Meat Candy is Grub Company's sweet, smoky, cooked beef jerky, and its flavor profile calls for different pairings than the brand's cleaner, air-dried biltong. Where biltong pairs well with plain, savory sides that let the cure speak for itself, Meat Candy's caramelized BBQ sauce, honey, and Tabasco kick actually want something on the sweeter or fizzier side to sit alongside it, think root beer over black coffee, a lunchbox over a charcuterie board. Here's where and how to actually serve it.
Kids' Lunchboxes
Meat Candy's biggest natural fit is the lunchbox. Grub Company built the line around "childhood nostalgia meets gourmet snacking," and the nursery-rhyme names, Hickory Kickory Dock and Baa-Baa BBQ Sheep, make it an easy sell to a kid before they've even tasted it. Baa-Baa BBQ Sheep's tangier, less heat-forward Korean BBQ flavor tends to be the easier flavor for younger kids, while Hickory Kickory Dock's Tabasco kick is better suited to a kid who already likes a bit of spice. A 2oz bag is a reasonable lunchbox portion on its own, or split between two kids if you're not sure how a new flavor will land. One thing worth knowing before you pack it: because Meat Candy contains wheat and soy through its soy sauce base, it isn't a safe pick for a lunchbox with a gluten or soy restriction, and it's not sugar-free either, so it's a treat-style lunchbox item, not a plain protein one.
Road Trips and Tailgates
Meat Candy's sticky, caramelized coating and bold BBQ flavor hold up well over a long stretch in the car or a few hours at a tailgate, where a snack needs to keep giving you something to notice bite after bite instead of going flat after the first piece. Hickory Kickory Dock's mesquite smoke flavor and Tabasco heat work especially well here, it's a snack you eat slowly, one piece at a time, over hours rather than all at once. Pack it next to something to drink that can stand up to the sweetness rather than get lost behind it. A root beer, a cola, or an iced tea with a little sweetness of its own all hold their ground against Meat Candy's honey-and-brown-sugar sauce base in a way plain water or black coffee won't.
Pairing With Drinks
Meat Candy's sweet-smoky profile is built to sit next to sweeter, fizzier drinks rather than dry, bitter ones. Root beer is the most natural pairing, its own vanilla and sassafras sweetness lines up with the brown sugar, honey, and maple syrup in the sauce instead of fighting it. Cola works for the same reason, the caramel sweetness matches the caramelized coating on the jerky. For Baa-Baa BBQ Sheep specifically, a ginger ale or ginger beer plays well against the bourbon and cumin notes in its BBQ sauce, the ginger's bite mirrors the black pepper and red pepper without piling on more heat. If you'd rather stay away from soda, sweetened iced tea or a fruit punch works for the same reason, something with real sweetness to meet the jerky halfway, instead of a plain or bitter drink that gets overpowered by the sauce.
Game Day and Family Snacking
Because both Meat Candy flavors are $7.99 for a 2oz bag, buying one of each for a game day spread is an easy way to give people a choice without overcommitting to a single flavor. Set both flavors out next to the usual chips and dip and let people pick between Hickory Kickory Dock's heat and Baa-Baa BBQ Sheep's tang. It's a snack that works standing around a TV or a grill just as well as it works packed into a bag for the actual stadium, and the shelf-stable, no-refrigeration-needed format means it survives a cooler-free tailgate table without any special handling.
Frequently Asked Questions
What drinks pair well with Meat Candy beef jerky?
Root beer and cola are the most natural pairings because their own caramel and vanilla sweetness lines up with the brown sugar, honey, and maple syrup in Meat Candy's sauce instead of fighting it. Ginger ale works especially well with Baa-Baa BBQ Sheep because the ginger's bite echoes the black pepper and red pepper in its BBQ sauce without adding more heat.
Is Meat Candy a good lunchbox snack for kids?
Yes, with one condition. Meat Candy's sweet, smoky flavor and nursery-rhyme branding make it an easy sell to kids, and Baa-Baa BBQ Sheep's gentler heat is usually the better starting flavor. Since it contains wheat, soy, and added sugar, it isn't appropriate for a lunchbox with a gluten, soy, or sugar restriction.
Which Meat Candy flavor is better for road trips?
Hickory Kickory Dock tends to work best for road trips because its stickier, more caramelized coating and stronger Tabasco kick give you more to notice over a long stretch of driving, where you're eating one piece at a time rather than finishing the bag right away.
Does Meat Candy need to be refrigerated?
No. Like most cooked, smoked jerky, an unopened bag of Meat Candy is shelf-stable and doesn't need refrigeration, which makes it easy to pack for a cooler-free tailgate table, a lunchbox, or a glovebox on a road trip.
Can I serve Meat Candy and biltong together at the same event?
Yes. Because Meat Candy is sweet and smoky and biltong is clean and savory, putting both out together gives people a real choice between two different flavor directions instead of two versions of the same thing, which works well for a game day spread or a snack table where guests have different preferences.
What's the best way to pack Meat Candy for a lunchbox?
A single 2oz bag is a reasonable one-person lunchbox portion on its own. If you're introducing a new flavor to a kid for the first time, splitting one bag between two lunchboxes is a low-risk way to test which of the two flavors, Hickory Kickory Dock or Baa-Baa BBQ Sheep, they prefer before committing to a full bag.
