Great beef and pork jerky

[kevfoodvan]

For great, and different types of jerky, you have to go to the Abderdeen Centre in Richmond.  On the first floor, in the corner behind the fresh produce stand, is a place that only sells different types of jerky: pork, salmon, beef, sweet, spicy, etc.  When I'm there I always buy a pound of the sweet pork jerky.  They will vacuum seal it for you but it never lasts in my house.

Sorry I don't know the exact name of the stand but it's the only dedicated jerky store in the Centre.  Go today.

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Thanks Paul I will go their next week when I am in Richmond and try it.

[bill_n_opus]

Well, I took my youngest son on a road trip figuring that I would hopefully end up on Fraser Street (wasn't going to hit Richmond this early evening to avoid traffic - coming from New West) ... and the traffic was just nuts!

Everywhere!

Accidents here ... road work here ... diversions here ... I kid you not, I've not seen crazy traffic like that in a long while. Or maybe i'm getting old and not getting out enough anymore.

I'll have to hit the jerky-tour tommorrow.

[inanimate]

You know what? I heard rumors that it's not around anymore ... but I haven't confirmed it because I haven't looked around for it. I'll have to look for it next time I go to TNT.

I love this image. Brings back memories of scarfing down Jimmy's beef jerky down to the last little bits and then licking the bag up and down. (I shouldn't have admitted that ...)

(image removed by poster due to copyright considerations)

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Well, I went so far as to phone their offices a few times and there was no answer each time. Pretty sure humanity let them down and they're gone now.

[bill_n_opus]

Well, I went to Richmond today and toured around.

Steveston was nice, got there early enough so parking wasn't a problem and no tourists yet. Was able to grab some Halibut and chips at Pajo's and a shady seat to eat them under ... not bad.

Then went to Aberdeen later on, found some good parking. I was playing the "spot the Caucasian person" (a silly and innocent joke!) but it was difficult because Aberdeen is pretty Chinese - which is an understatement at the very least. I'm Chinese-background if it makes any difference.

Went to the jerky store in the grocery section of Aberdeen (Mei Jei or something like that) and bought a 1/2 pound of sweet pork and beef jerky for a pound total ~ 19 bucks.

Not cheap but it's pretty good. I'm not sure if it's as good as the Fraser St one is ... I do know that the Fraser jerky is slightly cheaper at ~ 14-16 bucks a pound. Lower lease rates i'm assuming.

I'll reserve final judgement on this jerky until after I finish my stock!

[sushi boy]

Bee Kim Heng Beef & Pork Jerky

4194 Fraser Street

Vancouver, BC

(604) 875-8688

If crystal meth was made from meat this is what is would taste like. It is that addictive.

[chocomoo]

^ THAT'S the name of the place! They're actually pretty well-known - a lot of out-of-towners buy the jerky from there as gifts for when they return home. I like how they make the jerky on-site. Mmmmm....juicy & moist....

[bill_n_opus]

Quick update:

I quite like the stuff from Aberdeen Mall. The beef is fairly meaty, the pork seems a bit more moist. I've pretty much finished off a pound already. This jerky also seems to be thinner than the one from Fraser St. I wonder what the caloric profile of this stuff is anyways? Maybe I don't want to know.

I'll try the Fraser St store to do a comparo later on. Thanks for the info sushi boy.

[sushi boy]

Quick update:

I quite like the stuff from Aberdeen Mall. The beef is fairly meaty, the pork seems a bit more moist. I've pretty much finished off a pound already. This jerky also seems to be thinner than the one from Fraser St. I wonder what the caloric profile of this stuff is anyways? Maybe I don't want to know.

I'll try the Fraser St store to do a comparo later on. Thanks for the info sushi boy.

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the first time I tried the pork jerky from the place on Fraser I kept eating it until my jaw hurt.

[flowbee]

i love the biltong (south african jerky) from serengeti trading store in north van (http://www.sasausages.com/)

great if you like the taste of meat without too much seasoning!

Edited August 4, 2006 by flowbee (log)

[Zarcath]

Hey, could anyone tell me what happened to Jimmy's Beef Jerky? It's my favorite beef jerky in the world, I think about 2 years ago I stopped eating it, I think the US stopped importing it because of a mad cow scare? I don't know, but I'm desperate for a box and I can't find anywhere online to get it

[SushiCat]

Beef jerky lovers, you might want to try JN&Z on Commercial between 1st and 2nd, west side. They usually make a plain jerky and a spicy jerky, I'm 99% certail it is alwasy all beef. Smokey and delicious, I like the spiced one. I haven't tried the others listed above, but this is quite addictive!

[waylman]

Bee Kim Heng Beef & Pork Jerky

4194 Fraser Street

Vancouver, BC

(604) 875-8688

If crystal meth was made from meat this is what is would taste like. It is that addictive.

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I picked up some beef jerky here today....1lb for $18. Unreal stuff! It is very moist and sweet. Unlike other jerkies I have tried, this stuff is actually a little bit sticky due to the marinade they use. Highly recommended!

[Little Frog]

I second the recommendation for Serengeti Trading.

My favourite is the Hunters Biltong, which has a very straightforward meat taste and a lovely dark colour.

Have not been there in ages, and the boerewors supply is running out too... an expedition to North Van is in order!

Edited December 28, 2006 by Little Frog (log)

[Brasshopper]

This sounds like bakkwa, which is based on a traditional way of preserving meat in China with sugar and salt. If they are making a very sweet jerky, then I think I've had similar. A number of years ago, I went to Bali, and I brought a lot back with me, probably illegally. At least I think it is bakkwa, I looked it up tonight because of an odd coincidence. See, I liked the stuff I brought back from Bali, but have never been able to find it in the states, not that I have looked hard, it was just a pleasant memory. I ate the jerky over months when I came back, and the last was starting to be too dry.

I remember that the meat had a rather distinctive flavor. I used to make a lot of jerky, and I tried making small batches to duplicate the flavor but never even got close because I could not deconstruct the flavors. I have recently duplicated at least part of this flavor, let me explain:

I started by sous videing a whole brisket. I cooked it for 72 hours at 131 (and the bag leaked badly the last 12 hours or so). But none the less, the meat was cooked thoroughly and tender. I used it in a number of different dishes, stew, for example, and finally had some fat with a little meat in it. I trimmed it and got about 2-3 points of fat, with about a pound of meat which was reasonably fatty. If you'd made burger I'd guess 75-25.

So I had this last bag, and I decided to be experimental. I decided to sweeten the meat, and go with a chocolate chile mix.

I then put this stuff back into a sous vide bag with about 3 tbsp of dark amber agave nectar, about 2 tbsp dark Hershey syrup, about 1/2 cup cheap cooking sherry, and 1 whole (slightly crumbled) dried Orale brand chili guajillo, seeds in, cap out. This is labeled medium hot, but, well, I would call it mild. It made its presence known, but more for chili flavors other than capsicum. There was a little heat, but not overbearing, not demanding, not missing either - and there was another presence that was a tiny bit like chipotle, maybe it was just dried chili.

All these flavors worked together, the odd sugars that are in the agave, the chocolate, the wine, and the chili gave the meat an interesting note, and I had tasted this combination before, and as I thought about it, the stuff I brought back from Bali was what I was tasting.

I was not trying to duplicate that flavor, I was just guessing, playing, fooling around.

I really don't know how - I think that part of it was definitely the chocolate and chili and a little was the sweetness in general. I now believe that there was a dusting of cocoa on that dry beef I brought back from Bali. I don't think that they used agave nectar, but I don't think that they were sweetening with sugar, this agave was closer than the last time I tried it.. The agave nectar claims a different, slower glycemic index, so I think that they use a longer chain sugar. That sort of worked in there.

There was a hint of chili and that was in there.

Now I want to try treating beef like this, in some agave and some Hershey's dark syrup, and maybe a stronger chili, or not, and see what happens when the beef is dehydrated. It will be a while, but it is something I want to try. If I can get this flavor reflected in the dry beef, well, it will be a success that I will be happy with, even though it has taken me years of low key effort.