When you’re in the beef jerky business — well, you eat a lot of beef jerky. And we’re not complaining. We’ve been getting active on Twitter lately, and it’s pretty interesting to see what people are saying about jerky – and what they’re eating with it. So, in no particular order, we thought we’d share some of our — and the Twitterverse’s — favorite things to eat with beef jerky.

1. Beef jerky and orange juice. That’s right, breakfast of champions. This one is an internal favorite – and what’s not to like? For you doubters, you’d eat back for breakfast, so next time, try something that’s a little less greasy and a bit more favorable.

2. Fiery hot jerky and dark chocolate. Spicy meets sweet. This one is truly excellent with a high quality dark chocolate. Hmm – jerky flavored chocolate? That could be a good one too…

3. Borrowed from Twitter user @PrincessPo – this one sounds amazing. Beef jerky and dried mangoes. Going to have to try this! Plus, it would make a perfect portable snack.

4. Our original flavor jerky with Ginger Beer. I have to warn you, this combo can be hard to find – so you may want to stockpile both components. There’s just something about the ginger, the bubbles, and the beef….warning: you may become addicted.

5. Beef jerky and Red Bull. We see this one on Twitter a lot. As in, several times a day, every day. So, while we’ve heard that the army recently came up with caffeinated beef jerky — this is an easy and accessible way to get the same effect. Plus, then you’ll be awake longer, and can eat more jerky.

6. Chips, beef jerky, and soda. We’ve all done this one before, but grabbed it today courtesy of @iyaz on Twitter…he enjoyed it as a lazy morning breakfast when the wife and kids were out of town, and we’re in complete support of this lazy meal. Sometimes you’ve just gotta do it.

7.  Teriyaki jerky and cheese. We like Gouda, but experiment or use whatever is your favorite – it’s hard to go wrong. The salty sweetness of the teriyaki jerky pairs perfectly with the bite of a flavorful cheese.

8. Beef jerky and corn nuts. Got this one from Twitter user @elliottholt – she likes it for road trips, sounds pretty good to me. This would also make a perfect game day snack.

9. Beef jerky, almonds, and good old Coca-Cola. We don’t even have to explain this one – it’s just perfection. In fact, it sounded so good that I had to have some while I wrote – my spread is pictured at the top of this article.

10. Your favorite jerky and your favorite candy. I like our Original with Starburst (i recommend a fruity candy!) but you’ve got to go with your gut on this one – the good news is it’s impossible to go wrong.

What else do you pair with your jerky? Inquiring minds want to know. Or, do you use jerky in any other recipes? We want to know how you eat your jerky…sharing is caring, people. In the meantime, bon appetit!

Beef jerky is a great alternative to other snacks—and a delicious addition to a healthy lifestyle!

Sometimes it seems like all of the best things in life come at a price, especially when it comes to food. “Healthy” and “delicious” don’t tend to go hand in hand, sadly. But, we have good news. Very good news. Beef jerky can be a healthy snack! Yes, we said it. It’s not only delicious, beef jerky is also a pretty good snack choice.

Why is jerky healthy? First, beef jerky comes with a healthy wallop of high-quality protein. Animal protein, like red meat, contains all nine essential amino acids, making it the best kind of protein you can put in your body. But, unlike other types of red meats, our beef jerky is also low in fat. Our jerky has about 1g of fat per every 1 oz serving – and none of it is artery-clogging saturated or trans fat. This is just 2% of the US RDA – much less than you’ll find in most snack foods.

What about the sodium, you ask? Full disclosure, regular jerky does have some sodium. About 330 mg – 520 mg per serving in Big John’s jerky. But we’ve got good news if you are watching your sodium levels – both our Original and Fiery Hot flavors come in lower salt versions as well, made with 40% less salt.

What else does beef jerky have going for it? Well, our jerky has less than 100 calories per serving (as low as 45, depending on the flavor!) and is high in minerals and vitamins. Yes, really. Now, the cynics among us are now thinking…“Come on, Big John, clearly you’re biased.” And, we do love our jerky. But, the numbers speak for themselves – beef jerky is a healthy, flavorful snack for adults and kids alike. Want to read more? Check out Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong site – there are so many articles about beef jerky, you’d think they were working for the meat industry. Or, look at recent articles in Men’s Health or AskMen.com. We’re not the only ones thinking about this.

So, next time you’re enjoying some jerky in the car, lose the guilt. This snack is all pleasure.  And, you can feel good about sharing with the kids – getting them hooked on this healthy snack is a good thing! Healthy beef jerky. Who knew!?

We thought this first post would be a good way to say hello and also to tell all of our fans about some of what we’re working on at Big John’s. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already tasted our jerky and you know that it’s the best jerky out there. We believe this from our core – our passion for jerky borders on insane, but it’s what we do and we love it. We’re always working to make our jerky even better, but we believe that it’s pretty darn amazing as of today. Our next goal? To make our website even more customer-friendly and to communicate with all of you in new ways, starting here.

We’re working around the clock (seriously – we’re talking 2 AM Big John’s IM chats) on the site to make it easier to order from and more fun to use. We’re getting ready to get more active on your favorite social sites (are you a fan on Facebook yet? If not, check us out, it will be worth your while!) And, we’re working on a lot coming down the pike – more jerky pics on the site, easier checkout, and the list goes on…

We’ll be keeping you posted here, and sharing some other fun jerky-related – and not jerky-related stuff. Let us know what you want to see – we’re all about making you happy.

From the smokehouse,

Big John