Jerky: How Is Our Beef Jerky Made?
Since "beef jerky" is a relatively new product here in Italy, some of us are still in the dark about what it actually is.
• It's meat, but why doesn't it need to go in the fridge?
• How can it last so long in a plastic bag?
• Is it really as good as they say, or is it just a strange snack that only Americans like?
We want to answer some of your questions and, at the same time, explain a bit about how this meat is made.
The "beef jerky" meat
To make our jerky we use beef silverside, salmon fillets and chicken breast; the meat arrives directly from the farms at our specialised site, and our butchers take care of trimming off the excess fat.
As soon as the fat has been trimmed off, our butchers slice the meat to just the right thickness, perfect for cooking.
If the slice is too thin, it will cook too quickly and become tough and brittle; if it's too thick, it won't cook properly.
It's a craft our butchers have mastered after years of experience.
Marinating the meat
Meanwhile, we prepare a marinade using ingredients like garlic, onions and other herbs and spices.
All the ingredients are weighed, sifted and blended according to a precise recipe: it's demanding work — whoever is tasked with mixing the marinade has to make sure everything is weighed correctly, otherwise the jerky will end up with an uneven, inadequate texture.
The sliced meat is then combined with the marinade and left to marinate for 24 hours in a cold, controlled environment.
Cooking
After the 24-hour marinating process, we gently lay each slice onto large trays, which are then loaded in groups onto a rack and placed into the oven.
This is one of the most meticulous and demanding steps: each slice has to be picked up by hand and laid down correctly.
We can't accept slices that are folded, twisted or crumpled, because the meat only cooks properly if the slice lies flat and even: this allows for even cooking.
After this step, we load the trays into the oven, where they'll cook for 4 hours on a low flame.
After cooking
Once we're happy with the quality of our jerky, and after running further safety checks, the meat is ready to come out of the oven.
Voilà, the delicious "beef jerky" is ready!
Why doesn't it need to be kept in the fridge?
It's still cooked meat, right?
Shouldn't you keep it in the fridge at home?
Our cooking process pasteurises the meat, which kills off pathogenic bacteria.
We then pack the pasteurised jerky in controlled-atmosphere packaging, sealed with an oxygen-absorbing filter. The oxygen absorber stops air and moisture from getting into the sealed pack, making the pack and the meat an inhospitable place for bacteria (pathogenic bacteria need air and moisture to survive).
As soon as you open a pack of beef jerky and break the seal, air gets inside.
After that, it's recommended to eat the jerky within 3 days. If instead you buy a pack of "beef jerky" and don't open it, you can leave it in your kitchen cupboard for 12-18 months (of course, always check the best-before date on the individual pack first).
But is jerky a good food for me?
It depends on what you're looking for in your food. If you're after a low-calorie, low-carb, high-protein snack, "beef jerky" is a great option for you!