Beef Jerky
 

When I was growing up my parents had (probably still do now that I think about it) a food dehydrator. It was a round tray type with multiple stacking racks. How long will jerky made by such a device last inside zip-lock bags? Is there an even better method of storing it?

Re: Beef Jerky
 

We have one of those.Depending on the length of drying and thickness of the meat,storage will vary.We have made and stored beef jerky for 6 months,and it was still great.But,when we stored it,it was done with a vaccume sealer,a seal a meal i think it is called.
My wife knows how to work it,i don't get to play with it anymore.

P.S. I almost forgot,you need to put food grade dessicant packs in with the jerky when you vaccume seal it.From my understanding the stuff will last a couple of years that way.
It just never gets tested more than 6 mos at my house,because i really like beef jerky.

Re: Beef Jerky
 

That's a good thing.:rose:

Re: Beef Jerky
 

yes,she caught me trying to vaccume seal some ammunition one day and i kinda had the riot act read to me.
She told me the bag material was to expensive for me to be wasting.so now i stick to G.I. ammo cans.

Re: Beef Jerky
 

If you can't bend the jerky, you've likely gotten all the water out of the meat. I have seen some writers say that you should be able to file it to a point. That is pretty hard.

If there is any moisture left in the meat it can go rancid over time. I lost a batch of turkey jerky that way. There are all sorts of ways to store jerky, but a freezer quality zip-loc is very good, especially if you can get most of the air out or vacuum seal the package.

We use an electric Excalibur dehydrator. Jerky is fine at 125 degrees for about 14 hours. I know nothing about the round stack units. Are they electric? If you have an electric oven or your gas oven will run on a warm setting, try making jerky in your oven. All you need is a couple of trays or maybe some stainless steel food grade screen or mesh. If you use a solid aluminum tray just turn the jerky over once about 8 or 9 hours into the process. Test the meat for brittle-ness at 14 hours, it may take a while longer.

Excalibur will do about 8 sheets of jerky at once. You can do all sorts of things with it. Probably even use it to make a gallon of yogurt, as it has a variety of heat setttings.

People still sun-dry salmon and meat outside here in Alaska. If you have a reflector oven, you can dry meat or fish by a campfire. Most people like to smoke their fish for better flavor. A Terriaki or Soy marinade is great for beef jerky.

Re: Beef Jerky
 

They tray type that we had was electric. I'd probably use the oven method for making my own, though. Might have to look into a vacuum unit for sealing, that seems to be pretty useful.

Re: Beef Jerky
 

Worse comes to worse use a straw and your mouth or for bigger items use a vacum cleaner. Seriously get creative!

I just use ammo cans for my ammo too. However a few vac pac's for the camping bag / bug out bag come in handy as well.

Re: Beef Jerky
 

All these seem like really good 'field' methods or useful in situation where power is limited. When the SHTF I'll be ready for the long haul- both with food and ammo.

Re: Beef Jerky
 

Our dehydrator is non-electric.