The World’s Best Beef Jerky Comes from Oklahoma

A small conversation quickly escalated in the weirdest way this morning. The topic is beef jerky and who makes the best.

It's still a raging debate days later.

Two types of Jerky.

By and large, there are two distinct types of beef jerky in this world, and every person is either a fan of one or the other, or they don't like jerky at all.

I'm in the camp that enjoys actual jerky. It's thin, dry, tough, stringy, and chewy. If it doesn't hurt your teeth after a while, it ain't jerky.

The reward for working your way through such a tough piece of meat is the peppery and somewhat spicy taste of success. This is the type of jerky you likely won't find in the stores like Walmart and Target.

The opposition is a fan of the common jerky that is most common on the aisles of your preferred grocery store. They're meaty and chunky, moist, soft, and easy on the teeth... commonly marketed as "tender."

That is not jerky.

There is absolutely nothing worse than reaching into a bag of beef jerky and realizing your hand feels wet. Moisture attracts bacteria, and while can't remember ever hearing a story about someone getting sick from eating contaminated store-bought jerky, I can't get over the humidity factor of lesser jerky.

It's totally a personal feeling and I'm not a (professional) expert on jerky. This is just the corner of the internet where I can say whatever I want on such matters with impunity.

Oklahoma makes the best beef jerky in the world.

That's a bold statement, I realize it... but I've had jerky from everywhere and I keep coming back to our Sooner State brands. I'm not alone in this feeling either. I've had the jerky conversation with tons of people over the years and they agree, mostly. Some people don't like real beef jerky and that's OK. To each their own.

What does Oklahoma do differently?

That's the common question where the conversation picks up, and to be honest, I don't know.

I do know the best jerky isn't cut against or across the grain. When you slice with the grain, it makes for really tough bite, but that's the draw to jerky.

You just take lean cuts of meat, add a little spice, dry all the moisture out of it, and done. It's easy enough you can do it at home in a smoker, dehydrator, oven, etc...

Who do you think makes the best?

If you didn't already know, there's a small beef jerky outfit in the Oklahoma panhandle that makes the best beef jerky in the world.

It's tough as nails, will dry your mouth out, and it's delicious.

It's made the same way jerky has been made throughout the history of the world. Because of that, Oklahoma is king of beef jerky.

If you've never been to Boise City, I cannot tell you how little there is to do there. It's a place so remote that it's easier to shop for groceries in Colorado than it is to find what you're looking for in that small strip of Oklahoma land. But there's a market for the best beef jerky in the world.

Try it sometime. I've been on a black pepper kick this month, but their hot and spicy variety is also really good.