I’ve been partial to beef jerky and biltong for many years. Back before I had any standards for quality or flavour, I’d often get the giant size bags of the cheap Jack Link’s from Costco and buy that or Local Legends (slightly better) when on sale at Coles or Woolworths but a few years ago, I started seeing ads for The Jerky Co, which is a company in Western Australia with established stores and that ships around Australia. Their ads were quite tempting and were my first introduction to the world of proper beef jerky and biltong.

Original Beef Chief Vs The Jerky Co

The Jerky Co’s products were really good compared to the supermarket brands I was used to, and definitely gave me a new standard for jerky and biltong. But I live in Victoria and read a few negative reviews about their products spoiling in transit across the country during COVID-19, so I started buying The Original Beef Chief instead since they’re based much closer in NSW.

Whilst I still like The Jerky Co and even visited a few of their retail stores on holiday to Perth (worth a look if you are ever in the area, they have many locations) I would say that I buy Original Beef Chief over them probably 9 times out of 10. The reason is The Jerky Co’s smallest bag size (for most of its flavours) is 250 grams (about $30.00 AUD per bag unless discounted) whilst The Original Beef Chief has bags from under $7.00 starting at 30 grams, 50 grams and 100 grams.

The thing that bugs me about the Jerky Co is that for the same budget, I have to buy fewer total flavours, whilst, with Original Beef Chief, I can buy a big mix of different flavours. The Jerky Co also suggests that you eat their product within 7 days of receiving it and store it in the fridge or freeze it. Original Beef Chief seems to be fine at room temperature and lasts for many months. Meaning ultimately, I can buy lots of different flavours and eat them at my leisure. I also prefer this type of product at room temperature for some reason.

I believe the reason why The Jerky Co sells theirs in such large bags is because the pieces of meat they sell are long thin strips, whilst Original Beef Chief pieces are smaller and thicker, more like a stir-fry size piece you can chuck straight in your mouth. I guess their pieces might not fit well in small bags, or if they did, you’d only get 1-2 pieces which might look a bit miserable.

Anyway, both are good, but Beef Chief suits me best. My only complaint about Beef Chief is that they do not do truffle biltong or jerky whilst The Jerky Co does. The Jerky Co also dabbles in lamb and fruit jerky, which is interesting, but I have not tried those yet so cannot comment.

So with all that being said, here’s a sample of what my usual order from Beef Chief looks like:

Jerky – Teriyaki

As far as non-spicy jerky goes, this is amazing. I ate this one first and forgot to write anything about it. It’s a pretty safe bet you’ll like it too. I’ll go into proper detail on the rest.

Biltong – Chipotle

Whilst the name hints at being spicey, this is an incredibly mild but smokey and enjoyable and a great introduction to The Original Beef Chief’s offerings. This is classed as “Heat Level 2” meaning it’s very mild compared to many other flavours by this brand. Being biltong means that this is soft and easy to eat, which may suit newcomers to this brand as their jerky is very tough and the fatty chipotle biltong (which I also love) is a little strange to people as their first biltong experience.

I think this is the perfect snack for those new to South African-style dried meats in Australia!

Biltong – Chilli BBQ

For those after a soft chew who want a bit more heat, you can’t go wrong with the “Heat Level 5” Chilli BBQ. This is just spicy enough to make the hair on my head a little bit itchy, a reaction I often get to spicy food. But it’s still at a level where I can rapidly eat it and demolish a bag of the 30g product (the smallest offering they sell). The flavour is as the name suggests, spicy with a hint of smoky barbecue. Highly recommended!

Biltong – Ragin’ Cagin

Another favourite of mine, the Ragin Cajun Biltong is a great one to try out if you are new to the brand. It is only “Heat Level 3”, which gives you only a little tingle from the cayenne chilli. It has a smokey flavour due to the paprika and a very subtle sweetness from the capsicum. There is also a mild hint of garlic there and I absolutely love garlic. If you are ordering from The Original Beef Chief, this is an essential purchase.

Droewors – Smokey Chilli

Droeswors is a dried meat snack similar to “twiggy sticks” and the salami sticks you can get at supermarkets, but a little different. They do not need to be refrigerated and are not packed as densely. This makes them to be quite a soft and easy-to-eat snack that won’t wear out your jaw muscles. The Smokey Chilli is probably my favourite by The Original Beef Chief as it combines spiciness (I’d call it a medium heat) garlic (another important flavour for me) and a smokiness that makes it different to a lot of the other hot flavours. If you like spicy meat snacks, you can’t go wrong here.

Beef Jerky – Garlic

If you love hard, tough beef jerky and love garlic, then you’re going to love this. This is the first jerky I’m talking about in this article that when I say “tough” it’s actually a good thing because you know you’re eating real cuts of meat.

Chargrilled Chilli BBQ

When I first got into this brand a few years ago, this was my immediate favourite. The Chargrilled Chilli BBQ Jerky is “Heat Level 5” and has a smokey taste to it as well as the spice and the barbecue flavour that seems to come from dehydrated fruit and vegetables as as well as citrus fibre. It does have a slight fruity aftertaste to it. Which is a bit different when compared to the other flavours on offer. I think over time, my interest in this flavour has dropped a little in comparison to others in this list, but it’s still good stuff.

Fatty Biltong – Chipotle

When I was younger I used to trim the fat off of everything. I would not eat it at all. But as my tastes have matured, I’ve found I quite enjoy fatty biltong. I find these cuts to be even softer and oilier than the regular biltong by Original Beef Chief. The Chiptole is level 2 so is a great introduction to fatty biltong for anyone interested in trying it. The bag I’m eating currently has fewer pieces that include sections of fat than I recall typically finding, but that’s not necessarily a problem as all the pieces still have that slightly oily texture that makes it different and it still tastes great.

Fatty Biltong – Chilli BBQ

It’s difficult for me to describe this type of meat product without words that could be taken as negative. But this is awesome. It is level 5 spice which Is probably my favourite level for eating without turning into an endurance contest. It is very soft and oily, which is the point of it. The bag I’m currently eating has far more pieces with fat on them than the Chipotle one did before. The pieces with fat on them definitely add a change in texture, being super soft and watery and packed with flavour. Highly recommended. if you enjoy the heat.

Jerky – Salt and Vinegar

I had to eat this one last because I’ve had so much of it over the past year or two that the novelty has worn off a bit and I’ve been all salt-and-vinegared out. This pack is unique in that it comes with a “flavour bomb” reminiscent of Samboy Chips in the 90s or McDonald’s Shaker Fries. This tastes like Salt and Vinegar straight out of the packet, but the extra sachet makes it more extreme. Just be careful to eat this one quickly as some of the flavour sachets will go hard over time. You can now also buy bags of just the flavouring.