Life, food, events, and community in Albuquerque, NM

Where's the beef?

I loved my Uncle Roland. He usually wore a Levi jacket, a cowboy hat, and drove a little pickup truck. When we were kids, he would take my cousin and me to the race track in Santa Fe and let us bet. He'd give us each twenty dollars and we would bet on horses based on the color of the jockey's jersey or the name of the horse.

I loved to visit him because he always had a dish of candy on his coffee table and sometimes there would be a jar of piñon too. But what I remember most about my uncle was that he set the gold standard for the best home made carne seca - beef jerky - in the world.

If you were extra good, he would take you into his kitchen and reach into the highest cupboard and get out a bag of his famous carne seca. For me, a piece of his jerky was better than all the candy bars, potato chips, and ice cream in the world; not too thick, not too dry, just the right amount of spices.

Uncle Roland passed away in the 80's and trying to find jerky to measure up has almost been impossible. My sister found a close second in Bosque Farms called Sunset Foods. But I don't want to have to drive all the way out there. There's a place near my house that is pretty good called Jerky by Art. They have a huge assortment of flavors. I ran across another place on Isleta called Rio Grande Beef Jerky and they are very good too. Does anyone else have any favorites that I must try?

My Uncle Roland has been on my mind a lot lately. I think it's time to call my cousin and head to a race track with $20 and a bag of carne seca.

7 Comments

Comment by Diego on November 28, 2007 at 3:00pm: Yes, try April's jerky. It is thin and crispy with a variety of flavors like green chile, red chlie, pepper (my favorite) and teryaki among others. I don't have the number but i will try to get it for you this afternoon. I love jerky but only the home made kind...there is nothing worse than rubbery jerky. when I was little I guess my dad and uncles killed a deer and made " carne seca" the meat was hanging in our garage and it terrified me and my brothers. We wouldn't eat it or go near the garage. Years later when I learned that "carne seca" meant "dried meat" and it could be made from beef I was overjoyed. I was always afraid to try it because of the horror in my mindf of that poor deer.

Comment by Doug R on November 28, 2007 at 3:29pm: Adelita - I love stories like this! It brings back alot of memories from my life that remind me of what was important to me so long ago. Today I worry about closing deals, my investments, etc etc. But sometimes we forget that it's really all about the Jerky (or whatever it was).

Comment by Adelita on November 28, 2007 at 9:37pm: Thanks Doug R. When I was first asked to write stories for DCF, the memories just came flooding back. It has made me stop and appreciate all that we have here in 'Burque and actually has made me rediscover so much more. And just for your info if you check my page, I give clues for the next story!

Comment by Dome Duck on November 29, 2007 at 8:54am: Adelita - there's organic jerky at the co-op. It probably doesn't compare, but if you don't like it, there's a tall carnivore in the neighborhood who will eat it!

Comment by Diego on November 29, 2007 at 3:02pm: Ok here is Aprils e-mail aprilh@svedc.com for very good Jerky.

Comment by Adelita on November 29, 2007 at 3:18pm: Does April's have a store? Or do you have to order it?

Comment by Diego on November 29, 2007 at 3:43pm: You have to order it, you can call her... here is her number I think she might deliver 903-1918

Where's the beef?

You need to be a member of Duke City Fix to add comments!

Groups

Burqueños at the Inauguration

Neil Patrick Harris Fan Club

Living Green

ABQ Web Geeks

Downtown Dwellers

Albuquerque Yoga