How to Do Things

Jerky is red meat that is sliced, low on fat, well marinated in salty, sweet or spicy liquid. It is then smoldered or dried in 70 degrees, it can also be sun-dried. The taste of the jerky is semi-sweet, salty or savory. The jerky can also be stored for a long time even without refrigeration. This red meat jerky was the very first manufactured product by humans it also had good preservative qualities. The word jerky is derived from the Quechua term Charqui that means “to burn the red meat”.

The Preparation Method:
Jerky is made with red meat only. People use different types of domestic and wild animals for the preparation of jerky. The domestic animals used for jerky are sheep, pig, bovine and goat. The wild animals used are moose, elk, caribou, deer and kangaroo.
Once you have the required meat then it needs to be dried thoroughly, to stop the bacteria growth on it. To dry the meats, slice the meat in a thin piece. These strips of meat are dried at a very low temperature, so that it is not cooked, or doesn’t dry for a long time.
The above mentioned process is useful but also time consuming. Currently, in many factories there are large ovens especially for jerky with insulated panels. All these ovens are provided with exhaust funnels, which help to get rid of the moist air. There are also preservatives available in the market like sodium nitrate. Smoking the jerky and salting the jerky are proves to be good preservative.
You can also make beef jerky at home with the help of these simple steps.

Ingredients:
• Beef meat

Procedure:
• Take the beef meat and take out all the fat from the meat. The fat storage on the meat causes it to ruin much faster. After you take out all the fat, cut up the meat into fine slices of 1/8 inches thick. If you find it difficult to slice it, then freeze it for nearly 30 minutes and then cut it.
• Next, you have to marinate the beef slice in a mixture of sea salt and vinegar. After marinating it, keep it in the refrigerator for the next 24 hours, it helps the meat piece to absorb the flavor.
• Now cover the meat slice with the seasoning of your preference.
• Let the meat dry, leave some space between the two meat pieces, it will help dehydrate properly. When you are drying the jerky piece, spray a little non-stick cooking spray on the dehydrating shelf.
• Set the temperature of the oven to 150 degrees and preheat it. Put your marinated meat on a foil in the oven.
• The preparation of beef jerky is a lengthy process. Since the thickness of every slice varies, there is no fixed time or preparation. Generally, it takes nearly 6-12 hours for the jerky to cook completely. To check if the jerky is completely ready, you will have to cut it in half to see if it is cooked from inside as well. The beef jerky will turn into a burgundy or brown color when it is done.
• Now place the fresh pieces of jerky on plastic bags and keep them in the freezer until the time you want to eat it. Eat the homemade jerky before one week of preparation.

Tips:
• If you want to store the jerky for a long time, then use glass jars. Do not use plastic bags, they tend to gather moisture, which leads to the growth of bacteria. You can keep the jerky in the jar for months.
• Dry the meat fast. that will stop the bacterial growth. When you are cutting the meat into thin slices, it will lessen the drying time. If you want really, thin slices place the piece of meat in the freezer.
• The ideal way to store jerky is to seal its vacuum in a plastic bag, with a packet of oxygen absorber to prevent it from spoiling. However, it is not possible if you make jerky at home.
• If you are a vegetarian then you can use tofu instead of beef.
• Make sure that you leave the jerky overnight after marinating.
• You can also use soy sauce based marinade. You can also add flavorings like sesame oil, red pepper flakes and powdered ginger,
• If you are drying the beef jerky in the oven, make sure that you keep the oven door open. It helps in quick drying.
• There are ready beef jerky kits available in the market. You can use it if you are not confident of the whole process.