vegan jerky review

I was never that into jerky back when I ate meat. In fact, I think the only jerky I knew of was Slim Jims (which always seemed like they'd be cool because Macho Man Randy Savage endorsed them, but were sorta gross), and some strange venison jerky one of my dad's friends made. But other vegans must miss jerky, because I've seen a few vegan jerkys (jerkies? How does one pluralize jerky?) out there. Primal Strips were the first vegan jerky I had. Made primarily from gluten, but also incorporating soy and mushrooms, Primal Strips were great late-night-paper-writing snacks when I was in college. But then I became nightshade intolerant, and the flavors I liked best had hot peppers. Plus they are hard to open, wet and sticky, and a little too sweet. And while I can have gluten, about half of my family members cannot, so my now-vegan-but-one-time-Slim-Jim-loving brother is out of luck.

Enter Morels the Vegan Butcher's "What a Jerky!" Morels the Vegan Butcher started out as a food truck based out of Louisville, Kentucky, but has moved onto catering and selling their food at stores in their area. They were doing a promotion to encourage online sales of their new jerky, so I signed up for a free package of Yoko's Teriyaki Jerky. They assured me that their jerky is nightshade free and were nice enough to give me a full ingredient list so I could see for myself (the package says "spices," which can be tricky if you're allergic to a particular spice). The jerky is soy-based and is also gluten free, so I'm totally going to send my vegan, gluten-free, jerky-loving brother a package soon.

So... what's it like?

The jerky is basically made from soy curls, if you've ever had those. It's chewy and just tender enough to sink your teeth into, but isn't so moist that your fingers get wet holding it (unlike Primal Strips). The teriyaki flavor is subtle and very slightly sweet, which balances the saltiness.

Each bag is $5, which seems reasonable considering it's all natural, made in small batches, and is very high in protein (and therefore filling). As I said above, I'm definitely ordering some for my jerky-loving family members. If you like jerky, or even just salty, flavorful soy snacks, I recommend giving Morels the Vegan Butcher your business!

What I Don't Eat Part II

In addition to being allergic to nightshades, I'm allergic to dairy, which is how this whole "vegan" thing came to be. I've been vegetarian since I was 14, but my mother is of Irish descent (ie, milk in everything. also her father was a dairy farmer), so milk was a staple in my house growing up.

I'm allergic to a protein in milk called casein, which is NOT the same thing as lactose intolerance. People who are lactose intolerant can still eat cheese, yogurt, and some small amounts of dairy without a problem. I can't have any dairy or anything that's touched dairy.

I found out about my casein allergy when I was a senior in high school - and from there, it was a gradual 2-3 years as I transitioned to veganism. So you will not find, in this blog, eggs, meat, or dairy.

My little brother is also allergic to casein, AND he's allergic to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and sometimes oats. The chemical makeups of casein and gluten are really similar, so often if you're allergic to one, you're allergic to the other. I've noticed that if I have a lot of gluten in the course of a day, I get itchy and my stomach hurts a little. I'm not going to go gluten-free unless I have to, but I do try to avoid eating too much gluten. So you will also (probably) never see seitan on this blog, and most of my recipes are gluten-free or easy for celiacs to convert.

On with the cooking!