I was a picky eater. I was a vegetarian. I was many things in my past life that would lead you to believe that I’d never eat jerky. People change. My lifestyle required power snacks for hiking and a food source that would keep without refrigeration on long road trips. I ate my first bite of jerky out west, it was turkey jerky. I was okay with that, I very seldom eat red meat. Since then I’ve scoured grocery stores for low sodium jerky, some hits some misses. Closer to home I heard that Barbs Butchery [69 Spring St, Beacon, NY 12508] was top notch.
Before a weekend hike in the area I stopped inside to see for myself. I was thankful that the shop is in a quiet area of Beacon – a major benefit as it is no struggle to park. Very unsuspecting area, totally residential. It’s bright and friendly inside. Samples everywhere.
So – down to the jerky. They have beef in unique flavors such as red wine and thyme, and onion bbq. I was into the pork jerky and although I definitely want to try ginger-sesame next time, went for the traditional just to see what’s up. This stuff is incredible. First of all, it’s fresh. Never experienced that before. Only ever had preservative filled, in an airtight bag, on the shelf for lord knows how long. It was fresh, had grill marks, super flavorful, and even had little giblets of super delicious fat on it.
Really an incredibly delicious treat. I can’t wait to try out some of their other products for lunch soon after looking through the menu. So man sausages (chicken too!), burgers topped with feta cheese, baby spinach and herb mayo, loaded fries with smoked brisket tossed in buffalo sauce and topped with slaw and pickled jalapeños, Barb’s grandma’s goulash, BLTs, chicken sammies, and even a veggie wrap! You’d expect meat lovers to be in their glory, but it’s great (and interesting in a butchers shop) that accompanying vegetarians are not thrown to the wayside. Barb’s is a true local gem and a new tradition for me when in the Beacon area.