Itsumo Ahi Tuna Jerky

I have a review today of three different flavors of Itsumo Ahi Tuna Jerky. Itsumo hand line catches all it’s tuna. They use only Japanese Sashimi grade ahi tuna. Yellowfin tuna is the kind of tuna. The Spiced and Sweet both have fairly minimal ingredients. The paleo jerky though is truly minimal. The paleo jerky nine ingredients and all are paleo approved.

I came across this company when searching for paleo companies to donate some prizes for last months giveaway. Tuna jerky seemed like a great idea. A paleo tuna jerky seemed pure genius. I figured this might take the edge off my lack of sushi on paleo. Well I try to get some once a month or so. I was slightly worried if the idea of Fish jerky would translate well. I mean it could really be great or down right disgusting. Opeing the first bag I was kinda worried. The smell of the open bag was very potent. I think It scared some ladies away from the testing table. The taste however though was great.

Spiced Flavor

The spiced flavor was the first one we tried. First thing I noticed was the texture. It was very soft and tender. I’d say borderline juicy. The flavor was a great tuna flavor. Very reminiscent of good sushi. The tuna was not overpowering though. I thought that for a jerky it could stand to be more salty.  Being that this flavor was branded spicy I wanted more spice. The two “spicy” ingredients in the list are black and red pepper. Maybe I’m just a fan of really spicy foods but I thought this could use a few more schofield units. With that said this was my favorite of the three.

Sweet Flavor

This was my least favorite of the bunch. I’m not a big fan of sweet foods though. Sugar and nutmeg are the ingredients behind this flavor. I enjoy nutmeg in many things but sweet tuna jerky just isn’t one. I also felt that the flavor on the sweet jerky was very subdued. The actual tuna flavor took main stage with a mild sweet-ish hint. Not a bad jerky just not my taste.

Paleo Flavor

This is the flavor I was most interested in sampling. I’ve come across a few snack items branded as “Paleo” and think most should be avoided. I like things to be simple. The more ingredients the more complex you get the further you get from the whole point. I’ll list the entire ingridient list here:

Ingredients

• Yellowfin Tuna
• Pineapple Juice
• Rock Salt
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Onion
• Nutmeg
• Black Pepper
• Liquid Smoke

That’s it only nine ingredients and nothing unpronounceable. I can’t really taste any of  those flavors though. I taste great tuna flavor. I’d say the boldest tuna flavor of the three. Once again I would prefer a saltier flavor but I really love salt.

Conclusion

If you are not gluten free then all three flavors would be great healthy snack choices. If you are then you will have to go with the paleo version. All three are very tasty and also very healthy. I actually only got very little of this to try. I tasted with a buddy of mine and he loved it so much he ate all of it but some of the paleo flavor I hide away. He gives the Ahi Jerky two thumbs up.

Let me know what your favorite Tuna dish is in the comments! Mine is definitely sushi!

Bonus

So I did get this in for September Preparedness Month and ran out of month. I have one of each flavor to give  away. I’ll do it as a package you win you get all three. To make this a bit more fun the rules for this are First be a subscriber. Sign up here. Next make sure to swing by the Itsumo Ahi Jerky Facebook page and like them. Instead of the normal comment and pick a random winner I’ll try something new. First person to email me James@Survivalpunk.com with the translation of “Itsumo” wins. Pretty easy. Sure it will go fast though. Good luck!

Today’s article brought to you by the great folks over at Survivalgearbags.com home to all your Bug out bag and tactical needs.