| jerky seems to cause extreme reactions in people. | | | | to the choices at your local grocer and convenience |
| They either love it or hate it. I love it. Yes, eating | | | | store, many meat markets and butcher shops make |
| beef jerky can be a marathon chewing experience. | | | | and sell their own beef jerky. |
| But I love the taste of it. It also helps me avoid | | | | The flavor choices are varied too. Although traditional |
| eating too much junk food because after I eat a | | | | beef jerky is my favorite flavor, I also enjoy |
| few pieces of beef jerky I’m satisfied and no | | | | peppered and teriyaki flavored beef jerky. Hot or |
| longer want to consume an entire bag of potato | | | | jalepeno flavored beef jerky is also readily available |
| chips. | | | | at most stores, but if you like really hot beef jerky |
| Although beef jerky is relatively low in calories, it | | | | you might want to shop online where you have more |
| contains a lot of sodium so it’s often not | | | | choices of hot, hotter, and hottest flavors of jerky. |
| considered a health food. I consider it a fairly healthy | | | | Other flavors of beef jerky I’ve seen include: |
| snack though. It’s a lot better for you than | | | | barbecued, hickory smoked, honey glazed, Hawaiian, |
| eating those chips I mentioned above or eating cake, | | | | lemon pepper, Cajun, Tex Mex and chili. |
| pie, brownies, and candy bars. | | | | And, in addition to the traditional slices of beef jerky, |
| If you like beef jerky but don’t want to give | | | | you can now purchase shredded beef jerky and beef |
| your jaw a workout there’s some types of | | | | jerky chips. |
| beef jerky that are easy to chew. Look for pieces | | | | If you’re looking jerky that’s made |
| of beef jerky that are chopped and formed. They | | | | with something other than beef you have lots of |
| are much easier to chew than traditional beef jerky | | | | choices too. There’s turkey jerky (yummy), |
| which is made from slices of beef. But the chopped | | | | chicken jerky (also yummy), buffalo jerky (tastes a |
| and formed beef jerky is typically higher in calories | | | | lot like beef jerky), ostrich jerky (not my favorite |
| and lower in protein than traditional beef jerky so | | | | but I was predisposed to not like it because ostrich |
| it’s not as good for you. You can also make | | | | jerky didn’t sound good to me), alligator |
| your own easy to chew beef jerky if you have a | | | | jerky (wasn’t a fan of this kind either), |
| food dehydrator, good quality ground beef, | | | | crocodile (wouldn’t try it since I didn’t |
| seasonings, and some patience. | | | | like the alligator jerky) kangaroo (haven’t |
| If you look at your local store you’ll usually | | | | worked up the courage to try this kind yet), Emu |
| find beef jerky seasoning packets right next to the | | | | (scared of this one too), Wild Boar jerky (have only |
| food dehydrators. If you prefer to mix your own | | | | seen this kind online and haven’t tried yet), |
| seasonings there are lots of free recipes available | | | | Venison (it was okay but I’m not a fan of |
| online. Do a search for “beef jerky seasoning | | | | venison) and smoked Salmon (haven’t tried |
| recipe” or “beef jerky recipe” | | | | this one yet but it sounds good). |
| and you’ll get tens of thousands of | | | | I’ve also heard of people making their own |
| “hits.” You’ll have more | | | | trout jerky, goose jerky, and duck jerky. The |
| recipes than you’ll know what to do with. | | | | choices seem nearly endless. |
| I’ve made beef jerky at home with ground | | | | If you’re wondering about the history of |
| beef countless times. And although it’s easy | | | | jerky and where it originated, it seems to be a little |
| to make, it’s an investment of time and | | | | unclear. Some people say Native Americans made the |
| patience. The ground beef and seasoning are mixed | | | | first jerky (buffalo jerky) thousands of years ago. |
| together (that’s the easy part). Then the | | | | Other people say an ancient Inca tribe called the |
| meat needs to be pressed into strips (this is the | | | | Quechua made the first jerky in the 1500’s. |
| time-consuming part). The strips are then placed in | | | | Although the process to make beef jerky have |
| the dehydrator. That’s when patience is | | | | changed and been modernized over time, the same |
| required because, depending on what type of jerky | | | | basic procedure of thinly slicing meat, adding |
| you are making it takes 4-12 hours to dry and | | | | seasonings, and drying it with a low heat are the |
| become jerky. | | | | same as when jerky was first made. |
| If you make your own jerky keep in mind that it | | | | Jerky is a food that’s likely here to stay. And |
| shrinks a lot, sometimes up to two-thirds. You may | | | | although beef jerky is by far the most popular type |
| think you’re making a lot of jerky until you | | | | of jerky, more and more people are becoming |
| open your dehydrator back up after the meat has | | | | adventurous in their tastes and want to try some of |
| dried and you see little pieces of meat where there | | | | the more “exotic” types of jerky. As |
| used to be big pieces of meat. | | | | that trend continues, it’s hard to imagine |
| Although some people enjoy making their own beef | | | | what the next type of jerky will be. Could it be tofu |
| jerky, most people prefer to buy their beef jerky | | | | jerky? Or has someone already made that |
| already made. There are lots of choices. In addition | | | | kind…... |