We Tasted 14 Meat Sticks So You Don’t Have to — These Are the 5 Worth Buying

When you’re hungry and on the go, few snacks satiate like a meat stick. They’re portable, protein-packed, and reasonably affordable. But meat sticks don’t have to be utilitarian. 

Among dozens of brands on the market, we sought to find the most delicious — the ones you’ll be excited to bring on hikes, road trips, or lunch breaks.

How we determined the contenders

Beef, pork, chicken, or a combination of all three — it didn’t matter to us, as long as the flavor was the brand’s most basic. We did not consider any meat sticks with additional flavors beyond “smoked,” meaning we didn’t taste anything spicy. That landed us with 14 plain or original meat sticks that are available nationwide.

How we tested

All of the meat sticks were cut into bite-size pieces and labeled by number so that our editors were unaware of which products they were tasting. 

We evaluated the products based on taste and texture. For taste, we wanted meat sticks that were savory, balanced, and distinctly meaty, without any artificial flavors. For texture, we looked for a tender, cohesive chew — nothing too mushy, mealy, pasty, or overly tough.

We also gave each product an overall score based on personal preferences and how likely we’d be to buy it again. We averaged the scores to determine the five best meat sticks on the market.  

Best overall: FATTY Smoked Meat Sticks Original

If you aren’t familiar with FATTY smoked meat sticks, they’re pretty easy to identify. True to their name, they’re thicker than most of the meat sticks at your grocery store. Visually, texturally, and flavor-wise, this meat stick reminded our editors of a hot dog. It was juicy with a firm bite and a snappy casing. 

“It’s tangy, with some hardwood smoke going on,” said Editorial Director Dylan Garret. The ingredients are fairly simple: pork, grass-fed beef, sea salt, cane sugar, citric acid, celery juice powder, black pepper, and garlic powder. Those seasonings tasted natural and complemented the meat without overpowering it. 

Our only gripe: The salt was a bit too intense. “It’s nicely seasoned at first, but the salt lingers,” said Senior Editor Audrey Morgan. “I think a whole one would leave me feeling pickled.” With that in mind, the brand’s 1-ounce mini stick is the way to go: It’s the perfect size to appreciate the flavor without getting overwhelmed by the excessive sodium. 

Best all-beef meat stick: Good & Gather Beef Sticks Original

As far as all-beef meat sticks go, Target’s private label brand was the one to beat. It was ultra-savory, seasoned with a balanced combination of paprika, celery powder, garlic powder, cherry powder, and onion powder. “It tastes peppery, smoky, and not overly salty,” said Assistant Special Projects Editor Emma Gehris.

Texture-wise, it was firm, pleasantly chewy, and moist. Some of our editors found the casing a bit thick, though — it took longer to chew than the meat itself.

Smokiest: Cattleman’s Cut Double Smoked Premium Smoked Sausages

While some meat sticks tasted overwhelmingly like liquid smoke, we enjoyed the natural smoke flavor of Cattleman’s smoked sausages. “This has a super-smoky taste to it, almost like bacon,” said Senior Social Media Editor Alexa Rockwell. The bacon comparison makes sense, since this meat stick is completely pork-based.

Most of our editors found it to be too tough to chew, though. “It’s got a snap, but then sort of wilts in your mouth,” said Garret. “Still, the balance is enough to keep it above average.”

Best value: 365 by Whole Foods Market Original Beef Stick

At $2 per stick, Whole Foods’ was one of the least expensive products we tasted, making it a good choice if you’re packing for a road trip. 

We found it to be firm, snappy, and well seasoned, if a bit unexciting — we didn’t detect spices aside from salt and pepper. “This gets the job done,” said Morgan. 

Best for jerky fans: Chomps Original Beef Stick

If you prefer your meat sticks to have a strong, dense bite that’s more like jerky, then Chomps might be the one for you. “This tastes like beef jerky rather than a meat stick,” said Gehris. “It’s very light in flavor, not overly smoky, and tastes the least processed.” 

While it was too dry for some of our editors, for others it was a nice reprieve from sticks that were mushy or tacky. 

The full list of contenders, ranked from best to worst

1. FATTY Smoked Meat Sticks Original
2. Good & Gather Beef Sticks Original
3. Cattleman’s Cut Double Smoked Premium Smoked Sausages
4. 365 by Whole Foods Market Original Beef Stick
5. Chomps Original Beef Stick
6. Mighty Spark Chicken Snack Sticks Original
7. Archer Original Beef Mini Sticks
8. Vermont Smoke & Cure Original Beef & Pork Sticks
9. Slim Jim Original Snack Size Sticks
10. Righteous Felon O.G. Hickory Beef Sticks
11. Krave Original Beef Sticks
12. Jacks Link’s Original Beef Stick
13. New Primal Classic Beef Sticks
14. Epic Wagyu Beef Steak Strip