I deliberately hid my opinion of the beef steaks... LOVE them. Very much would like to replicate. Thanks for the cliff notes: fat content, larger grind, etc. My favorite is the pepper one and 99% sure there is no way to hit that pepper note with spices and will need an extract or an oleoresin as I see on the ingredients.
Yeah I'm a huge fan of jerky and my favorite is also the pepper sticks!
I buy really good coarse black pepper that is super flavorful and actually has some heat to it at times. I would imagine a really good and fresh pepper may get you somewhat close to what you are wanting.
Even if you cant get the "chunkier" texture you can definitely get the thickness handled. My sticks are almost as thick as those bought in the store or gas station maybe 1/8 or 3/16 of an inch skinnier. I would just need to make a thicker meat sheet and/or dehydrate less if I wanted thicker.
I would like to find a go-to general/original "jerky" seasoning. I may just use the Lem's Original Snackstick seasoning which does not have those black flecks and that stronger taste or seasoning I don't care for. I think it may be some kind of fennel, fennel seed, or something in that family which is totally unnecessary for an "original" jerky flavor. I could always just go salt, pepper, garlic, and onion but I like having a 5 pound option I can easily pick up that comes with cure in the case I run out of cure I get everything in one shot. Or when my brother decides he wants help making jerky I can tell him to buy a pack and be done with it haha.