While you can buy jerky, you can also make it yourself! Proper drying of jerky removes most of its moisture, making the product shelf-stable.
Jerky can be made from almost any lean meat, including beef, pork, wild game, or smoked turkey breast. Raw poultry is generally not recommended for use in making jerky because of the texture and flavor of the finished product.
Remember food safety when making jerky! Raw meats can be contaminated with microorganisms that cause disease. Harmful pathogens can easily multiply in moist, high protein foods like meat and poultry and can cause illness if the products are not correctly handled. The pathogens of greatest concern are Escherichia coli [E. coli] O157:H7 and Salmonella. The Trichinella parasite is dangerous too.
Washing your hands with soap and warm water often and thoroughly when handling raw meat, poultry, and fish is essential. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds, rinse, and dry with a clean paper towel.
If drying pork or wild game (antelope, bear, cougar, deer, elk), freeze the meat prior to drying to kill the Trichinella parasite before it is dehydrated. This parasite causes the disease, trichinosis. To treat the meat, freeze a portion that is 6 inches or less thick at 0°F or below for at least 20 days. Freezing will kill the parasite so that the meat can be safely dried.
Use only lean meat in excellent condition. Fat turns rancid very quickly and develops off-flavors during drying and storage. For whole muscle jerky, trim the meat of excess fat and slice no thicker than ¼-inch.
Partially freeze meat to make it easier to cut. Slice the meat with the grain if you prefer chewy jerky. Five pounds of fresh meat will weigh approximately two pounds after drying.
Maintain meat under refrigeration or keep frozen until use. If marinating meat, do so in the refrigerator.
Keep raw meat, cutting surfaces, and equipment that has touched raw meat separate from ready-to-eat foods, and other work surfaces and equipment. After washing cutting surfaces and equipment, sanitize them with a solution of 1 teaspoon of unscented chlorine bleach per one gallon of room temperature water. Let them air dry.
Jerky needs to be processed in a way that destroys pathogens. Research shows there are three options for preparing jerky safely in addition to the drying process:
- Vinegar soak: Vinegar is an acid, and it destroys Salmonella and E.coli pathogens on the meat. The effectiveness of the vinegar soak method in killing Trichinella parasites found in game meat has not been tested, so this method is NOT recommended for game meat. The Vinegar Marinade Jerky recipe included in this article uses the vinegar pasteurization process.
- Pre-cook the meat: Meat can be pre-cooked by baking in the oven or by dipping in hot brine. Either way, the meat needs to reach an internal temperature of 160°F to destroy pathogens. The Hot Pickle Cure Jerky recipe in this article uses the pre-cook method by dipping in hot brine.
- Post-drying heating: Placing dried meat strips on a cookie sheet in a 275°F oven for 10 minutes will also kill pathogens.
Properly dried jerky is chewy and leathery. Let cool slightly, then bend the jerky; it should crack, but not break when bent. When jerky is sufficiently dry, remove the strips from the drying racks to a clean surface. Pat off any beads of oil with a paper towel and let cool.
For extra safety, heat jerky in an oven after drying. Research has shown that an extra margin of safety can be achieved by heating dried meat strips in a preheated 275°F oven for 10 minutes. Allow meat to cool, blot to remove excess fat, and package for storage.
Dried jerky can be stored for two weeks at room temperature, in the refrigerator for up to 6 months, or frozen for up to 1 year. Occasionally check jerky you’ve stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator to make sure no mold is forming. Discard it if you find mold. Vacuum package jerky to extend the shelf life.
Try these research-tested recipes for whole-muscle jerky.
Sources:
- Hunters – What to do with extra game meat? Go retro and make into JERKY (Barnyards and Backyards 2016); National Center for Home Food Preservation at http://www.uga.edu/nchfp; So Easy to Preserve, 6th Edition, 2014. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension)
Vinegar-Marinade Jerky
Ingredients per two pounds of lean meat slices (not recommended for game meat)
Marinade Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon hickory smoked salt
Place 2 cups vinegar in 9×11-inch pan or plastic storage container. Add meat strips to the container, making sure vinegar covers all of the strips; let soak 10 minutes, occasionally stirring to ensure the distribution of vinegar on strips.
Combine all marinade ingredients and place them in a 1-gallon re-sealable plastic bag. Add lean meat slices to bag; seal bag and massage pieces to thoroughly distribute marinade over all of the meat strips. Refrigerate bag for 1 to 24 hours.
Remove meat slices from bag, and place flat, without touching each other, on clean dehydrator trays, oven racks, or other drying trays.
Dry in a dehydrator or oven. Dry meat at 145°F for 10 to 14 hours or until slices are adequately dry.
Hot Pickle Cure Jerky
Ingredients per two pounds of lean meat strips sliced with the grain, not crosswise:
Pickling Spices:
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons salt
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
Hot Pickle Brine:
- 3/4 cup salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons black pepper
- 1 gallon water
Place jerky slices on clean cookie sheets or flat pans. Evenly distribute half of the pickling spices on the top surfaces of the jerky pieces. Pound the meat on both sides to work in the spices. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Combine ingredients for hot pickle brine in a large pot. Stir to dissolve salt and sugar and bring to a slow boil. Place a few meat slices at a time in a steamer basket and lower it into the brine. Simmer for 1½ to 2 minutes, occasionally stirring to make sure all pieces are immersed.
Lift the basket out of the pot and drain off liquid. Using clean tongs, remove meat pieces and place flat, without touching each other, on clean dehydrator trays, oven racks, or other drying trays.Repeat the process until all meat pieces have been pickled in the brine solution and placed in the dehydrator or oven.
Dry in a dehydrator or oven. Dry meat at 150°F for 9 to 24 hours or until slices are adequately dry.