Bootleg Jerky - like no other in NZ

Ash Razmi was on a trip in the States when he tasted his first quality craft beef jerky and couldn’t get enough. On his return home to Birkdale, the 30-year-old was shocked to read the list of artificial ingredients in gas station and dairy packs of jerky he’d been eating, not knowing that he was about to take on the might of global snack food producers from his suburban garage.

Using a home dehydrator to practise with, Ash was determined to replicate the flavours he’d enjoyed in the US by playing with ingredients and methods, trialling different recipe combinations hundreds of times to get the balance perfect and meticulously recording each process. Two years ago, he realised he’d succeeded.

With most of the biltong and jerky available here made by large manufacturing brands and containing preservatives, flavours, colours and often MSG, Ash decided his jerky needed to be a cut above the rest - 100% grass-fed New Zealand beef with no added nitrites, nitrates, MSG or other additives with unpronounceable names.

“There is simply no need for any of that stuff, unless you want your jerky to last forever or survive a bomb blast – but let’s face it, who wants to eat meat that has been sitting around for that long anyway,” the father-of-one and director of Bootleg Jerky says. “We used our family and friends as guinea pigs and they were stoked with our four final flavours, though they were subjected to some pretty questionable versions early on!

“At that point, there were still no good craft jerky makers in New Zealand, so after a brief ‘aha moment’ with my entrepreneurial younger brother Murdoch (28), we decided to form Bootleg Jerky and have a go.”

Both working fulltime jobs and having mortgages and families to provide for, the Razmis spent more than a year planning the company and talked to different consultants about where and how to manufacture. Ash admits the task seemed almost too much, until luck drew them to an ideal Auckland manufacturer of biltong and other meat products who agreed to hand-make Bootleg Jerky using the brothers’ unique process in small batches to retain flavour and authenticity.

Officially launched just a few months ago online, the uptake has been phenomenal, with stock running low enough to force increased production.  Murdoch – a director of two successful companies Powerhouse and Oxen – takes care of digital strategy and oversees the branding; Ash – with more than 14 years’ experience in sales – deals with the marketing, manufacturer, orders, packaging and despatch. 

They can’t quite believe they’re two young guys from the North Shore taking on the mass-producing giants around the world – but it’s a battle they are determined to win.

“We are part of a generation that understands and is concerned about food ingredients more than any other in history, so we knew there was an eager demand for authentic New Zealand-made jerky delivered via sustainable courier bag to jerky lovers across the country,” Ash says.

“We reckon we’re spot on. What we want is actually what all Kiwi meat lovers want. Real air-dried beef, quality ingredients and real flavour – a jerky that is all-natural, healthy and authentic, with the benefit of knowing exactly what’s in it.”

Ash says he wants to change the perception of jerky in New Zealand – most people associate it with nasty-tasting cheap processed mass-produced junk you would find in a gas station or dairy anywhere around the world.

“Our jerky is far from that – Bootleg Jerky is pure grass-fed New Zealand beef soaked for days in mouth-watering all-natural ingredients, turned by hand multiple times and dried to produce a treat for meat-lovers. It’s high in protein, low in fats, carbs and sugar, and ideal for the whole family. Our young children just love it.”

Bootleg Jerky offers four flavours:

ManukaYaki – Great Barrier Manuka honey, teriyaki, Japanese soy sauce, rice, vinegar, ginger, garlic and sesame

Sweet Heat – sweet and savoury, cayenne pepper and chilli

The OG – onion, garlic, pepper - the savoury classic.

Chilli – five different peppers to keep you on your toes.

bootlegjerky.co.nz

 

 


Issue 105 December 2019