Survival Skills: Make Your Own Jerky

Meat has a very short lifespan on a hot summer day, but transforming it into jerky can buy us some valuable time before spoilage occurs. When crunched for time (as you would be in warm weather), the hot smoke process makes the most sense. In this technique, lean meat strips are impaled on a skewer and hung to dry over a small smoky fire. As the smoke wafts across the meat, it keeps flies away and coats the meat in preservative compounds. The smoke and heat also dry out the meat, rendering it less suitable for bacteria to consume. Hot smoked jerky is shorter lived than jerky made with the slow “cold smoke” process, but it’s a quicker way to make jerky and the dried meat will last for several days in the summer heat before it begins to rot. Adding salt to the fresh meat (before drying it) will extend this window of relative safety. Once the meat is dry and brittle, store your jerky in the coolest driest place you have and use it before it begins to develop an unpleasant scent, flavor, or signs of spoilage (like mold or bugs). For the greatest margin of safety, cook the dried meat again, just prior to consumption (I like to toast the pieces over a fire just before eating them).      

Want to learn the ins and outs of hot smoke and cold smoke jerky making? We’d love to show you in person. You can learn how to do this ancient skill at our Primitive Skills 3-day class and the Food Storage and Preservation class. 

Written by Tim MacWelch First draft published on outdoorlife.com