About Us
Our Original flavor is tender, buttery, wonderfully flavored with hints of cherry wood smoke and our blend of spice brings a tiny kick in the finish.
Our Teriyaki Flavor is tender & buttery with subtle sweetness followed by notes of garlic, finishing with a light complexity of peppers and hints of authentic cherry wood smoke.
We are the Wayne and Michelle Johnson family. Both of our families have had a long history in the farming and cattle business over several generations.
I (Michelle) am originally from Michigan where my family owned a farm that raided dairy cattle on one side and beef cattle on the other. Both of my parent’s families were also in the cattle business. My grandparents were immigrants from Denmark who farmed and raised most of their own food, livestock, vegetables and fruits. Wayne grew up in Nebraska on a farm raising crops and cattle of various types, mainly angus, as did his parents and grandparents.
When we got married we continued the tradition on our farm in Nebraska. Most land on our farm got designated for crops though we had a small herd of angus cows with which we set out to produce the very best quality beef that we possibly could. By selecting specific genetics to cross with each animal to improve the beef quality in their offspring.
Soon we ran out of room for cattle on our farm in Nebraska. Since the cattle were truly what we were passionate about, eventually we decided to make a move to Missouri where we purchased a beautiful farm that would accomodate a substantially larger number of cattle. Our family was excited and ready to spend more time together on the farm doing what we all loved the most: raising the best quality beef possible.
Shortly after arriving in Missouri, we began hearing about a very special breed of cattle that was known for its amazing health benefits as well as the quality and deliciousness of the beef it could produce. It was the Wagyu breed of cattle… a breed that had originated in Japan. The more we were able to learn about this breed the more exciting the prospect of raising some of our own became. After much research, we decided that we would raise the Akaushi (or Red version) of Wagyu cattle on our farm in Missouri.
Known worldwide for the high quality of the beef they produce, Akaushi cattle beef contains the highest amount of monounsaturated (good) fat relative to unsaturated fat of any beef in the US. The American Heart Association notes that higher good fats can lead to lower cholesterol, the prevention of heart disease, and weight loss in humans. The marbling in Akaushi beef is what gives it that exquisitely rich, buttery, melt in your mouth flavor in addition to the extreme tenderness throughout. This marbling also contains a significant amount of oleic acid, the compound found in olive oil that the USDA touts as ‘good for the heart’.
Not only is this beef considered to be the very best beef in the world, it’s also good for you! The best of both worlds!
Soon we had produced enough of this amazing beef for our friends & family. Everyone seemed to be enjoying it so much that we decided we would start taking some of our beef to farmer’s markets in the area to see if others would enjoy it as much as we were. In no time at all we were selling out in two area farmer’s markets, then three & four! As our beef production grew, we were taking great joy in trying different recipes and ways of preparing this amazing beef. We really enjoyed making beef jerky and after considerable tries, we felt we had perfected our recipe with what is now our Americas Best Beef Jerky Original flavor.
It was at this point in our Akaushi journey that we decided to see what consumers thought of our jerky product… so we loaded up the smoker and a considerable amount of beef to go find out at a farmer’s market.
Because we had no idea what to expect we decided that simply providing some free samples to get opinions on whether people thought our jerky would be worth buying to them if it were made commercially available. Shortly after the market started that day it began to pour rain which cleared out the crowd… A few hours later the sky began to clear and in no time at all the crowd returned and was lined up wanting to know when the jerky would be ready! Lines of people came back to the market after the rain just to try our jerky again…
We had prepared samples and couldn’t hand them out fast enough! People have been asking to purchase our jerky ever since though at the time we were not prepared to sell having planned only to hand out samples for market testing. These customers did not want to take no for an answer. Soon we were bagging up samples and selling them as fast as we could. We were sold out in no time flat. The next week we made more, and sold out again. The next week even more, again we sold out! This went on until I had to give up on making the jerky myself to sell! I was spending all week smoking jerky for the market and just couldn’t make enough… I had become a full time jerky maker and could no longer keep up with the demand!
Our jerky was such a hit with all of our customers at the farmer’s markets that we decided we saw the need to start making our recipe commercially. Our customers loved the fact that it was freshly made and we are obsessed with making our beef jerky the very best quality, and healthiest beef jerky on the market. Our customers knew that and how well we cared for our animals. It was very important to us and our customers that we didn’t use any artificial preservatives or MSG, and that it was made just the way we would do it if we were serving it to our own family and friends.
Being in the beef industry we were aware of just how many beef jerky products out there were being made from undesirable cuts of beef, containing artificial hormones and antobiotics, and being processed using artificial preservatives, MSG or other ingredients that are not good to consume.
America’s Best Beef Jerky is so much more than World Class Beef Jerky… Yes, it is made from the world’s best beef, Akaushi (Red Wagyu) Beef. Beef that is not only world renowned for its abundant marbling, which is responsible for the rich buttery flavor and extreme tenderness of the meat, it also has numerous health benefits as well, which stem from these features.
The most important factor of our jerky is the quality and healthfulness & we are determined to ensure the quality of our Akaushi beef jerky throughout the entire process starting with using only the very best beef in the world (bred, born, raised, and processed in the USA), guaranteed to be free of artificial hormones and antibiotics, processed in small batches with attention to every detail, right down to the very best all natural ingredients and never adding artificial preservatives. Even the grains we feed to our cattle are custom mixed to assure only the highest quality nutrition for them. Here at America’s Best Beef Jerky we take pride in the fact that we have done our utmost to produce this premium jerky that far exceeds industry standards in every way possible, just as you would do for your own family.
America’s Best Beef Jerky also takes pride in our military! We are very proud to donate all of the profits (100%) from the sale of our jerky to Tango3.org in support of veteran suicide prevention. Each purchase made will directly impact this very important cause. Every bite quite literally can help save a life!
Please help us in this cause to support our brave military men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country and freedoms by purchasing some of our amazing Akaushi beef jerky.
America’s Best Beef Jerky is truly a world class beef jerky. Starting with the beef itself, the masterfully crafted smoking process, to the mission behind it all… a better beef jerky can not be found!
After their first bite of jerky many people exclaim,
“Wow! This is the best beef jerky I have ever had, and I’m not kidding!”,
“This jerky is seriously addictive!” ,or
“This is like eating steak in a bag.”
If you are a veteran or military member please contact us for a special promo code to receive a special discount on our products by filling out the form on our Contact Us Page. We appreciate you and continue to keep you all in our thoughts and prayers!