For the first time, I'm trying to make beef jerky in my dehydrator. I'm thinking that if it's a fairly good way to put protein into my year's supply. Also I can experiment with different marinades. My concern is that, if it turns out too well, my family won't leave anything for the year's supply.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
It's been my experience that you may need to rotate through jerky pretty fast anyway... Seem like we only get about 3-4 months of storage time before my family starts complaining that the taste is changing... It's still okay, but it doesn't taste as good... Some marinades hold the flavor better... I don't eat jerky so I'm not the one that cares, and for the most part I don't do much of the prep, so I am not the best source of info. However, I will check with my kids, and see if I can get you some suggestions...
If you keep jerky in an airtight bag and in a freezer, I understand that it keeps pretty well. Obviously if the power ever goes out, then the airtight bag will do the trick. But even if we only get 4-5 months of meat eating out of it, it'll still be worth it.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
You're not going to save money in the short run. I got a great used dehydrator and meat slicer used for $225. You can get cheaper ones than that, and you can do without the meat slicer. Some supermarkets will cut the meat for no extra money. But aside from the start up costs, it's not too bad. I didn't keep exact track of what I spent on ingredients this time, nor did I do exact measurements. But I used some soy sauce, various spices, and liquid smoke, which I found for $1.54 a bottle. It's a small bottle, but I didn't use much of it. At most, I used about $1-$2 dollars for the marinade. The meat cost around $12 for 3 pounds. So, at a guess, the jerky is costing me (other than startup costs) around $4.50 per pound. I don't think you can find jerky in the store for anywhere near $4.50 a pound.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
Homemade jerky is way cheaper for us than Costco, because my kids DO eat it by the pound! When Son1 was on his mission we use to send bags of the stuff, cause he and his companions ate it when out on their bikes... they didn't get fed as well cause they were in really poor areas most of the time, so tried to eat light when eating with the members, they enjoyed eating with them, but they didn't want to take food out of their children's mouths...
We also have had a slicer, dehydrator AND vacuum sealer for years... so it's not an issue for us to make it and keep it airtight... It's easy to make actually... It keeps well for 9 mo-year or so vacuum sealed if it is VERY dry when finished, but the flavor fades in my family's experience, that's all. I don't believe the nutritional value is hurt. Protein is not something we can take for granted in our years supply with so many working adults, so it is certainly a good addition. But I just find that we rotate it through more jerky than canned meat... I don't worry too much if the kids are eating it, cause the flavor is better if they eat through a batch more quickly. I will have to see about putting some in the freezer to get a longer flavor level... Maybe by starting it out in the freezer and then rotating that to the shelf storage after 6-9 months??? Interesting idea... thanks.
BTW remember that jerky must be eaten sparingly by people with high blood pressure or heart disease, because of the salt content. Other health issues may also be wise to consider...
Thanks PollyAnna for your tips. The jerky tastes good - now I just need to put some in baggies in the freezer. BTW, in my cost calculations I didn't take into account that a pound of raw beef is not the same as a pound of jerky. But in my mind homemade jerky is still cheaper.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
For you home jerky makers, I highly recommend a product called liquid smoke carried by most supermarkets. It will make your marinade just that much better.
