Jerky

Jerky is lean trimmed meat strips which are dehydrated to prevent spoilage and seasoned to varying degrees. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt to prevent microbial growth through osmosis. The word "jerky" derives from the Quechua word ch'arki which means "dried, salted meat".

Modern manufactured jerky is often marinated, prepared with a seasoned spice rub or liquid, or smoked with low heat (usually under 70 °C or 160 °F). Store-bought jerky commonly includes sweeteners such as brown sugar.

Jerky is ready to eat, needs no additional preparation, and can be stored for months without refrigeration. A proper protein-to-moisture content is required in the final cured product to ensure maximum shelf-life.

Many products that are sold as jerky consist of highly processed, chopped, and formed meat rather than traditional sliced whole-muscle meat.^{[citation needed]} These products may contain more fat, but moisture content, as in the whole-muscle product, must meet a 0.75 to 1 moisture-to protein ratio in the US.^{[full citation needed]}

Jerky-like products can be found around the world, such as biltong in South Africa, pastirma in Turkey, ch'arki (Quechua for dried, salted meat whose hispanicized spellings include charque, charqui or charquí) in South America and cecina in Spain. The main processing districts of beef jerky in China are Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and Yunnan. Beef jerky from Inner Mongolia is the most popular product in all of China and is classified into traditional and modern beef jerky by air drying outdoors (hand-made) or thermal drying (large-scale industrial production), respectively.

Jerky is made from domesticated animals as well as game animals. Jerky from domesticated animals includes beef, pork, goat and mutton or lamb and game animals such as deer, kudu, springbok, kangaroo, and bison are also used. Other animals such as turkey, ostrich, calamari, salmon, chicken, duck, goose, shrimps, oxen, squids, octopuses, alligator, pigeon, crocodile, tuna, emu, horse, camel, lion, bear, snake and earthworm have entered the global, national, regional or local market with varying degrees of success.

Most fat must be trimmed from the meat prior to drying, as fat increases the chances of spoilage (modern vacuum packing and chemical preservatives have served to help prevent these risks). The meat must be dried quickly to limit bacterial growth during the critical period when the meat is not yet dry. To dry quickly without high temperature, which would cook the meat, the meat must be sliced or pressed thin.

Salt is the most commonly added ingredient and is used to improve flavor, enhance the storage life and remove moisture from the product. Spices such as black pepper or garlic are other common ingredients. Ingredients such as soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, teriyaki or barbecue spice can be added to change the flavor and are usually employed in homemade beef jerky recipes.