What is Beef Jerky?

Beef jerky is a meat snack made of dried beef that is usually flavored with sugar, salt, and other seasonings. Beef jerky is made from dried strips of beef, or from ground beef that is shaped into jerky and dried. It can include a variety of seasonings to create different flavors, including popular flavors like teriyaki and peppered beef jerky.

Here at Top Notch Jerky, all our beef jerky is Ranch Cut, or "natural style" beef jerky, meaning that each piece of beef jerky is cut directly from solid strips of beef and dried. We take the best quality beef, season it with our carefully-crafted recipes, and dry it to turn it into the best beef jerky you'll ever have.

More About What Beef Jerky Is

Okay, so beef jerky is a meat snack made of dried strips of beef. Got it. What else makes beef jerky what it is? Do strips of dried beef really taste that good on their own? Well, no. Let's take a look at what else beef jerky is made of that gives it that delicious flavor that everyone loves.

We have 6 different flavors of beef jerky, so the ingredients vary some between flavors. However, there are a few ingredients you can find in all of our beef jerky. All of our beef jerky is made with water, sugar/brown sugar, salt, and natural flavor and/or spices. Depending on the flavor of beef jerky, there are other ingredients that contribute to the specific seasoning of that jerky, but these are a few ingredients that make beef jerky what it is.

All of the ingredients that go into our beef jerky can be found on each individual product page! See all our beef jerky options here: Top Notch Beef Jerky

All of our beef comes from our own cows that we raise locally. We are owned by a 4th-generation ranching family, so we make sure that all our beef jerky is of the highest quality from the best cattle. Our beef jerky comes from Corriente cattle raised just 20 minutes from where we make our beef jerky. When you buy Top Notch Jerky, you can rest assured that your beef jerky is made of the best quality locally-raised beef!

What are Meat Sticks?

Meat sticks are a form of jerky where meat is ground and put into casings to create a stick shape. Meat sticks, often called snack sticks, beef jerky sticks, beef sticks, jerky sticks, or jerky snack sticks, are made a little differently from regular beef jerky. Meat sticks are made by grinding, cooking, drying meat and putting it into a casing to create the stick shape (source).

Meat sticks can be made with a variety of types of meat: all beef, beef and pork, all pork, turkey, elk, deer, buffalo, or even outlandish things like alligator or squirrel! The most common types of meat sticks are beef sticks, beef and pork jerky sticks, or all-pork snack sticks. Some types and flavors of meat sticks, such as pepperoni snack sticks, may be more likely to be made with pork.

Our meat sticks are made with beef and pork, always with our locally-raised beef as the first ingredient.

The Most Important Thing About What Beef Jerky Is

We personally think the most important thing to know about beef jerky is the quality of beef. At Top Notch Jerky, we are proud to offer you premium beef jerky that is made from locally-raised beef, and each piece of beef jerky is cut directly from solid strips of beef. We don't add fillers to make our jerky cheaper to make, and we don't outsource our meat. This means that we know our beef jerky is made of the highest quality beef we can grow! 

As for the other ingredients, we believe it's also important to make sure our beef jerky is a tasty as you could possibly want it to be. Our carefully-crafted recipes bring you a blend of salt, spices, and seasonings with each flavor of beef jerky that is sure to leave you craving more. Whether it's simple Original Beef Jerky or our more exciting Pepper Dill Pickle Beef Jerky, we'll bring you a high-quality product that is seasoned to perfection!

Order Premium Beef Jerky Online

Starting at just $5.99/bag, you can try our Premium Beef Jerky today! Now that you know what beef jerky is made of, you can buy Top Notch Beef Jerky with confidence in what you'll get. Click the links below to browse our products!

Beef Jerky

Meat Sticks

All Meat Snacks