!88: Pemmican Beef Jerky Free Shipping: September 2011

!±8± Understanding Food Safety of Home Made Jerky

Beef Jerky is a snack at least since the time of the ancient Egyptians understood. In the past, people have dried meat of animal flesh that is too large, all at once, such as bear, buffalo, or even to eat whales. North American Indians mixed ground dried meat with dried fruit or suet for "pemmican" to do. "Biltong" is actually a dried meat in many African countries. Our word "jerky" comes from the Spanish word "charque".

Beef Jerky is a product, a nutrient-rich flesh that ismade easy removal of moisture by drying. One pound of meat or poultry weighs about 4 ounces, after being shot (most manufacturers are sugar, add spices and other items to compensate for this) made. Due to the fact that the moisture is removed to "safe levels", the product is stable in storage. It can be stored without refrigeration - making it a useful food for backpackers and others who have no access to refrigerators.

With dried meat products commerciallyProducts whose process is monitored in federally controlled plants by inspectors of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food Safety Inspection Service. The products can be cured or uncured, dried, and can be smoked or not smoked, air or kiln dried. In commercial systems are both the internal temperature of meat and percent of water activities (among others) continuously monitored and validated to control processes and ensure safe and quality products for consumers.

When raw meat or poultrydehydrated at home, usually in an oven or hot air dryer slightly open, you should understand that it is possible, dried meat, are to be stored on the shelf, but no pathogenic bacteria are probably the dry heat of a hot oven survive and above all 130 to 140 ° C for a drier dishes economic. This means that if you bought the meat, which has been contaminated in some way or something in the process, contaminated meat has been introduced, it iswould be a high probability that the finished product would be after the completion of the dehydration process may be contaminated. If meat is not contaminated and do the typical, you'll be fine.

Diseases caused by Salmonella and E. coli increased beef jerky homemade questions about the safety of traditional drying methods for the production of dried meat and wild game. The USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline current recommendation for making jerky safely is to heat meat to 160° F and poultry to 165 ° F before the dehydrating process. This step ensures that all bacteria are destroyed by moist heat. Most of the dehydrator does not include this step, and do not reach a high enough temperature dryer to heat meat to 160 ° C. After heating, a constant temperature of food dehydrator 130 to 140 ° C during the drying process is important because the process must be fast enough to dry food before it spoils, and should be removedenough water that microorganisms do not grow.

The risk of dehydration in meat and poultry without cooking first at a safe temperature, the dryer does not heat the meat and poultry to 160 ° F to 165 ° C - the temperature at which bacteria are destroyed - before it dries. After drying, the bacteria become resistant to heat much more. Within a dryer or oven temperature low, it absorbs moisture, most of the heat evaporates. So the meat is not even begin to climbTemperature until the moisture is mostly evaporated. Therefore, when the dried meat temperature finally begins to rise, the bacteria have become resistant to heat and are more likely to survive. If these surviving bacteria are pathogenic, can cause foodborne illnesses to the consumption of beef jerky. If you need to make jerky at home, here are some recommendations to ensure directly from USDA to help protect you:

1) Always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and waterbefore and after working with meat products.

2) Use clean equipment and utensils.

3) Keep meat and poultry to 40 ° C or slightly below, use or freeze meat and poultry within 2 days, all red meat within 3 to 5 days.

4) Thaw frozen meats in the refrigerator, not on the kitchen table.

5) Marinate the meat in the refrigerator. Do not reuse marinades. With a pickle to help keep the meat moist while trying to reach 160 ° F or 165 ° F asdescribed below.

6) Steam or roast meat to 160 °F and poultry to 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer before dehydrating it.

7) Dry meats in a food dehydrator that has an adjustable temperature dial and will maintain a temperature of at least 130 to 140 °F throughout the drying process.

There are other special considerations when making homemade beef jerky from venison or other wild game that are also worth noting. Wild game meat is not regulated or reviewed by the USDA prior to processing. Venison can also, in some instances, be heavily contaminated with fecal bacteria, as directly related to the degree of varying with the hunter's skill, wound location, and other factors. While fresh beef is usually rapidly chilled, deer carcasses are typically held at ambient temperatures (whatever the temperature is outside at the time of the kill), potentially allowing bacteria multiplication. Reaching internal meat temperatures of 160 °F with wild game meat is even more important as the risk of contamination is definitely higher.

So what type of "insurance" do you require for your home made beef jerky adventures? It really is up to you.