & Cure is ... well, a meat snack producer, based in Vermont. As you may guess from the name.
They feature vegetarian fed meats, no antibiotics, no added hormones, yadda yadda. The products have no sodium nitrate, no preservatives, are gluten-free, all of that.
I'm a snacker, no question, but, meat sticks are just never what I seek out (although I have reviewed a few in the past, like Organic Prairie meat sticks, or the super fascinating Meat & Veggie Bars, from Wild Zora, which blend meat and veggies into jerky style sticks). Yet when my partner's company sent him a snack box and it had meat sticks in it ... you know I had to try them.
Vermont Smoke & Cure makes three different product lines: Classic Meat Sticks (1 ounce), mini sticks (.5 ounce), and sliced sausage and pepperoni. The classic size has more available variety than the minis, including grass fed options.
"Deep, medium spicy taste of true BBQ. Crafted with lean beef, peppers for nourishing real meat protein."
I didn't quite get the BBQ element I was expecting, perhaps thinking it might be a bit sweeter? And differently spiced. It did have molasses powder and cane sugar in it, but it wasn't sweet. The spices included paprika, celery juice powder, cherry juice powder, onion powder, and garlic powder, not really what scream out BBQ to me. But the blend was good, it was quite flavorful.
It also didn't taste particularly beefy. That said, it had a great chew, no odd bits, quality meat clearly.
It reminded me of ... pepperoni. Good pepperoni, but, pepperoni no less. I think my beef stick palette is not refined enough to appreciate this truly.
Each stick is 45 calories, 3g fat, and 3.5g protein, but recommended portion is 2.
"Just a bit of peppery kick. Crafted with lean beef and pork raised free of antibiotics or added hormones, cracked pepper and a classic mix of spices for nourishing real meat protein that you can now enjoy on the go."
Next I went for the "original", a blend of pork and beef.
I actually really liked it. Nice savory, smoky flavor. Good texture like the all beef one.
The flavor was more complex than I expected, using that same blend of celery juice, cherry juice, and garlic (in powdered form?!), and somehow that all works nicely. I liked it better without the additional "bbq" ingredients I guess. It seemed more smoky.
I liked this best actually slicing it and using it in Vietnamese, Korean, or Thai style stir fry, which I know sounds odd, but it really worked.
Each mini stick has 40 calories per stick, 3 grams protein, 3 grams fat. Serving size recommended is two, but they come as singles.
They feature vegetarian fed meats, no antibiotics, no added hormones, yadda yadda. The products have no sodium nitrate, no preservatives, are gluten-free, all of that.
I'm a snacker, no question, but, meat sticks are just never what I seek out (although I have reviewed a few in the past, like Organic Prairie meat sticks, or the super fascinating Meat & Veggie Bars, from Wild Zora, which blend meat and veggies into jerky style sticks). Yet when my partner's company sent him a snack box and it had meat sticks in it ... you know I had to try them.
Vermont Smoke & Cure makes three different product lines: Classic Meat Sticks (1 ounce), mini sticks (.5 ounce), and sliced sausage and pepperoni. The classic size has more available variety than the minis, including grass fed options.
Mini Meat Sticks
"Vermont Smoke & Cure mini meat sticks pack a lot of protein for a little snack. These minis are a perfect snack for kids and are individually wrapped to go anywhere in a lunchbox or backpack."The product line I tried was the mini meat sticks, little .5 ounce snack size sticks. They are available in 3 flavors: Original Beef & Pork, BBQ Beef, and Uncured Pepperoni Turkey. I tried the first two.
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| BBQ Seasoned Beef Stick. |
I didn't quite get the BBQ element I was expecting, perhaps thinking it might be a bit sweeter? And differently spiced. It did have molasses powder and cane sugar in it, but it wasn't sweet. The spices included paprika, celery juice powder, cherry juice powder, onion powder, and garlic powder, not really what scream out BBQ to me. But the blend was good, it was quite flavorful.
It also didn't taste particularly beefy. That said, it had a great chew, no odd bits, quality meat clearly.
It reminded me of ... pepperoni. Good pepperoni, but, pepperoni no less. I think my beef stick palette is not refined enough to appreciate this truly.
Each stick is 45 calories, 3g fat, and 3.5g protein, but recommended portion is 2.
 |
| Original Beef & Pork Stick |
Next I went for the "original", a blend of pork and beef.
I actually really liked it. Nice savory, smoky flavor. Good texture like the all beef one.
The flavor was more complex than I expected, using that same blend of celery juice, cherry juice, and garlic (in powdered form?!), and somehow that all works nicely. I liked it better without the additional "bbq" ingredients I guess. It seemed more smoky.
I liked this best actually slicing it and using it in Vietnamese, Korean, or Thai style stir fry, which I know sounds odd, but it really worked.
Each mini stick has 40 calories per stick, 3 grams protein, 3 grams fat. Serving size recommended is two, but they come as singles.
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