Favorite Jerky Place
Everyone knows the feeling of finding that one cafe or restaurant which meets all of your needs. Whether it’s the way they brew coffee or their daily specials, we all want that place that knows what we like without us saying it directly.
For many beef lovers, this is a difficult task. They get disappointed more often than not with the beef selection in their hometown. There’s always something in the way. Whether the meat isn’t fresh, whether it’s processed or even if the service is bad – they just have to keep looking relentlessly.
On the other hand, jerky lovers have more luck in this department. Good jerky can be found very easily. At the store, the farmer’s market, even at the gas station – the availability is at their convenience all the time.
So what about good beef jerky? This is definitely the hardest to find. If we get it from the store – it has to be pricey. So, good beef jerky can almost only be found in places which specialize in beef. But we do not come by these joints as much as we come by pizza places, for example. So what gives?
Well, this is probably due to the fact that good jerky is not as easy to make as pizza is. Pizza and other fast food can be made easily from scratch and scarce ingredients but with jerky, this is often not the case. This lean meat is dried and salted to a tasty chewiness and is seasoned carefully. This counts as one of the top favorite snacks of every other American. It is very practical and doesn’t need refrigeration which is why this is a perfect food on the go.
Though often served as “clean” jerky, this product is also liable to contain highly processed meat. They can even contain an astonishingly high level of sugar which of course does not make good jerky. But if you are lucky enough to find a good jerky place, hold on to it. Remember, jerky made with good beef can even contain 65% protein which is a rarity among fast food.
Jerky comes in such a variety of flavors and meats that it is hard to keep track. Not only does horse and squid jerky exist but there are desserts which contain sweet and tangy jerky. Even cake mixed with jerky is available nowadays.
Still, there are people who see only beef jerky as the real deal and they have a hard time finding their food haven. Sure they can get the store-bought jerky, but you have to admit there’s something about sitting down in a restaurant and getting proper service that outweighs the practical side of store-bought food.
How Healthy Is Beef Jerky?
Jerky is known for being very convenient to find. Whether it’s the local market or even a gas station jerky is easy to come by. The availability of jerky does not, however, coincide with the usual fast food features. This dried meat snack is not a low-quality food. Jerky and especially beef jerky is promoted as a nutritious, low calorie level product, which is low in cholesterol and fat and high in protein and energy.
People have developed a growing interest for beef jerky since the nutritional era has commenced. This growth has been attributed to the healthy aspects of beef jerky such as its high protein content.This snack is, in fact, nutritious, wholesome and sometimes the healthiest solution there is. The specific process of preparing the meat includes defatting, dipping in curing solution and drying. This makes the meat lean and never prone to spoilage. If we compared the dried and cured meat found in jerky to uncured regular beef we could notice the difference in protein value. The dried beef has a significantly higher concentration of protein due to the lack of water. In high-quality beef jerky one can even find protein levels as high as 65%.
The curing solution in which the meat is immersed is of great importance for the entire process of making jerky. To preserve the nature and nutrition of the beef, some manufacturers even go to the extent of using only salt and vinegar for their curing solution.
Many brands nowadays pride themselves on not adding sugar or nitrites to their jerky in order to retain the nutritive feature of the product. Nitrites preserve the meat and make it look scrumptious for a longer period of time. This is characteristic of many cured types of meat. However, there is no final say on whether nitrites are actually safe or harmful in food.
Nutritious value is not typical of every type of jerky. When you think about it, the source of protein in the jerky is actually in the beef. This is probably why this type of jerky will remain a classic and easily fall into the “most wanted” category.
How Beef Jerky is Made
Beef jerky a classic American snack. It is made of lean meat which is marinated and seasoned and then dried. It is salted generously to prevent it from spoiling and has a distinct taste which can’t be substituted. Originally made by Native Americans, this tasty snack is very practical and does not require refrigeration. It is part of the growing meat market which specializes in meat snacks and keeps people interested in new products. This is probably why a wider selection of different jerky is available nowadays.
Though it comes in many meat types and flavors – beef jerky is considered the most common one. Other types include teriyaki jerky, pepper flavored jerky and, of course, turkey jerky.Jerky requires a specific preparation process. There is the preparation of meat, making the curing solution, seasoning and, of course, packaging.The meat used is lean, meaning it does not contain any bones or fat. This is of course done with modern technology and not manually as it was in the past. Nevertheless, there is a personal or human inspection of the contents of the meat just for safety and quality reasons. If there is unwanted material it is sometimes easier to detect it via human inspection.
The curing solution is a key part of the process. This solution consists mainly of salt and seasonings. While the earlier prepared meat is being defrosted and cut up, the solution is pre-heated to the required temperature. The meat will have released natural juices and had been dipped in the curing solution for a very long time.
After this process, the meat needs to be cooled down and shaped into blocks. When it is frozen it will be easier to cut strips from the meat blocks and thus get the distinct jerky form. From there on, the strips are placed into ovens to be dried. Sometimes this process can last as long as 10 hours. The crucial part of this process is to rid the strips from any sort of moisture. Jerky is known for being well seasoned but above all a dried meat product.
And last but not least – how to pack jerky. Since there are many types of jerky there are different versions of the same package. However, it is usually found in vacuum sealed packaging with a ziplock, in order to retain freshness and the aroma. What is interesting is that for beef jerky alone there are several kinds of bags just to make a distinction among flavors.
How to Make the World’s Most Luxurious Beef Jerky
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Is Beef Jerky Healthy?-Livestrong.com
