Wild West Jalapeno

Wild West Jalapeno – honey and green chilli arguing pleasantly in a bag of beef jerky

Wild West Jalapeno is British-made beef jerky that puts honey and jalapeno on the same strip and lets them fight it out. Underneath sits the familiar Wild West cure of demerara sugar, pineapple and apple, so the sweetness has somewhere to stand. On paper the combination should be a mess. In practice it is the most interesting bag in the range.

Why this one

• Two flavours, not one with a garnish: honey pulls out the chilli's fruity side, the chilli's vegetal heat stops the honey going sugary, and neither wins outright.
• Heat built in, not dusted on: the jalapeno runs through the meat as flecks rather than sitting on the surface as a powder, so every strip behaves the same.
• Warm, not punishing: green and bright rather than the deep slow burn a habanero gives you.
• 25 g and 60 g bags, plus full cases of sixteen.

How Wild West makes it

Wild West is a British brand producing in the UK. The dried jalapeno and smoked paprika go into the marinade with the honey rather than being added after drying, so the chilli is cured into the beef. The strips are then dried soft, which is what keeps the heat gentle enough that you can work through a whole bag.

Taste and texture

Sweet first, then a green pepper warmth across the middle of the tongue, then sweet again as you keep chewing. The cycle is the whole appeal: you take another piece partly to work out what just happened. Texture is soft and pliable with the faint tack the sweeter Wild West cures always leave. You tear these rather than snap them.

Who it is for

Anyone who has put hot sauce on something sweet and quietly decided it worked. Taco nights, where it sits happily on the table before the food is ready. Poker evenings and long card games, because it is a slow-eating bag. Card-carrying spice-avoiders usually manage this one fine.

Frequently asked

Is it hotter than Wild West Hot & Spicy? No. Hot & Spicy is the serious one and drops the sweetness to make room for the chilli. Jalapeno keeps the sugar and the heat sits behind it.

Does the sweetness cancel the heat out? It softens the edges. You still feel it, it just never escalates into something you need a glass of milk for.

How should I store an opened bag? Press the air out, reseal it, keep it somewhere cool and dry. No fridge needed.

Order Wild West Jalapeno at Jerky Store Europe

Both bag sizes and the sixteen-pack case are in stock and ship fast across Europe from Jerky Store Europe.