By Hannah Ellington, Staff Writer
Beef, turkey, fish, antelope, kangaroo, bugs and the world’s hottest hot sauce. These are all items you can find when venturing into the Beef Jerky Outlet.
The Beef Jerky Outlet recently opened in Kitty Hawk — built in just 60 days! — in the same shopping plaza with Papa John’s and I Got Your Crabs and has surely drawn lots of attention. Mostly, people are wondering just how something like this will work out.
“I really don’t know how there would be a market for that,” English teacher Amy Powell said. “Just like how we have a business down here that sells gourmet dog snacks and that’s been around for awhile and I don’t understand how.”
But despite the skepticism, there has been overwhelming interest and wonder at the bright red sign that seemed to appear out of nowhere on the bypass. And considering this is the 100th franchise of The Beef Jerky Outlet to open in less than two years, there seems to be an underlying wave of success that will come with it.
“Beef jerky has been around for many, many, many years,” manager Vince McDonnell said. “It goes all the way back to the American Indians and they called it pemmican. And that’s how they dried the stuff they were going to eat when they were traveling and hunting and so forth. That evolved into the jerky industry and everybody that has tried it has basically liked it, so that’s how it came about.”
Sophomore Maddie Beaver likes beef jerky and is eager to check out the shop: “If it’s a beef jerky outlet then there better be a lot of beef jerky and it better be pretty good!” she said.
And there’s definitely a lot of beef jerky. With over 100 varieties of jerky, one’s taste buds will be dancing with flavor. There are five categories to choose from: classic favorites, sweet and savory, smokehouse BBQ, the hot zone, and pepper and spice. But do not worry — free samples pretty much guarantee one will find their favorite to take home.
“I think it’s really awesome because we don’t have a place that’s really solely for jerky,” senior Sean Doyle said. “If I want to get jerky I have to go to BP and Kangaroo or somewhere like that, but now I could just go to the Beef Jerky Outlet, as ridiculous as it sounds.”
Prices will range from $32.99 for 16-ounce packages to $17.99 for 8 ounces and $9.99 for 4 ounces. The meat comes from Tennessee, where the main location is, and Michigan. Beef Jerky Outlet buys the top round pieces of meat from a local vendor, processes it, slices it, dries it in huge ovens and packages it with all the seasonings, McDonnell explained.
One can also stray from the traditional in the shop. There are options such as turkey jerky, bacon jerky, fish jerky, sausage and even wild game. Who knew elk, venison, buffalo, alligator, boar, pheasant, antelope, ostrich, duck and kangaroo would be so good?
However, if beef jerky is not on one’s plate or they’re watching their sodium intake, there are plenty of other things to choose from in the store: popcorn, peanuts, lollipops, jellies, jams, wasabi peas, dried fruit, marinades, bugs, T-shirts and one of the hottest hot sauces around using the hottest chilli pepper, the Carolina Reaper (was it mentioned that it was hot?).
“One of them goes as high as four million Scoville units,” McDonnell said. “A Scoville unit is the heat measure and a green pepper is zero, so that one on the top shelf (the Carolina Reaper) has a little disclaimer that you agree that you won’t sue the company if it kills you or something like that. Just a drop of that in a whole big pot of chili will make it warm.”
The Beef Jerky Outlet is open Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Learn more about the store at its website.) If one is searching for their jerky-joy fix, then the Beef Jerky Outlet is certainly the place to go — just try not to get too lost in the sauce.
Sophomore Hannah Ellington can be reached at ellingtonha1214@daretolearn.org.
