How to make jerky?

What is Charque? By law in Brazil, beef jerky is the meat product obtained from beef, with added salt and subjected to a desiccation process. It is marketed as “beef jerky” or “salted and dried beef”, which can also be “dried meat” in the product description. It may contain meat from other animal species as long as, when sold, it is informed on the packaging.

This list of ingredients, characteristics and processes was prepared following the NORMATIVE INSTRUCTION No. 92, OF SEPTEMBER 18, 2020, containing the Technical Identity and Quality Regulations (RTIQ) for jerky, dried cured salted meat, dried salted offal and dried cured salted offal, so it is a general guide that can be used in beef jerky production for sale, below we present a simplified recipe for homemade jerky.

According to official Brazilian regulations, the following steps are foreseen for the preparation of the beef jerky:

1) boning and maintenance (cutting);
2) wet salting or brining, by injection or immersion;
3) addition of dry salt. Apply pressure to desiccate, inverting regularly;
4) removal of excess surface salt by washing in water;
5) drying (desiccation), hanging on clotheslines, in a greenhouse or outdoors, covered or not, with sunlight passing through;
6) preparation, fractionation, pressing and packaging of the product in packaging.

beef jerky ingredients

Mandatory ingredients:

• meat
  • needle point (lots of fat), this cut is part of the beef rib.
  • front (medium fat), e.g.: beef brisket.
  • rear (little fat), e.g. hard thigh.
• salt (NaCl).

Optional ingredients:

• stabilizer;
• acidulant;
• Acidity regulator;
• antioxidant.

physicochemical parameters for jerky:

1) water activity (Aw): maximum of 0.80 (eighty hundredths);
2) humidity: maximum 50% (fifty percent);
3) fixed mineral residue (ash): maximum of 23% (twenty-three percent); It is
4) sodium chloride (NaCl): minimum of 12% (twelve percent).

How to Make Charque at Home

Making jerky at home is a very simple process, requiring few ingredients, time and patience.

Basic steps for preparing homemade jerky:

Choice of meat: traditional jerky makes use of cheaper cuts, such as hard thigh, needle point and beef brisket, but to make it at home you can opt for good quality beef, with less fat such as duckling, soft thigh and rump.

Cutting of meat: cut the meat into pieces approximately 3 cm high, with varying lengths, but generally close to 10 cm. Longer cuts can make it difficult to handle and accommodate in homemade containers.

Salting: in a bowl, preferably non-metallic to avoid reacting with the salt, cover the bottom with a layer of coarse salt, place the open meat on the salt and cover it completely with more salt.

Rest: let the meat rest in salt for 7 days. Remove liquid if it is accumulating on the underside of the meat. This process aims to remove water and incorporate plenty of salt into the meat, protecting it from contamination.

Listing: turn the meat daily so that the water is eliminated evenly. Take advantage of this process to eliminate excess accumulated liquid.

Wash: after the salting period, wash the meat under running water to remove the external salt.

Drying: Hang the meat in a well-ventilated, sunny place to dry. Drying time can vary from 7 to 20 days, depending on weather conditions.

Tips for Making Charque at Home

• Use good quality coarse salt;
• Make sure the meat is completely covered in salt when salting;
• Wash the meat well after salting to remove excess salt;
• Dry the meat in a well-ventilated, sunny place to prevent fungal growth;
• You can season the jerky with your preferred spices before drying it.