Big Boy's Beef Jerky: A Local Tradition

For about a year, Kip Nichols, originally from Garden City, has been selling Big Boy's Jerky. His stand at the farmers market features inflatable cartoons of his face as the logo, befitting his wide smile and immediately drawing people in. While the business is relatively new, the jerky is rooted in a longstanding family tradition, though Nichols has developed his own original recipes.

Nichols first got into making beef jerky because he is diabetic and was looking for a good alternative snack that could provide protein and sustained energy.

He sources his meat from Sam's Club and processes everything himself. Sharing his approach to jerky, he says, “When you eat a piece of jerky, you need to know you have a piece of meat in your mouth.”

Big Boy's Jerky is currently available in four varieties: Teriyaki, with a touch of sweetness; Mild, a traditional jerky with a hickory finish; Regular, with a kick of heat; and Triple X, made with Carolina Reaper sauce.

I sampled the Mild and Regular varieties and can attest that, as warned, the heat takes a bit to kick in. The texture was crispy but still moist once the flavor settled in.

The brand's logo has a unique origin story. Nichols' girlfriend is from Southern California, and the two were joking about differences in regional living costs by comparing gas prices. Nichols sent her a picture showing how inexpensive his gas was, and they found the picture amusing. One of her nieces later turned the photo into the cartoon logo.

Currently, Nichols works a full-time job and makes the jerky from home. He is also a teacher who will be returning to the classroom, so he has been enjoying selling jerky over his summer break. Eventually, he hopes to expand into a licensed commercial kitchen.

For Nichols, farmers markets are more than a place to sell his products. He sees them as an opportunity for people to share their home projects and a way for the community to come together.

“Just walk around down here for a while and see the diverse population that comes down,” Nichols says. “It's a great meeting place for people. It gives vendors an opportunity to let people know what's out there.”