UPDATE: What a weird coincidence!  I was catching up on my blog reader when I saw that Bianca over at Vegan Crunk posted a review of Primal Strips yesterday.  She liked them and describes each flavor much better than I did, so I’d suggest heading over to her blog to check out what she’s got to say.

A while back, I was contacted by the makers of Primal Strips about trying some free samples.  The product was described to me as being “delicious vegan jerky snacks made from soy, seitan and shiitake mushrooms.”  They are also all natural and non-GMO.  I took them up on their offer and received 2 sets of all of the flavors they come in: Hickory Smoked, Thai Peanut, Hot & Spicy, Teriyaki, Texas BBQ, and Mesquite Lime.

Upon opening the box when it arrived in the mail, I was surprised to see the product packaging.  The image that I had in my mind of jerky didn’t match what was in the package.  These strips come in a package similar to– and this is a horrible description given that this is a vegan blog– sorry!!– string cheese.  And they look sorta moist, not dry like I remember jerky being.  In my mind, I was expecting small bits of chewy dried stuff.  You know, like jerky.

Since I had so many of these things I didn’t want to hog them all for myself.  To spread the goodness, I tested them out on some friends.  One friend who tried it (Mesquite Lime) didn’t mind the taste and texture, but it wasn’t something that he’d do cartwheels over.  Another friend tried the Hot & Spicy and didn’t mind the texture so much, but had an issue with the flavor.  There was a bit of sweetness to it and she didn’t care for, but all in all, seemed to enjoy the product.  It should be mentioned that both sets of guinea pig friends are meat-eaters.

I wondered how my experience with them would compare… I haven’t eaten meat in over 8 years and I don’t particularly care for seitan or other faux meats:

Smell: The smell of Hickory Smoked flavor and possibly the Texas BBQ too permeates the package and will singe your nose hairs.  I’m not a super huge fan of smoky foods and I found this smell to be overwhelming (like I could smell it without even getting close to the package) and somewhat offensive.  If I’m going to be completely honest, some of these things smell like dog treats and I couldn’t get past this smell to try some of the flavors.

Texture:  I thought that the teriyaki would be my best bet at finding a flavor that would appeal to me, given that it’s not a smoky, BBQ flavor.  When I opened the package and cut a small piece off, I was surprised to see that it is stringy like meat (imagine shredded chicken).  The texture in my mouth was firm, like a seitan-based faux meat.  It was just ok– didn’t knock my socks off, but I didn’t need to spit it out either.

Taste:  The taste was pretty mild.  There was nothing really overpowering about it.  Again, it was just ok.

Verdict:  Not bad.  I don’t think that I would purchase these things for myself, but someone who enjoys vegan meats may really enjoy them.  You can eat them straight out of the package or cook them in a variety of dishes– burritos, stir fry-type things, etc.  They’re super versatile and shelf-stable and would be a really great addition to any vegan or vegetarian emergency kit.  Since I was only lukewarm about the one I tried, I wasn’t brave enough to attempt a cooked dish with it.

Wanna try some yourself? I’ll share!  Post a comment here with a valid email address and I’ll contact you to get your mailing address.  Just because I’m not crazy for them doesn’t mean you won’t like them.  Again, if you are a fan of meaty things, I bet you’ll like these.  My remaining samples will be given out on a first come, first served basis.  This is not a giveaway– just me sharing what I have left.  If I don’t get any takers, they’ll end up in my earthquake kit.