Wild West Original

Wild West Original – the sweet-savoury British beef jerky the rest of the range is measured against

Wild West Original is beef jerky made in the UK, and it is the bag everything else in the Wild West lineup gets compared to. The cure is built on demerara sugar, apple cider vinegar and pineapple, which lands it somewhere between American jerky and the drier Czech style: sweeter than most European bags, more layered than most American ones. If you have never eaten Wild West before, start here and work outwards.

Why this one

• The baseline flavour: no second idea layered over the cure, so you get the Wild West house profile undiluted.
• Lean and high in protein: a strip that earns its place in a rucksack rather than the biscuit tin.
• Three pack sizes: a 25 g bag for a pocket, a 60 g bag for a journey, and a 300 g bag for households that have learned 25 g does not go far between two people.

How Wild West makes it

Wild West is a British brand and the jerky is produced in the UK. The beef is sliced thin, left in the demerara-and-cider cure until it soaks right through the meat instead of sitting on the surface, then dried soft rather than hard. That is why the sweetness arrives first and the beef comes through underneath it.

Taste and texture

Dark caramel from the raw cane sugar, a tropical lift from the pineapple, then a vinegar tang that stops the whole thing turning cloying. The strips stay pliable instead of snapping, so you tear a piece off and chew rather than gnaw at it. Against the rest of the range, Original is the balanced one: Honey BBQ pushes the same base stickier, Jalapeno throws green chilli at it, and Hot & Spicy drops most of the sweetness for smoked paprika.

Who it is for

Glove compartments on long drives. The snack table on football night. Anyone who finds Czech-style jerky too austere and wants a strip that is openly trying to be enjoyable rather than purely functional. Pairs surprisingly well with a hoppy IPA.

Frequently asked

Does it need refrigerating? No. It lives in a cupboard, not a fridge. Keep sealed bags cool and dry, and reseal an open one properly.

Which Wild West should I buy first? This one. It is the reference point, and once you know it you can tell exactly what Honey BBQ, Jalapeno and Hot & Spicy are each doing differently.

Is the 300 g bag the same jerky? Same strips, bigger bag. It simply removes the part where you have to open a second one.

Order Wild West Original at Jerky Store Europe

In stock in 25 g, 60 g and 300 g, plus full cases. Ships fast across Europe from Jerky Store Europe.