Beef Jerky, the all time favourite snack of Americans originated in Southern America specifically Peru, in a native tribe known as Quechua in 1550. Back then, the now known "Beef Jerky" was called Ch'arki which is a salted-sun dried, boned and defatted meat. But Southern America wasn't the only nation who used Sun-drying method of cooking or drying method, other nations also did.
During the Spaniards' exploration and colonization, they stocked their food supply with goats. Their leftovers or what could not be eaten would then be sliced into thin strips and then left hanging in their ship to air dry. During their invasion of the Americas the colonizers were surprised to find the natives drying meat as well. Later on the natives begun to adopt the Spanish word Charqui, but could not pronounce it correctly; thus, the word "Jerky" was coined.
Sun-drying or drying method of cooking and the making of Jerky are still being practiced today. And cooks who engage in the dehydration of meat or the making of Jerky have often asked the question. "What is the best meat for Beef Jerky?" Simply put, the best is the leanest cut possible, according to skilled chefs.
Why is the leanest meat the best meat for beef jerky? Number one, because lean meat has less fat or sometimes no fat at all. And this is good because we don't want a generous amount of fat in our beef cuts for jerky. Fat shortens the lifespan of your jerky. It should be completely dehydrated because water is where bacteria incubate and if you have a large amount of fat in your cuts, you won't be able to dry your meat completely; and even if you can, it will be a difficult and time consuming process. This is the second reason why you have to choose the leanest, to save time in making your jerky. More fat equals more time under the sun or in the oven. Third, fat can give your jerky an unwanted odor and flavor. In other words, it can go rancid in your jerky.
So what is the leanest cut of beef we could get? Some say it's the Top round steak because this is lean and moderately tough. And because of the lack of, or absence of fat and marbling, it dries out when cooked using dry-heat methods like grilling, sauting, roasting and broiling. But according to other people and famous chefs like Alton Brown, Flank steak is the best. Flank steak which is also called Bavette, is a cut of beef steak from the cow's abdominal muscles. It is a lean cut of meat and it is considerably tougher than other cuts. It is also a relatively long and flat cut. But others say it is sometimes too tough for jerkies. But it also varies in the freshness of the meat. If the meat isn't fresh your jerky becomes tougher than usual even if you use either of the two given cuts.
During the Spaniards' exploration and colonization, they stocked their food supply with goats. Their leftovers or what could not be eaten would then be sliced into thin strips and then left hanging in their ship to air dry. During their invasion of the Americas the colonizers were surprised to find the natives drying meat as well. Later on the natives begun to adopt the Spanish word Charqui, but could not pronounce it correctly; thus, the word "Jerky" was coined.
Sun-drying or drying method of cooking and the making of Jerky are still being practiced today. And cooks who engage in the dehydration of meat or the making of Jerky have often asked the question. "What is the best meat for Beef Jerky?" Simply put, the best is the leanest cut possible, according to skilled chefs.
Why is the leanest meat the best meat for beef jerky? Number one, because lean meat has less fat or sometimes no fat at all. And this is good because we don't want a generous amount of fat in our beef cuts for jerky. Fat shortens the lifespan of your jerky. It should be completely dehydrated because water is where bacteria incubate and if you have a large amount of fat in your cuts, you won't be able to dry your meat completely; and even if you can, it will be a difficult and time consuming process. This is the second reason why you have to choose the leanest, to save time in making your jerky. More fat equals more time under the sun or in the oven. Third, fat can give your jerky an unwanted odor and flavor. In other words, it can go rancid in your jerky.
So what is the leanest cut of beef we could get? Some say it's the Top round steak because this is lean and moderately tough. And because of the lack of, or absence of fat and marbling, it dries out when cooked using dry-heat methods like grilling, sauting, roasting and broiling. But according to other people and famous chefs like Alton Brown, Flank steak is the best. Flank steak which is also called Bavette, is a cut of beef steak from the cow's abdominal muscles. It is a lean cut of meat and it is considerably tougher than other cuts. It is also a relatively long and flat cut. But others say it is sometimes too tough for jerkies. But it also varies in the freshness of the meat. If the meat isn't fresh your jerky becomes tougher than usual even if you use either of the two given cuts.
About the Author:
Author and writer Louise Servage loves writing about"Ch'arki"and spends a lot of time researching it discovering the difference beetweenBeef Jerkyand biltong Jerky.
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