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Making Jerky at Home Safely: Laura L. Sant, Carol Hampton, and Sandy M. Mccurdy
Making Jerky at Home Safely: Laura L. Sant, Carol Hampton, and Sandy M. Mccurdy
PNW 632
at home safely
Jerky safety
Several foodborne illness outbreaks since the mid-1990s have
been traced to homemade jerky. In November 1995, for example,
11 people in Oregon were infected with Escherichia coli (E. coli)
O157:H7 after consuming homemade venison jerky.
Research has shown that traditional jerky preparation methods, in
which raw meat is dried at temperatures of about 140 to 155F,
do not destroy pathogens if present in the meat. Ground meats
are particularly challenging from a safety perspective because
grinding distributes any pathogens present on the meat surface
throughout the meat product.
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The pathogens of greatest concern are E. coli O157:H7 and
Salmonella. The Trichinella parasite has also been identified in
Idaho cougar jerky, causing 10 individuals to become sick with
trichinosis in 1995.
For illness to occur, a certain chain of events must take place:
The meat source becomes contaminated with a
pathogenic microorganism.
The pathogen survives the jerky-making process.
The jerky is consumed.
3
Post-drying heating. Placing dried meat strips on a cookie sheet
in an oven preheated to 275F and heating the strips for 10 min-
utes effectively eliminates pathogens. This method produces the
most traditional jerky.
Precooking the meat. Heating slices or strips of raw beef to be
made into jerky by dipping them in hot brine long enough to heat
the meat to 160F (or 165F for poultry) destroys pathogens that
may be present. Baking raw meat strips to an internal tempera-
ture of 160F (165F for poultry) is also effective.
Vinegar soak. Soaking slices or strips of raw beef to be made
into jerky in vinegar, marinating the vinegar-soaked meat, and
then drying the meat also destroys pathogens. The acid of the
vinegar combined with the heat of drying destroys any pathogens
that may be present.
Judging dryness
Dryness corresponds to a measure known as water activitythe
water available in a food product for microorganisms to use to
grow. Shelf-stable meat jerky has a water activity of 0.85 or less.
To prevent mold growth, a low water activity of 0.70 is recom-
mended. People who make jerky at home, however, frequently
judge homemade jerky to be done when water activity is still
above 0.85. Because measurement of water activity requires spe-
cial equipment not available to consumers, they need to use other
tests for doneness. Carefully following the tests for doneness
described in this publication will result in properly dried jerky.
Equipment selection
An electric dehydrator produces the best-quality jerky, but you
can also use a regular oven with the door propped open. Solar
drying is not recommended for jerky.
Dehydrators
Electric dehydrators. Home dehydrators vary in heating capacity
(wattage), fan speed, and air movement direction (horizontal or
vertical). Research shows that home dehydrators vary consider-
ably in how quickly they come up to the desired temperature
when loaded with meat strips (30 minutes to 4 hours), how well
dehydrators maintain temperature during drying (some fluctuate
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30 to 40F), and how closely the air temperature inside the drier
matches the dial setting (can vary by as much as 40F). These
findings suggest you should take care when selecting a food
dehydrator that will be used for making jerky.
When selecting a new or used dehydrator, check to see that it
has the following features:
Instruction manual.
Thermostatically controlled temperature dial, with settings
between 130F and 150F. The ability to maintain a tem-
perature of 145F to 155F is needed for safe jerky. Use a
thermometer to determine that the empty, operating dryer
can deliver at least 145F. Do not use dehydrators with
factory preset temperatures that cannot be controlled.
Fan to distribute the warm air evenly throughout all trays.
Shelves made of stainless steel or food-grade plastic.
Easy loading and unloading features.
Outside surface made of hard plastic, aluminum, or steel.
Double-wall construction with insulating materials sand-
wiched between the walls is desirable to reduce heat loss
during use.
Enclosed heating element.
Appropriate number of trays for your use.
Source of replacement parts.
Ovens. Oven drying is a good way to see if you like dried foods
without investing in a dehydrator. However, foods dried in an oven
are generally lower in quality because there is no fan to produce
air movement over the food. Oven drying takes two to three
times longer than drying in a dehydrator, and is thus less
energy efficient.
Before drying jerky meat in an oven, test the oven temperature
with a thermometer for about 1 hour. Prop open the oven door as
you would when dehydrating jerky. The oven should maintain a
temperature of 145F to 155F. If it cant, do not use it for dehy-
drating meat. If the oven is too hot, the jerky may form a crust
that does not allow interior moisture to evaporate. If the oven is
too cool, the meat may not dry fast enough and spoil instead.
5
Thermometers
Thermometers are useful
tools in preparing safe jerky.
Two types of instant-read
thermometers, dial and digi-
tal, are commonly available
in grocery and variety
stores (figure 1). Both types
can be used to measure air
temperature in the dehydra-
tor.
For measuring the tempera-
ture of thin meat, you will Figure 1. Dial instant-read thermometers (right)
need a thin-tipped digital sense temperature in the bottom 2 inches of the
thermometer (figure 1). stem. Digital instant-read thermometers (left and
Look for these in specialty bottom) read temperature in the bottom 1/2-inch
cooking stores.
of the stem. A thin-tipped thermometer (bottom)
can sense the temperature in thin meats.
Meat selection
Choose lean cuts of meat that are in excellent condition for mak-
ing jerky. Highly marbled or fatty cuts of meat do not work well.
Fat turns rancid very quickly and develops off-flavors during dry-
ing and storage.
Beef. Use lean cuts of beef. USDA select grade is leaner and
less marbled than choice or prime grades. Chuck, flank, round,
rump, and sirloin cuts work well.
Game meats. Most game meats can be used. Venison, elk, and
antelope make excellent jerky. Because game meats tend to be
quite lean, any cut can be used, but the best cuts tend to be the
loin, round, and flank.
Unfortunately, some game meats are infected by Trichinella para-
sites, including bear, cougar, and feral hogs. Freezing and tradi-
tional drying techniques do not kill all Trichinella species found in
game meats. However, adequate heating of the game meat using
either the post-drying or precooking meat treatments described
later in this publication will killTrichinella parasites as well as bac-
terial pathogens. The effectiveness of the vinegar soak method in
killing Trichinella species found in game meat has not been
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tested, and the method is therefore not recommended for
game meat.
Poultry and rabbit. The best cuts of poultry include the breast,
thigh, and leg. For rabbit, the loin is good. Remove skin and fat
before drying.
Fish. Choose non-oily fish for making jerky. Consumers have
reported that trout, tuna, salmon, and other species produce
acceptable jerky. Fish oil that has turned rancid reduces fish
jerky shelf life, making it best to store fish jerky in the refrigerator
or freezer.
Ground meat. Use ground meat that is at least 93% lean for
making jerky.
Meat preparation
Whole meat jerky. To make the meat easier to slice, freeze it in
moisture-proof paper or plastic wrap until it is firm but not solid.
While the meat is slightly frozen, slice it into long, thin strips
approximately 18 to inch thick, 1 to 1 inches wide, and 4 to 10
inches long. For chewy jerky, slice with the grain of the meat.
Slice across the grain for tender jerky. Trim off visible fat, and
remove any thick connective tissue and gristle. Lay the meat
strips in a single layer. Flatten them with a rolling pin so that they
are uniform in thickness.
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Figure 2.
A jerky gun helps
shape ground meat.
8
Post-drying heating
This method is the easiest way to
produce safe jerky (figure 4). After
whole muscle or ground meat has
been seasoned according to your
taste and dehydrated, use tongs
to immediately place the dried
meat strips on a baking sheet,
close together but not touching or Figure 4. Traditionally produced jerky is
overlapping. Heat the meat strips
heated in an oven (275F for 10 min-
utes) to make sure it is safe to eat.
in a preheated 275F oven for 10
minutes. Remove the strips from the oven, cool them to room
temperature, and condition them before packaging.
Traditional Jerky
This recipe works well when you
plan to heat the jerky
after drying.
teaspoon salt
teaspoon cracked pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sau
ce
1 pound lean meat, thinly sliced
In a small bowl, combine all the
ingredients except the meat.
Stir to mix well. Place the seas
oning mixture and meat strips
in a 1-gallon, food grade, resealab
le plastic bag. Marinate 6 to
12 hours in the refrigerator, turn
ing and massaging the meat
occasionally to evenly distribu
te the seasoning.
Remove the meat strips from the
bag, and immediately start
the drying process. Follow with
post-drying heating
(above).
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drying process.
Figure 6. A thin-
tipped thermome-
ter is essential for
measuring the
temperature of
baked meat strips.
Precooking
option 2:
Baking the
meat. Preheat the oven to 325F. Place seasoned raw meat
strips close together on a baking sheet but not touching or over-
lapping.
Heat strips of beef, game meats, or rabbit until they reach an
internal temperature of 160F as measured by a thermometer.
Fish should be brought to an internal temperature of 160F and
held for 1 minutes. Poultry should be brought to an internal
temperature of 165F. A thin-
tipped thermometer is essen-
tial for measuring the temper-
ature of baked meat strips
(figure 6).
Start the drying process
immediately after baking.
Vinegar soak
This method is not recom-
mended for game meats, as
its effectiveness in killing
Trichinella has not been
studied.
Figure 7. Jerky produced using the vinegar
marinade recipe does not require post-drying
heating of the jerky or pre-cooking of the
meat for safety.
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Vinegar Marinade -
eloped specifically for the vine
This recipe (figure 7) was dev Do not alte r it or com -
y safety.
gar-soak method of ensuring jerk steps. Ingredie nts liste d
has two
bine it with other recipes. It
ps.
are for 2 pounds of lean meat stri
Step 1. Soak meat in vinegar
ity)
2 cups vinegar (at least 5% acid
glass, food-grade plastic, or
Place the vinegar in a 9 x 13-inch
using aluminum.) Add meat
stainless steel container. (Avoid
mak ing sur e the vinegar covers all the
strips to the container,
t for 10 minutes, stirring occa-
strips completely. Soak the mea
vine gar evenly around the strips.
sionally to distribute the
t strips.
Drain the vinegar from the mea
the meat
Step 2. Marinate and refrigerate
are critical for the marinade.
Soy and Worcestershire sauces
.
The other spices may be altered
cup soy sauce
ce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sau
teas poo n black pep per
teaspoon garlic powder
teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt or flavored salt
edients and place them in a
Combine all the marinade ingr
alab le plastic bag. Add the vinegar-
1-gallon, food-grade, rese
inade bag. Seal the bag and
soaked meat strips to the mar r
oug hly distribute the marinade ove
massage the pieces to thor for 1 to 24 hours.
the bag
all the meat strips. Refrigerate
the bag, and immediately start
Remove the meat strips from
the drying process.
Drying
Preheat the dehydrator or oven to 145 to 155F for 15 to
30minutes. Use a thermometer to monitor the circulating air
temperature of the dehydrator or oven.
Using clean tongs, arrange the meat strips on dryer trays, baking
racks, or oven racks. The strips should be close together but not
touching or overlapping. Leave enough open space on the racks
for air to circulate around the strips.
Place the filled trays in the preheated oven or dehydrator. Dry
jerky for a minimum of 4 hours and until the pieces are
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adequately dry. Drying times will vary. Precooked meat will
require less time.
Properly dried jerky is chewy and leathery. It will bend like a
green stick and wont snap like a dry stick. It should not have
damp spots.
Figure 8. Properly dried jerky should crack but not break when bent.
To test for dryness, remove a strip of jerky from the oven or dehy-
drator. Let it cool slightly, then bend the jerky (figure 8). It should
crack but not break. When jerky is sufficiently dry, remove the
strips from the drying racks to a clean surface. Pat off any beads
of oil with absorbent paper towels and let the jerky cool.
Conditioning
Some pieces of jerky will be moister than others after drying, so
jerky should be conditioned before long-term storage. Condition-
ing distributes moisture evenly in the pieces of jerky.
To condition jerky, loosely pack cooled, dried pieces of jerky in
plastic or glass containers to about two-thirds full. Cover the con-
tainers tightly. Shake them daily for 2 to 4 days. The excess mois-
ture in some pieces will be absorbed by the drier pieces. If you
notice moisture forming on the container lid, place the jerky back
in the dehydrator or oven.
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Before packaging the jerky for storage, check it again for done-
ness. If necessary, dry it further and repeat the conditioning
steps. Once it has been determined the jerky is dry, it should
be packaged.
Packaging
Containers. The ideal container for dried food has all these
qualities:
Clean and sanitary
Food grade
Lightweight
Easily disposable or recyclable
Moisture resistant
Airtight
Protective against light
Easily opened and closed
Impermeable to gases and odors
Durable
Low-cost
Unfortunately, no single food container has all these characteris-
tics. Make your choice based on your intended storage conditions
and storage time. Airtight plastic food bags or jars with tight-fitting
lids work well for long-term storage.
Jerky should be packaged with the least amount of trapped air
possible. Too much air causes off-flavors and rancidity. Vacuum-
packaging is a good option for long-term storage because it
reduces oxidation and eliminates the possibility of mold growth.
Labeling. After you have packaged the jerky, it should be labeled.
Label each package with the type of meat, pretreatment steps,
and date. Labels may be taped on the outside of a package, tied
on with string, or inserted into a clear glass or plastic package.
With proper labels you will not have to open individual packages
each time you want a specific jerky.
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Storage
An ideal storage area is cool, dark, and dry. The cooler the stor-
age area, the longer the shelf life of the jerky. The storage area
need not be fancya dark, unheated closet or drawer works fine.
Metal containers have the advantage of keeping their contents in
darkness. Glass or plastic containers can be covered with a card-
board box, a barrel, or black plastic to keep light out.
Many people store dried foods in the refrigerator or freezer.
Homemade jerky maintains best quality for 2 weeks in a sealed
container at room temperature, 3 to 6 months in the refrigerator,
and up to 1 year in the freezer.
Jerky stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator should be
checked occasionally to be sure no mold is forming. Discard the
jerky if you find mold.
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