Lawless Jerky is a new brand created by a licensed attorney named Matthew Tolnick of Santa Monica, CA. Making jerky started from his days in college when he and his fraternity boys needed sustenance through long evenings of
This Aloha Teriyaki is described by Tolnick as the best of American and Japanese cuisines blended together, sweet from brown sugar and 100% pure Hawaiian pineapple juice, it's spiced with ginger, garlic, and onion, with some Asian inspired vinegar for tanginess.
100% US Beef, soy sauce, rice vinegar, pineapple juice, garlic, ginger, sesame seeds, onion.
Taste
The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a soy sauce flavor with a light sweetness. I can pick up trace amounts of garlic and ginger.
The chewing flavor starts with a more defined soy sauce flavor along with a good deal of natural meat flavors. I get a touch of tanginess in the chewing, and can pick up the garlic a little more.
For being marketed as "Aloha Teriyaki" it seems to fit the bill, but more so as just Teriyaki. It has what I would consider a distinctive teriyaki flavor with its sweetness, a defined soy sauce flavor, a tanginess in the chewing, and touches of pungent ginger and garlic. The only ingredient I see that would make this uniquely Hawaiian is the pineapple juice, and I don't really identify a pineapple flavor. But to be honest, I've been to Hawaii and have had Hawaiian-style teriyaki, and I'm not sure there's any difference between that and just teriyaki. So I'm not sure how to define Aloha Teriyaki.
Otherwise, the flavors that seem to define this jerky is the distinct, authentic teriyaki flavors and the natural meat flavors. Both seem to balance each other out quite well. The natural meat flavors are rich, oozing out a steak-like flavor that's hard to miss.
The level of saltiness in this seems somewhere between light to moderate.
Overall, it's a mild tasting jerky in that there's no heat or heavy spiciness, but not mild in terms of flavor.
Meat Consistency
These are slices of whole meat, cut into chunks mostly of bite-sized pieces.
This is a dry jerky with a semi-moist surface feel. Chewing seems labored, slightly tough, requiring a good deal of chewing to get through.
The chewing texture starts out with a good deal of chewing resistance, but very quickly takes on the feel of real meat, though still slightly tough. But it does chew down to a softer, easier chew, and by that point it feels like eating a piece of steak, one cooked medium-well.
I don't see any pieces of fat on these chunks, nor do I see any gristle or tendon, but here and there I did feel some stringiness in the chewing, and I did encounter some unchewable tissues on some chunks.
As for clean eating, it seems quite clean. Even though it's semi-moist on the surface, my fingers still seem clean enough to type on the keyboard.
Snack Value
Lawless Jerky has a price of $25.00 for a one pound package. Tolnick doesn't mention shipping prices, but considering the box he sent me had a $6.80 postage label, that would work out to $31.80, or a per ounce price of $1.99.
For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $1.99 per ounce price, this seems to be a good value. I'm getting a good deal of snackability for its good overall flavor and excellent meat consistency and chewing texture. It's priced similarly as the major brands of jerky found in grocery stores, yet this has a far better flavor and meat consistency.
As a "Aloha Teriyaki" variety of beef jerky, at the same $1.99 per ounce price, it's a good value again. I can identify a classic teriyaki flavor in the true Japanese style, which is far better than any of the major brands which seem to give you just sweetened soy sauce.
Rating
I'm giving this a best rating.
This Aloha Teriyaki variety from Lawless Jerky offers an excellent teriyaki that remains in the classic Japanese style, marrying together a perfect quartet of sweet, soy sauce, tangy vinegar/wine, and the pungent dashes of ginger and garlic.
On top of that is a well-defined, easily identifiable, natural meat flavor that comes out right with the first chew, tasting like morsels of marinated steak grilled medium-well, and then seasoned with garlic, onion, and sprinkles of sesame seed. All that was missing were the bamboo skewers, because this meat reminds of the Hawaiian shiskabobs grilling at farmers markets and street fairs.
I didn't, however, identify anything in this as being uniquely Hawaiian, but then again I'm not sure there really is anything distinct between Teriyaki and Hawaiian Teriyaki aside from having slices of pineapple on the side. Maybe adding some crushed pineapple into the marinade might work. Otherwise, I think it's fine. The meat is also somewhat tough, particularly the thicker, chunkier pieces. But the great flavor still managed to get me through.
Lawless Jerky recommends any beer from Maui Brewing Co to pair with this. However, I think the fruitier Wailua Wheat from Kona Brewing makes a nice companion.
Rating:
BestBuy this online: