Don Self calls himself “The Chief Jerk.” His colleague, Dale Prichard, is known as “The Work Jerk.” “Our employees,” said Self, “are known as Meatheads.”
Obviously, there’s no shortage of humor at A Couple o’ Jerks, Self and Prichard’s thriving beef-jerky business, located in Labadie, Mo. Perhaps the jerky jokes have bred their success – the spicy and milder varieties of their dried-beef snacks are sold in most Schnucks markets and a dozen other retail outlets.
Their achievement has just earned official acclaim, too; the Scovie Awards, which recognize national excellence in hot and spicy foods, gave first place in the packaged-jerky category to A Couple o’ Jerks for 2010. “It was a bit of a surprise,” Self commented. “We’re the new kid on the block.”
So how spicy is his jerky? “It’ll light you up,” he said. “We have spicy and we have ‘milder,’ which is not to be confused with mild. They both have a kick. The spicy won’t burn your face off, but it is spicier than most of the national brands.” Their process for producing the jerky is a bit unusual as well. “We start with top round beef and trim it up, get rid of all the fat, slice it, then marinate it in the top-secret formula,” Self explained. “I could tell you what’s in it, but then I’ll have to kill you – that marinade was literally 25 years in the making. Then we put [the jerky] in the dehydrator for five or six hours. We don’t use a smoker, which creates a rubbery texture. The next day we package it by hand. We have no preservatives and no added MSG, which you will find in most jerkies.”
The best time to eat jerky? “I think jerky is great for a car trip, camping, hunting and fishing,” said Self. Jerky also means it’s time for romancin’, he added. “Oh yeah,” said the jocular meat magnate, “there’s nothing like jerky breath to get things going.”
– Byron Kerman
This article appears in Nov 1-30, 2009.