{"id":3590,"date":"2013-12-13T16:25:00","date_gmt":"2013-12-13T16:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/food\/the-jerky-boys-meet-long-beach-s-own-craft-jerky-company\/"},"modified":"2013-12-13T16:25:00","modified_gmt":"2013-12-13T16:25:00","slug":"the-jerky-boys-meet-long-beach-s-own-craft-jerky-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/food\/the-jerky-boys-meet-long-beach-s-own-craft-jerky-company","title":{"rendered":"The Jerky Boys: Meet Long Beach’s Own Craft Jerky Company"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Photos courtesy of Long Beach Jerky Company<\/em><\/p>\n

For Alex Naticcioni, spending the holidays with his family always meant one thing: jerky. Every year, his grandpa, \u201cGramps\u201d Naticcioni, would buy a big slab of meat, trim it up, marinate it for a day and dry it in the oven in his Nebraska kitchen. Come Christmas morning, packets of the juicy, savory stuff would end up in everyone\u2019s stockings and by nighfall, people were bartering for the leftovers.<\/p>\n

Since Gramps passed away, however, there has been a void in the Naticcioni jerky game and so last year Alex\u2014who co-owns The Wine Bar in Downtown\u2014decided to bring the old family recipe back to life while paying homage to the city he\u2019s called home for the last six years.<\/p>\n

Naticcioni, along with former college roommate and 4th Street Vine employee Richie Beckman, officially launched Long Beach Jerky Company this September with three flavors of their signature thick-cut brisket that are now for sale at nearly a dozen bars and grocers around town.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an ode to Gramps,\u201d says Naticcioni of the company\u2019s flagship flavor, Gramps\u2019 Original, a six-ingredient inter-generational masterpiece that puts mass-produced jerkys to shame. \u201cHe always liked to do things his way and he was a crafty kind of guy. This was the only flavor he made; it was definitely a labor of love\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LBjerky2\"Long Beach Jerky Company started in the spirit of Gramps\u2019 do-it-yourself attitude with Beckman and Naticcioni passing out free samples of test batches to customers at their respective wine bars.<\/p>\n

The City\u2019s Health Department caught on pretty quickly to the rogue food production, though, and shut down the then-hobby operation, but not before positive feedback came rolling in from not just locals, but tourists from Texas to Japan, giving the guys motivation to expand the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting shut down was a blessing in disguise,\u201d Naticcioni says. \u201cIf this was going to go to the next level, we knew we needed to find a way to do it legally and have it be USDA approved.\u201d<\/p>\n

In order to obtain the necessary federal approval on their product, Beckman and Naticcioni realized they would have to contract the work at a local jerky plant that was already accredited. They quickly found a nearby operation that could handle Long Beach Jerky Company\u2019s sensitive recipes and the duo spent days training the staff on everything from the thickness of the cuts to precisely how to mix the marinades.<\/p>\n

Along with increased production (nearly 500 bags come from each facility batch versus 30 bags at a time when they were doing it in a home kitchen), Long Beach Jerky Company has seen increased distribution and increased demand since its now-legal market push began in September.<\/p>\n

Baddeley\u2019s alone sold 30 bags during the first weekend it carried the product and other bars have reported similarly quick eliminations of stock. With accounts charging only between $5 and $6 a bag, the company as a whole blew through 1500 bags in its first six weeks.<\/p>\n

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The best-selling flavor so far is another Naticcioni favorite\u2014Buffalo Wing, which uses a chicken wing marinade that is bursting with flavors eerily similar to the bar-food favorite. Spicy Teriyaki isn\u2019t as spicy as much as its teriyaki, sweetness that almost drips off the chewy strips of meat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of jerky these days tastes the same. There\u2019s no craft to it,\u201d says Beckman. \u201cWe\u2019ve tried all different kinds and I don\u2019t see a uniqueness in what is out there right now. Ours just tastes different. I can\u2019t explain it other than that. We wanted to change the face of jerky a little bit, have some fun with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The growth of Long Beach Jerky Company\u2019s reputation in such a short amount of time is proof of this flavor difference. And even though requests for bags of Long Beach Jerky Company\u2019s goods have already come in from across the country, Beckman and Naticcioni insist on keeping the brand in Long Beach for now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had offers for mass distribution but that\u2019s not our thing. We want to make the name and the face here first and give everybody here Long Beach Jerky before we sell out to the East Coast,\u201d Naticcioni says. \u201cWe\u2019re going to do it until we can\u2019t keep up with demand\u2014or until our oven breaks again.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information on where to find Long Beach Jerky Company or to order bags online, visit lbjerkyco.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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