The Big Difference Between Beef Jerky And Beef Sticks

Beef jerky and beef sticks are some of America's favorite portable snacks, because both give you a hit of protein along with big flavor. Beef jerky is made from strips of meat cut from a whole muscle, which are then soaked in marinade and slowly dehydrated. Beef sticks are a bit different in that they're made of ground meat that's cured, seasoned, and forced into a casing prior to being smoked. 

Both products are conveniently shelf stable, but you'll notice that since beef jerky comes from a whole cut of beef, it has a tougher texture thanks to the muscle fibers in it. (That contributes to its longer chew, which makes it one of America's best road trip foods.) Beef sticks are softer and oilier, in case you want to bite into something a little more smooth. If you're keeping tabs on this sort of thing, beef sticks do contain more fat than jerky does, since jerky is typically a very lean product. But if you need to watch your sodium intake, you're definitely going to want to look at the labels. Both jerky and beef sticks contain a lot of salt — just something to keep in mind when you're stocking up on snacks.

Whether or not you should grab one over the other depends on your personal preferences. Sometimes I'm in the mood to ruminate slowly over a snack while working (all this typing is arduous work), which is why beef jerky ends up being my pick. But other times, I do crave a bit of fat along with meat and salt, so I'll grab a beef stick (We ranked 12 store-bought meat sticks from worst to best, by the way) if I'm not in the mood for so much chewing.

Beef sticks tend to have more additives to them than jerky, however. Monosodium glutamate and curing agents are commonly found in beef sticks, giving them a tangy and savory flavor. If you're ingredient-conscious, you may want to scan over the nutrition label on your Slim Jim's packaging before tearing into it. If you're having trouble deciding which to get, nothing should stop you from stocking up on both and keeping them in the pantry, since these snacks are meant to be stored cool and dry, anyway. They each fit a different kind of mood, you know? And if you're an avid home cook, making melt-in-your-mouth tender beef jerky at home is totally doable, so keep that in mind, too.