Ping's Dried Beef

Meet the meat

The Attraction:

I can't lie; this isn't anything new to me. I've been eating this stuff for years, and I mean years. I'm not sure if this particular entry can be categorized as an actual review. Dare I say it's more of a endorsement (with no financial consideration, of course), but it's to share something I think of fondly...perhaps too fondly.

I'm usually not in the habit of reviewing something quite so regionally specific, except for this time and this time, but generally speaking, I shy away from products like that because I want to select items that can be accessible to most people in larger cities, but after a recent trip to pickup some of this dried beef, I was compelled to share this delicious treat.

The Review
I was first introduced to Ping's dried beef almost 30 years ago when my grandfather would visit us from Boston. He would make it a point to go to pickup a pound of the stuff in Manhattan's Chinatown. It wasn't until about 10 years ago I remembered about their dried beef when I would look at conventional prepackaged beef jerky in larger supermarkets. I was looking for a savory snack, but being that traditionally beef jerky was on the salty side, I wanted something that wouldn't quite be so high in sodium...."Bing"......how about Ping's dried beef!?

Locating the place in itself is no small feat. The storefront, if you can call it that, doesn't have any English signage on the outside and is rather inconspicuous. When you open the door, you can't help but feel that you "accidentally" stepped into someone's apartment if it weren't for the 4 large glass jars where the jerky, I mean dried beef is kept (although this stuff is so popular, it's rarely filled with product for long....seriously). My last trip to Ping's, I had to place an order for 2 pounds of beef and then come back in 30 minutes when it was ready.

Despite the name, Ping's actually sells dried pork as well. The only other variation offered is spicy for both beef and pork. I've been a loyalist to the spicy beef, but alas, they were sold out on my last visit, so I was only able to get the regular (let me tell you, I still wasn't really disappointed).

What makes Ping's dried beef so different is that it's not like conventional beef jerky; their dried beef is tender, not dry and is more sweet than salty. It's cut amazingly thin and gently gives with every bite. I'm drooling just typing this.

Don't call me jerky!

The Sweet:

The flavor is sweet enough without tasting "candy-ish" and isn't salty. The meat is tender and cut just the right thickness.

The Bitter:
This stuff sells at a premium. Regular beef jerky goes for about $10-12 a pound. Ping's is more than double that at $28 per pound. It's also not always in stock, so it would behoove you to place an order ahead of time to make sure your trip to Chinatown for this treat isn't in vain.

Signature bag of heavenly meat

Conclusion:
Even with the hefty price tag for these treats, I don't even bat an eye at the price because I love their dried beef so much. I know not everyone can afford to plunk down almost 30 beans for dried beef (wow, it just occurred to me that's the price is almost as much as a steak at a decent steak house), but it's something I highly suggest you try once....perhaps just half a pound, but let me warn you...you may regret that you only got half a pound very quickly after you start eating these amazing treats.

Video of the Week
This past Friday (June 5th) was National Doughnut Day here in the States. We celebrated by eating and getting (or tried to get) some free donuts, but how do doughnuts that are mass produced taste to a baker?

Wait, is butthole-esque a good or bad thing?