What slices like meat, retains its reddish pink color when cooked, tastes like beef, and is better for your health and environment? What’s new on the market and is showing us where we will be with the future of protein?
Over the last two years, I have taste-tested over 50 faux meat products. From soy meat crumbles and faux fish to basically weird stuff made with chi nuts, some products were awesome, and some needed to go back to research and development. Thankfully, some were so bad they didn’t make it through test marketing and they are no longer available (so I don’t need to write a review). Others, like OZO, were fantastic but for whatever reason, did not make it to scalability. Then there is Juicy Marbles. Wow.
As with many others, I was introduced to Juicy Marbles in the You Are What You Eat Netflix documentary, (i.e. the Twins Study). I thought, what the heck, I’ll order some and see what they are about. They are about the WOW, so enjoy this Juicy Marbles review.
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Faux Meat Evaluation
Visual
I purchased both the meat tenderloin and the thick-cut filet to test them with different cooking methods. Both look like meat – the color is perfect – not too pink, not too red or fake maroon. Both cuts had streaks of white correctly marbleizing fat and fooling the eye. This is particularly important since we eat with our eyes and our “visual marbles” need that great first impression. Honestly, they didn’t look “weird”.
Tactile
Both cuts felt like meat. Firm but squishy – a little slick sensation as well, like fresh wet meat with a little oily or fatty feel.
Cooking – how did they hold up?
Per the packaging:
“Basic prep: If the meat is frozen, let it thaw before cooking. Using a sharp knife, cut the meat into strips or chunks (unless you’re cooking the whole steak). Salt and pepper lightly. Heat some oil in a pan over medium heat. Then cook until you achieve a golden-brown crust on all sides, or about 4 minutes on each side for a 2-3cm thick steak.
Always cook to an internal temperature of 74°C (165 degrees). And be sure not to overcook the meat. The Interior may be red or pink when fully cooked, but this is a-okay, as it will have the texture of a perfect, medium-rare steak. Bon appetite!”
For my applications, I cooked them two ways. I pan-seared the filets first. I overcooked the first filet a bit so the slices were not perfect slices – the meat kept shredding beautifully, albeit, not what I was looking for. BUT, that gave me the idea for the corned beef trial at the St. Patrick’s Day party for 80 people. I wanted a side-by-side taste test with my usual corned beef recipe against the Juicy Marbles. I decided to use my favorite corned beef braise recipe for our St. Patrick’s Day party with beef and Juicy Marbles. Spoiler alert! No one could tell the difference! and I was so impressed with the “piecy-chucky” tenderness and look.
Taste and Texture
The taste is meaty and beefy with just a slight touch of something we couldn’t identify other than “spammy.” It was the best word my husband and I could come up with. For us, it just meant the beef flavor was 95%, but with a lingering last taste of something. Overall, we were quite impressed and in awe. Juicy Marbles is much, much better than Meati in my opinion, (I have yet to write that review).
Some caveats when cooking:
Use a meat thermometer and pan-sear just until 165 degrees. The second time I pan-seared the filet I watched the time and temperature and the slices were much more uniform and did not fall apart. But, even with the shredding, the texture is spot-on beefy shreds with a lovely red color.
My traditional corned beef recipe is to coat a corned beef with oil and smear with Kitchen Bouquet, cover it in sliced onions and chopped garlic, and let it braise for six or more hours at 300 degrees until the meat falls lusciously apart. It is divine. I treated Juicy Marbles Tenderloin in the same manner but included some crushed corned beef spices. The pictures speak for themselves.
I would highly recommend using Juicy Marbles in a French ragout or bourguignon. I know these cuts are designed for slicing, but they are also beautiful in a braising or roasting application. Perhaps a Beef Wellington over the holidays?
NUTRITIONAL INFO
Ingredients
From the website: Water, soy protein concentrate (27%), sunflower oil, natural flavors, coloring (red beet juice concentrate, acerola extract), thickeners (carrageenan, methylcellulose), vitamin B12.
“’Natural flavors’ is just an umbrella term for vegetable-derived flavorings. A glorified spice mix, if you will, that helps us create a meaty flavor profile. The reason we don’t disclose exactly which flavors we use is the same reason you don’t go around telling every Joe-Shmo your great-grandmother’s recipe for the perfect fruit jello: tis a secret.”
Nutritional expectations:
If you have read my guidelines for the best products, you know I prefer:
≥ 12 grams of Protein
≤ 500 milligrams of Sodium
≤ 9 grams of Fat
fiber – bonus points!!!
Per 113-gram tenderloin piece, Juicy Marbles weighs in at:
26 grams of Protein – WOW!
360 mg of Sodium – WOW again!
8 grams of Fat – Yesssss!
7 grams of Fiber – BONUS!
This product is still scaling up for distribution in the United States and is available for online purchase only. Combine orders with friends and get free shipping! Honestly, I don’t need a product like this every day – these are company-worthy and special occasion products. I can’t wait to test them at our French Food Belgian Beer party for 100+ guests in June!
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