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Jerky is meat that has been dehydrated or dried through low heat. Making jerky from meat is a food preservation technique that substantially removes the meat's moisture and inhibits enzyme and bacterial growth that would otherwise spoil the meat. Jerky has been made for hundreds and thousands of years. The word jerky derives from the Quechua word charqui. Quechua is a South American language that predates the beginnings of the Inca civilization in the 1200's. Europeans arriving in North America in the 1500's and 1600's found native Indians making pemmican, which is jerky mixed with dried fruit. Further, the Plains Indians in North America long made jerky from buffalo meat. Historically, jerky was made by sun and air drying, smoking over fires and or salting the meat. Making jerky with a food dehydrator is easy via the following steps:
• Choose a lean piece of meat.
• Trim the fat and any connective tissue or tendons off the meat. It is important to trim as much fat off the meat as possible as fat will not dry out during the dehydrating process. • Slice the trimmed meat into 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick strips. The slices can be made with or against the grain. • If desired, the meat strips can be marinated with sauces and seasoned with spices, salt and pepper. Marinating the meat will obviously add moisture and thus potentially prolong the dehydrating time required. • The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends that, before dehydrating, the meat strips be heated to a temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius). The USDA recommends this step to ensure that salmonella, listeria, e coli and other potentially harmful bacteria are destroyed. Per the USDA, studies have shown that harmful bacteria can survive temperatures of 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius). The USDA especially recommends preheating, before dehydrating, for ground beef based jerky. • Place the meat strips in a food dehydrator and maintain a constant drying temperature of between 130 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit (54 to 60 degrees Celsius). • Drying time can vary up to 12 hours based on drying temperatures, the dehydrator, if marinades are used, the thickness of the slices and humidity levels. • Test the jerky to see if it is done. The jerky should be flexible and not brittle. Jerky is done when a test piece cracks on the edges but does not break when it is bent. After making jerky with a food dehydrator, the following steps should be followed to store the jerky: • After removing the jerky from a food dehydrator, pat the jerky with a paper towel to remove excess moisture and oil from the jerky, • Line an airtight storage container with paper towels. Place the jerky in the container on top of paper towels. Make successive layers of towels and jerky, • Label the storage container with the date and type and or flavor of the jerky. It is best to keep different jerkys separate from each other in order to maintain flavor. • Periodically check the jerky to see if fat has come out of the jerky. If so, replace the paper towels with dry ones.
Visit Food-Dehydrator.com for food dehydrator reviews, food dehydrator recipes and to learn how to make beef jerky and fruit leather.
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