Malaysian Beef Jerky

After dim sum, a couple of us wandered a block away to a Malaysian jerky place.  Tiny as it was, only a few of us entered, but once inside, we were greeted with this amazing smell… and the sight of a woman leaning over a grid placed over coals, turning square pieces of meat as they dried out and became jerky.  Awesome.  Beer Boor had actually been here before – this was one of the places he’d picked up jerky for the holiday potluck.

There were two types of every kind – beef was sliced beef (shown above) or just beef jerky; spicy beef, spicy sliced beef; pork, sliced pork, etc.  The texture of the sliced was very similar to what you’d expect from your “American” jerkies like what’s the one with the weird commercials, “Messin’ with Sasquatch”?  Jack Links Beef Jerky.  (I had to Google.)  The flavor was nice, slightly smoky, slightly sweet, but all beefy.  I really enjoyed this beef jerky while watching football.  (Sorry Jets.) 

I also purchased some of the pork jerky, the non-sliced, which appears to be ground, then pressed into sheets before cutting, then ‘jerkying’ on the grill.  The texture is much different from what you might be used to, if you’ve only had American-style-jerky in the past.  It’s soft, and instead of pulling pieces off like a Polly-O string cheese, I wound up biting it.  Again, flavored nicely from the smoke, slight char aroudn the edges, and the seasonings, I enjoyed this, though I think in the future I’ll generally stick with sliced, and only occasionally delve into getting the pressed kind.

1/4 pound of each was in the $4 range, which wasn’t bad at all, maybe 4-5 squares of each came to around that weight.  If you like beef (or other meats) jerky, you should definitely give this place a shot, if only for the unique angle on jerky.  I liked it and will definitely be back to buy more for snacks!  Yum!

Malaysian Beef Jerky
95 Elizabeth Street
NY, NY 10079
(212) 965-0796