Jerk[y]

I don't know quite when I discovered beef jerky for the first time but haven't looked back since. I imagine back to that tentative first taste, thoughts of, is this going to taste like old boot leather, may have come to mind or, is there somewhere I can spit this out if it's horrid, possibly. I can't rightly remember but what I know is that it didn't taste like old boot leather and I didn't spit it out...I know this because I'm still eating and enjoying it.

Beef jerky is made from lean strips of beef cut thinly and dehydrated. However jerky can be made from a lot of other things including, kangaroo, deer, springbok, turkey, crocodile, tuna, horse, chicken, pork and a lot more...I like beef jerky though although some of the others I've tried are also quite good.

It's a convenient way to carry protein around considering the process of dehydration includes the addition of salt to prevent bacteria growth and beef jerky, or the others, can be kept for months without any refrigeration making it popular with trekkers, hikers, the military, general snacking, survivalists, preppers and basically anyone that wants a bit of protein but does not have the means to refrigerate it.

I've got a few favourites but recently went to an Easter weekend Fair in the countryside and ran into a stall selling their own (locally produced) beef jerky and I had to stop for a try.

The business is called Heavenly Beef Jerky and is South Australian owned - I like supporting local businesses so knew right away I'd be buying some. I had a chat with the stall-holder, found out about the sixteen different flavours they have, where they source the beef and the overall process which all seemed legit to me...and then it was time to taste a few.

I settled on three different ones. They had a special at $38 AUD for three packs which isn't too bad as far as value goes, a little more than I might pay in the supermarket but far better quality. I chose tandoori, Alien (coriander and green chili) and smoked which is my favourite of the three. I am careful to ensure there's a low sugar content in the beef jerky I buy because a lot of the store-bought versions include a lot of brown sugar in the marinades; these three I bought were rather low in sugars thankfully.

I'm not completely sure, but I believe the work jerky comes from the Peruvian word for dried meat, ch'arki, but no matter where it comes from beef jerky is legit. There's other versions of it from all over the world, another of my favourites is biltong from South Africa, and it's been widely used for many hundreds of years and more...so it can't be bad right?

Have you ever tried beef jerky, or any other meat of the jerky variety? Did you like it or hate it? Feel free to comment below if you'd like, I'm curious to hear if you're had any experiences with it. Just so you know, when I was writing this post about beef jerky I was eating beef jerky...It's sort of like the circle of life right?