Jerky and Snack Sticks Are Not the Same Thing

Two people can order the same thing at our counter and mean completely different products. Jerky and a snack stick both come from a cow, both live in your pocket, and both get called jerky by half the people who buy them. They are not the same thing, and knowing which one you want saves you the disappointment.

Jerky is a slice, a snack stick is a grind

Jerky starts as whole muscle. A piece of meat gets sliced, marinated and dried, and what you end up with keeps the grain of the muscle it came from. That is why jerky pulls apart in strands and why it takes some chewing.

A snack stick starts ground. The meat is mixed with seasoning, stuffed into a casing, then smoked and dried. No grain, so it bites clean instead of tearing, and the seasoning runs all the way through rather than sitting on the surface.

Which one is better? Whichever problem you are solving. Jerky if you want it to last and you like the work. Snack sticks if you are handing food to somebody in a truck.

What the animal changes

The animal drives the price, which is why the differences look strange until you know what you are looking at.

Beef is the baseline. Fattier, more forgiving, and the flavor most people are calibrated to.

Buffalo is leaner than beef and tastes cleaner and slightly sweeter, without the heaviness beef leaves behind. Lean meat dries harder, which is why buffalo jerky has more snap to it.

Elk is leaner still and the most distinctly itself. It carries a mild richness that people either seek out on purpose or find surprising. It lands at the same price as buffalo, with beef the cheaper one of the three, and that is supply rather than markup.

The ones people come back for

Snack sticks are where our meat counter gets interesting, because a grind takes on whatever you mix into it.

Jalapeno and cheddar is the one that sells to people who came in for something else. The heat shows up but it stays reasonable.

Huckleberry in a meat stick sounds like a dare and it is the one we get asked about most. The fruit reads as a faint sweetness against the smoke rather than as candy, and it is the single most Montana thing in the case.

Plain buffalo is the one to start with if you have never had buffalo, since nothing else is competing for your attention.

Why "with beef added" is on the label

Because buffalo and elk are lean, and a stick made from lean meat alone comes out dry and crumbly. A share of beef brings the fat back so the texture holds together. It is on the label because it is true, not because anybody is hiding something.

Questions we get

Does it need refrigeration? Not until you open it. That is the entire appeal for a glovebox or a daypack.

Which is better for hiking? Snack sticks. They do not need two hands or much chewing, and they survive being sat on.

Is elk leaner than beef? Yes, noticeably, along with buffalo. It is a large part of why people who avoid red meat still eat these.

What do I bring somebody who has never had game meat? Buffalo before elk, and a stick before jerky. Start with the gentler texture and the gentler flavor.

Where to find us

Chalet Market of Montana, 6410 Jackrabbit Ln, Belgrade, MT 59714. Call us at (406) 388-4687.