JERKY

Meat for jerky is is cut into long, thin strips and dried. Jerky was always popular with trappers and soldiers because it was light, easy to carry, kept well and provided plenty of energy. For the same reasons jerky is a popular snack and survival food today.

Jerky can be produced from any lean meat, poultry, wild game, even fish. It can be made in many flavors with a different degree of hotness and it can be smoked or not. Creating flavors is up to you and there are many marinades and spices which make the job easy. What is important is selecting lean meat only, as fat becomes rancid in time, spoiling the flavor of jerky, although the food remains safe to eat. For this reason, venison is great for making jerky as it is such lean meat.

USDA guidelines state that: ìA potentially hazardous food does not include a food with a water activity value of 0.85 or less.î Although jerky is perfectly safe at Aw 0.85, nevertheless molds can still develop on its surface when the air becomes more humid. At Aw 0.70 the molds will not grow. Traditionally, jerky was only dried and many people still use the same procedures.

Concern About the Safety of Traditional Drying Methods

The guidelines for making jerky has been changed In October 2003, after in 1995 in New Mexico, there was an outbreak of Salmonella that was traced to jerky production in a small commercial plant. In total, 93 people were diagnosed with the disease. The plant's operating procedures called for drying partially frozen beef strips for 3 hours at 140° F (60° C), then holding at 115° F (46° C) for 19 hours. Later, the same year, 11 people in Oregon were infected with E.coli 0157:H7 in homemade venison jerky. The procedure consisted of drying jerky at 125 -135° F (52-58° C) for 12-18 hours.

In response to this outbreak, the Food Safety and Inspection Service has initiated a series of policy changes and guidelines. Jerky is usually made from beef and the cooking guidelines for beef products should be observed. What FSIS has concluded is that it is not enough to follow the time-temperature guidelines, but to also include the humidity factor in the cooking process. To make it short: it is necessary to maintain the relative humidity of the oven at 90% or above for at least 25% of the cooking time and no less than one hour. This ruling has started a heated and ongoing debate between FSIS and small jerky manufacturers who claim that maintaining such high humidity in a smokehouse is difficult and may force them out of business. Another argument is that the humidity requirement changes the quality of jerky. Due to today's microbiological concerns, particularly E.coli 0157:H7, Salmonella,and Listeria monocytogenes jerky must be exposed to thermal processing.

It should be noted that a home producer is not bound by those rules.

CAUTION if jerky is made from free roaming pigs or wild game by drying alone, it can be infected with Trichinalis parasite. Cook the meat to 140° F, 60° C to kill the parasite in pork and 165° F, 74° C in wild game. Venison (deer) is herbivore (does not eat meat) and does not carry the parasite.

Why is Temperature Important When Making Jerky?

Illnesses due to Salmonella and E.coli 0157:H7 from home made jerky raise questions about the traditional drying methods for making beef and venison jerky. The USDA current recommendation for making jerky safely is to heat meat to 160° F, 72° C, before the dehydrating process. This step assures that any bacteria present will be destroyed by wet heat. Most dehydrator instructions do not include this step, and a dehydrator may not reach temperatures high enough to heat meat to 160° F. After heating to 160° F, maintaining a constant dehydrator temperature of 130 to 140° F, 54 - 60° C, during the drying process is important because:

The process must be enough to dry food before it spoils.

The process must remove enough water that microorganisms are unable to grow.

Why is it a Food Safety Concern to Dry Meat Without First Heating it to 160° F?

The danger in dehydrating meat and poultry without cooking it to a safe temperature first is that the appliance will not heat the meat to 160° F - a temperature at which bacteria are destroyed - before it dries. After drying, bacteria become much more heat resistant. Within a dehydrator or low-temperature oven, evaporating moisture absorbs most of the heat. Thus, the meat itself does not begin to rise in temperature until most of the moisture has evaporated. Therefore, when the dried meat temperature finally begins to rise, the bacteria have become more heat resistant and are more likely to survive. If these bacteria are pathogenic, they can cause food borne illness to those consuming the jerky.

Recent work at the University of Wisconsin has demonstrated that the following temperatures are effective at killing E.coli 0157:H7 in jerky products. It is recommended that dehydrator temperature of 145° F (63° C) or higher be used.

The United States Department of Agriculture has divided jerky into specific categories:

Jerky - The product is produced from a single piece of meat. The product can also be labeled as "Natural Style Jerky" provided that the product name is accompanied by the explanatory statement "made from solid pieces of meat."

Jerky Chunked and Formed - The product is produced from chunks which are molded and formed and cut into strips.

Jerky Ground and Formed or Chopped and Formed - The meat is ground, molded, pressed and cut into strips.

Safety of Home Made Jerky

It must be noted that pork and wild game (bear, venison) meat is at risk of being infested with trichinae and should be either cooked or accordingly treated. Commercially made jerky is monitored by inspectors of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. Home made jerky, often made from venison, is often made in a hazardous way. Dried meat will keep for many years if kept at low humidity because bacteria will not grow under such conditions. That does not mean that all bacteria are dead. E.coli was found in dried but uncooked jerky that has been stored at room temperature for more than a year. Although curing salt (Cure#1) is not required in the manufacture of homemade jerky, it is recommended that it be used. Curing salt offers many advantages:

Stabilizes and improves the color of meat.

Contributes to the characteristic flavor of cured meat.

Inhibits growth of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria.

Slows down development of rancidity of fat.

Making jerky from a single piece of meat

Making safe jerky requires cooking the meat before placing it in the dehydrator or oven. The USDA recommends that meat be heated to 160° F (72° C) before dehydrating.

The leaner the meat, the better the jerky. Either fresh or frozen meat can be used. Meat should be trimmed of fat and connective tissue.

Slice partially frozen meat into 1/4” strips, 6” long x 1” wide.

Marinating.

Home produced jerky made of sliced meat pieces is usually marinated overnight and 8 hours is plenty. About 1/2 cup (120 ml) of marinade for each pound of meat sounds right. Drain the slices and pat them dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with black pepper and other spices you like.

Basic jerky marinade:

1 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbs. powdered garlic

1 Tbs. black pepper

1 Tbs. liquid smoke

This amount of marinade is enough for 5-7 lb. of meat.

Commercially made jerky will not be marinated but mixed with salt, nitrite and spices in a tumbler. Then it will be dried.

Cook meat according to 160º F (72º C) as recommended by FSIS. You could bring the marinade with strips of jerky to a boil, but you may not have enough marinade. More water can be added into your marinade. Another fine solution is to make a special brine just for that purpose.

Bring half of the brine to a boil. Insert meat pieces, bring brine to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove strips and let them dry. Change brine for the second half of meat and repeat the process.

Begin dehydrating immediately after cooking. Dry at 130-140° F (54-60° C) until a test strip cracks but does not break when it is bent.

Jerky can be dried in the sun, oven, smokehouse or dehydrator.

Apply smoke if smoky flavor is desired. There is a danger when smoking very thin meat strips with heavy smoke for too long. If smoked longer than 60 minutes they might develop an unpleasant bitter flavor. Keep in mind that sausage meat is encased with casings which acts as a barrier to smoke penetration. The casings contain millions of tiny holes which let the smoke in. Thin jerky cuts have no protective barrier and accept smoke rapidly. If smoking temperature is maintained between 130-140° F (54-60° C), there is no difference between smoking and drying and it might be considered one process.

Let it cool and then place in a plastic bag. Remove air and seal tightly.

A typical jerky brine

Liquid smoke.

The use of liquid smoke is beneficial when food dehydrators are used since the smoking process can not be performed inside of the unit. In these cases liquid smoke which comes in a variety of flavors can be added to marinade. Liquid smoke is very strong so be careful as more is not necessarily better.

Restructured Jerky

(made from ground meat)

Making ground meat jerky resembles making sausage.

Grind lean meat through 1/4” (6 mm) plate.

Add all ingredients to meat and mix together. Adding Cure #1 is a good idea, as it inhibits the growth of pathogenic bacteria. You want the sausage mass to feel sticky, exactly like during making sausages. You may add some water to facilitate mixing and spice distribution. Leave the sausage mass overnight in a refrigerator. Cover the meat.

Stuff meat into flat strips using grinder attachments for making jerky or jerky gun. Use a plastic mat that prevents jerky from being easily removed.

Preheat oven to 325° F (162° C). Boiling it might break it apart and cooking in a oven or in a smokehouse is the preferred method.

Place the ground meat strips on a cookie sheet.

Heat to 160° F (72° C) internal meat temperature.

Begin dehydrating immediately after cooking. Dry at 130-140° F (54-60° C). Place the strips close together, but not touching. Jerky is done when a test strip cracks but does not break when it is bent. That should take about 8-10 hours.

Apply smoke if smoky flavor is desired. If smoking temperature is maintained between 130-140° F (54-60° C), there is no difference between smoking and drying, and it might be considered one process.

Let cool and then place in a plastic bag. Remove air and seal tightly.

Jerky made from wild game

Pre-cook wild game to 165° F (74° C). Game meats are often infected with trichinae and other parasites. If the meat will not be cooked, it should be frozen according to the USDA rules. Freezing meat takes care of trichinae but will not eliminate bacteria from the meat. The majority of recipes on the Internet do not mention the fact that jerky should be pre-cooked in order to be microbiologically safe. Some of us will refuse to accept this fact and will not cook jerky. Well, there are extra precautions that might be implemented to increase the safety jerky made from wild game:

Good manufacturing practices.

Use at least 2% salt.

Use sodium nitrite.

Dry cure meat for jerky.

If brine is used add acidic ingredients into your marinade.

Don’t make your strips thicker then 1/4”. The thinner the strips are, the quicker they will dry.

People who like to decrease the amount of salt or use salt substitutes should pre-cook jerky.

Useful Information

Ingredients that inhibit the growth of bacteria: salt, soy sauce, sodium nitrite, acidic liquids such as vinegar, lemon juice, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, teriyaki sauce.

Jerky strips heated in marinade will dry faster.

Slice meat with the grain for chewy jerky.

Slice meat across the grain for a more tender, brittle jerky.

Be careful when applying liquid smoke as too much may make your product bitter.

Worcestershire sauce is often added to jerky marinade.

It takes about 4 lbs. of fresh meat to make 1 lb. of dry jerky.

Salt prevents the growth of bacteria and helps to draw the moisture out of the meat.

Commercially produced and vacuum packed jerky can be stored for one year.

Home made jerky should be refrigerated and should be consumed within 1-2 months. Its flavor will deteriorate in time. It is a good idea to store jerky in reusable plastic bags, removing as much air as possible.

Dry seasoning mixes are available in a variety of flavors. They can be used as a basic formulation to which you can add additional spices making the project easier.

Whole Meat Jerky

Whole meat jerky is what people usually associate with the term jerky. It is a dry solid and thin piece of meat which supplies plenty of protein and a decent amount of calories. Solid meat jerky has its own character; it is a chewable product. After a piece is bitten off, there is not much sensation, but once jerky is soaked with saliva its flavor comes to life. It takes a while to reconstitute jerky in a mouth until soft to eat and this constant chewing helps to beat the time for people on the move. Jerky is an ideal snack for hikers as it is light to carry. For the same reason it was a basic staple of American cavalry.

The manufacturing process is very simple, but the drying time is long and depends on many factors.

Selecting the Meat

London broil.

The most popular cut for making jerky is the flank steak which is cut from the abdominal muscles of the cow. In the USA flank steak is also known as London broil, although the name is unknown in the city of London.

Wild game meat is very lean and makes an excellent jerky, however, there are some safety issues involving when the meat is not heated to at least 137° F (59° C) internal temperature.

The following meats may carry the parasite:

Pork that comes from unknown sources.

Wild boar, bear, raccoon and other wild game.

The diet of deer (venison) does not include meat so deer meat is Trichinosis free. To protect the customer from pathogenic diseases like Salmonella and E.coli 0157:H7, the United States Department of Agriculture recommends cooking meat jerky strips to an internal temperature of 160° F (72° C) and poultry to 165° F (74° C). This treatment takes care of Trichinosis danger at the same time.

Preparing the Meat

Trimming meat

Cutting meat

Use only fresh lean meat. Remove any visible, sinews, silver screen, connective tissue. Those are great parts for emulsified sausages, but in jerky they will be very hard to chew. Discard any fat as in time the fat goes rancid and will lower the flavor of jerky.

You can cut with or against the grain; some find that strips cut against the grain are easier to chew. If you cut across the grain you end up with a more crumbly product. It's easier to bite off a piece of a jerky and chew it. If you cut with the grain, it's chewier and it takes longer to eat it, which some people like. To facilitate cutting, the meat should be partially frozen – place the meat for 2 hours in a freezer. And, of course, you need a sharp knife.

Cut meat into 1/4 inch thick strips; it does not matter how long.

You can cut meat into thicker slicers, but it will take much longer to dry them. Such thick cuts would probably not fit between dehydrator’s trays, however they may be dried in open air or in a smokehouse. South African biltong is a thick sliced jerky. Before you attempt to dry bigger cuts of meat, you should read about drying meats, microbiology and safety, adding sufficient amount of salt and sodium nitrite (cure #1). There is a big difference between drying ¼” diameter jerky strip and one pound of solid meat. There is no need to add cure #1 (sodium nitrite), unless strong red color is desired, or jerky will be smoked for a long time.

Marinating Jerky Strips

Better flavor is obtained when marinating meat strips instead of a solid cut of meat. There is a great selection of ready to use marinades on a supermarket shelf, however, you can easily make your own and it will be much cheaper. The three important ingredients of a good marinade are:

Soy sauce.

Worcestershire sauce.

Liquid smoke. (There is no need for liquid smoke drying jerky with smoke in a smokehouse).

Oil, vinegar, tomato ketchup, lemon juice, dry wine or beer can be used in every marinade. They also provide a degree of safety as all acidic ingredients inhibit growth of bacteria. Tabasco sauce will add hotness. Brown sugar, pepper, powdered garlic and onion are often added. You may use other spices for original flavor: cumin, nutmeg, ginger, curry powder.

A typical jerky marinade:

1 kg (2.2 lb) meat

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp liquid smoke

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Marinate meat in the refrigerator.

Don't save and re-use marinade.

Jerky strips heated in marinade will dry faster.

Marinate jerky for 4-6 hours or overnight.

Safety Considerations

After Salmonella and E.coli 0157:H7 outbreaks in 1995 that were traced to manufacturing jerky, the USDA recommends that jerky be heated to 160 F (72 C).

This can be accomplished in three ways:

1. Heat processing meat strips to 160° F (40° C) and poultry to 165° F (74° C). Since it is difficult to measure thin strips of mat with thermometer, the accepted method is to boil the marinated jerky strips in marinade for 5 minutes and then dehydrating them for 4-6 hours. It is assumed that the thickness of the raw meat strip does not exceed ¼ inch. The reasoning behind the procedure is that any bacteria present will be destroyed and a lower dehydrator temperature of 130-140° F (54-60° C) can be used. This temperature is considered to be the upper limit of the “danger zone” as at temperatures above 140° F (60° C) dangerous bacteria normally do not grow. There is, however, the downfall to this method - the texture of the finished jerky is crumbly.

2. Another acceptable approach is to dry meat above the danger zone at 145-155° F (63-68° C) for at least 4 hours or until jerky is deemed to be done, and then baking jerky in a preheated to 275° F (135° C) oven for 10 minutes. It is assumed that the thickness of the raw meat strip does not exceed ¼ inch. Thicker strips may require longer times to reach an internal temperature of 160° F (72° C).

3. The vinegar jerky preparation method given below was developed as part of a joint project between the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and the Department of Animal Sciences at Colorado State University, and was found effective in reducing E. coli O157:H7 numbers and ensuring jerky safety.

Vinegar-Marinade Preparation Method

Ingredients per two pounds of lean meat slices:

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

Directions:

Place 2 cups vinegar in 9 x 11-inch cake pan or plastic storage container. Add meat strips to container, making sure vinegar covers all strips; let soak 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure distribution of vinegar on strips.

Combine all marinade ingredients and place 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 meat strips. Refrigerate bag 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. Immediately begin drying.

Drying

Remove meat strips from the marinade, drain briefly in a colander, then place on paper towels. Cover with paper towels, press down and absorb moisture.

Place jerky strips on dehydrator tray.

It is difficult to provide an exact number of hours needed to dry jerky. This depends on a thickness of meat, temperature, humidity and the type of dehydrator. Start checking jerky after 4 hours. Dried jerky cracks but does not break when it is bent.

If jerky was not heated in marinade prior to drying, the strips can be heated after drying as a safety precaution as described in Step 2 above.

When drying is completed remove any spots of oil with a paper towel.

Cool.

Pack in plastic zip-lock bags or in glass jars. If droplets of moisture appear, jerky is still moist, so dry it for another hour or so.

Storing For best quality

A sealed container for 1-2 weeks at room temperature

Up to 6 months in refrigerator

Up to 12 months in freezer

Vacuum package jerky to extend the shelf life.

Ground Meat Jerky

Jerky can be made from ground meat, choose 93% lean meat which is available in supermarket. You can grind a cut of lean meat through a ¼” grinder plate. Use only fresh lean meat. Remove any visible, sinews, silver screen, connective tissue. Those are great parts for emulsified sausages, but in jerky they will be very hard to chew. Discard any fat as in time the fat goes rancid and will lower the flavor of jerky. There are more bacteria in ground meat than in whole meat strips so use as fresh meat as possible.

The process of making ground jerky resembles making a fresh sausage. The meat is ground, mix with spices, stuffed in tube and squeezed out from a jerky gun as jerky strips strips.

1. The meat is ground and mixed with spices.

Add 1.8% salt in relation to meat weight. This comes to 18 g salt (3 tsp) per 1 kg (2.2 lb) of meat. Add salt and mix with meat well, knead the mixture hard until it becomes sticky. You may add 120 ml (1/2 cup) Worcestershire sauce, which goes extremely well with all types of jerky or other liquid ingredients. Worcestershire sauce is very acidic and like vinegar inhibits growth of bacteria. You can add tomato ketchup, vinegar or lemon juice, those are the typical ingredients of a good marinade. Those ingredients can be mixed in varying proportions, it is up to you. Although adding moisture will extend the drying time, nevertheless it provides new flavors and makes the stuffing and forcing jerky out of the jerky gun much easier.

Spices and flavorings. Liquid smoke will add smoky flavor, Tabasco or pepper will add hotness. Be careful with liquid smoke, too much will make jerky bitter. Start with one teaspoon per 1 kg (2.2 lb) of meat and taste. Do not over salt, remember that jerky will lose moisture, but the salt will remain inside. Keep in mind that adding soy sauce brings a lot of salt as well. Add spices of your choice: pepper, sugar, mustard, cumin, nutmeg, powdered garlic, powdered onion, marjoram, curry etc.

Taste the mixture, there is still time for changes.

There is no need for cure #1 (sodium nitrite), unless you want jerky to be red.

A sample recipe:

1 kg (2.2 lb) lean ground beef

Salt, 18 g (3 tsp)

Pepper, 1 tsp

Ground cumin or caraway, 1/2 tsp

Nutmeg, 1/2 tsp

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Tabasco sauce

2 tsp liquid smoke

2. Jerky is formed by a specially designed jerky gun.

Weston jerky gun

The meat mass is loaded into the tube and the pusher makes the stuffed meat firm.

Repeatedly squeezing the trigger advances the piston forward which forces the meat out through the nozzle.

3. Jerky sticks are placed on screen and dried in dehydrator. Follow the dehydrator manufacturer’s directions for drying. Drying temperatures for jerky are usually between 145° F (63° C) and 155° F (68° C). As with whole meat jerky, an internal temperature of 160° F (72° C) is necessary to eliminate disease-causing bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7, if present.

It is difficult to provide an exact number of hours needed to dry jerky. This depends on a thickness of meat, temperature, humidity and the type of dehydrator. Start checking jerky after 3 hours. Dried jerky cracks but does not break when it is bent.

When drying is completed remove any spots of oil with a paper towel. Cool. Pack in plastic zip-lock bags or in glass jars. If droplets of moisture appear, jerky is still moist, so dry it for another hour or so.

Storing For best quality

A sealed container for 1-2 weeks at room temperature

Up to 6 months in refrigerator

Up to 12 months in freezer

Vacuum package jerky to extend the shelf life.