Like our hunter-gatherer ancestors, Tampa native-turned-Charleston resident Jason Burke knows that the foods our bodies crave don’t need much modification. Wanting to improve his health and fitness, Burke decided to change his diet, switching to a “Paleo plan,” so named for the regimen the ancients followed: all lean meats, fresh produce, nuts, and seeds. In his search for convenient, on-the-go protein, jerky was the natural choice, but everything on the market was loaded with sugar and salt. Burke decided to make his own, adding dried fruit and nuts. Once his pals got word of it, he found himself filling orders. Burke remembers having six dehydrators going in his kitchen at once. “All of a sudden, I had 100 pounds of beef in my fridge and thought, ‘What’s going on here?’” he recalls. And The New Primal, a full-blown jerky biz, was born.
Using only grass-fed beef and leaving out preservatives, artificial flavors, sugar, and salt, Burke’s jerky boasts half the sodium content of traditional versions. “It’s not a low-end jerky,” he says. “It never will be.” But for anyone seeking a better jerky, The New Primal gets it right—naturally. Pick some up at Half-Moon Outfitters or Earth Fare.
—Angela Feathers
