Are you curious about Zuke’s Genuine Jerky? We love reviewing dog treats–and our dogs love it even more.
One of our earliest–and most successful–books was a combination guidebook and cookbook titled Texas Barbecue. To write it, we traveled around the state, tasting (…and tasting…) barbecue of every imaginable variety.
Once the book was published, our publisher went all out with a big publicity push so we were cooking barbecue on TV, hosting special appearances at all kinds of stores, and even judging barbecue at state events.
If you’ve never been to a barbecue cookoff, the way most work is through blind judging. Competitors package their entries in a foil-lined box, with the barbecue cut into bite-sized pieces. Each box gets a number and judges sample the meat to make their decision and mark their opinions on official ballots:
Well, this week we had the chance to do a different kind of barbecue judging: we sampled Zuke’s Genuine Jerky! Made in three flavors–Zuke’s Genuine Jerky Teriyaki Beef, Zuke’s Genuine Jerky Original Beef, Zuke’s Genuine Jerky Barbecue Beef–this natural jerky is much like that you’d buy for yourself.
We were especially interested in the Barbecue Beef, always the category we judged:
Much like the barbecue we’d seen in the fiery Texas barbecue competitions, Zuke’s Genuine Jerky Barbecue Beef was cut into bite-sized pieces, perfect for rewarding behaviors without providing too much of a treat.
The smell was just like that of the best barbecue–a rich blend of smoky goodness with notes of garlic, paprika, and a hint of brown sugar. (In fact, along with beef, those are the actual ingredients of this jerky, combined with salt, onion powder, apple cider vinegar, celery powder and more.)
Like the best barbecues, this jerky for dogs contained no nitrates or nitrites.
With our judging out of the way, it was time for the real judges to step up: Irie and Tiki. We’ve been training both dogs to use a new car ramp this week so that Irie can get to the vet and hopefully start some limited day trips again soon, following her recent ACL surgery.
We decided to put Zuke’s jerky to the test with some training on the ramp. Tiki, always the adventurer, was first, lured up the ramp with an open bag of jerky:
Next, it was Irie’s turn to #WorkLikeaDog. She’s far more cautious so we lined the ramp with Zuke’s Genuine Jerky:
The jerky did the trick! Irie made it up the ramp–and back down again–thanks to the lure of this flavorful treat. A big paws up for this healthy treat!
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