+ WHAT IS BEEF JERKY?
Beef jerky is lean, trimmed beef (usually made from beef rounds) which has been cut into strips, marinated and dried or dehydrated using a smoker or a dehydrator. To produce basic beef jerky, all you need is a low temperature (~65 degrees Celsius) and salt which ‘cures’ or inhibits bacterial growth. The combination of the drying process and the salt results in a tasty, nutritious snack with a long shelf life.
Beef jerky is ready-to-eat and requires no additional preparation making it a versatile ‘anytime’ snack.
+ DO YOU ADD PRESERVATIVES TO YOUR JERKY?
Our beef jerky is preservative free! We rely on salt, water activity (dryness) and quality packaging to achieve a shelf life of up to 3 months. Many other jerky companies use potentially harmful preservatives such as nitrates and nitrites to prolong the shelf life of their products. Our jerky is made and sold fresh. In our experience, it never lasts long before it’s eaten anyway!
+ WHERE CAN I BUY YOUR JERKY?
If you’re reading this, there’s good news! You’re already on our website and you’re a few clicks away from ordering our range of delicious jerky, shipped directly to your door!
BUT if you live around Sydney and would like to save some dosh on shipping, head over to our ‘Events’ page and check out the calendar to find out when and where we’ll be selling our jerky at Farmer’s markets.
+ I DON’T HAVE A PAYPAL ACCOUNT - CAN I STILL BUY YOUR JERKY ONLINE?
Absolutely! At the checkout, you can either checkout by logging into your PayPal account, or by simply entering your credit or debit card details - the choice is up to you!
+ HOW DO I BECOME A STOCKIST?
If you would like to stock our jerky, please contact us at enquiries@bcjerky.com.au
+ WHAT’S THIS WHITE STUFF ON MY JERKY?
Our beef jerky is handcrafted. Every effort is made to trim the beef of all of it’s fat however sometimes this is not always possible and small amounts of natural fat remain in the product. After the cooking and drying process, sometimes the left over fat will solidify and appear as small white deposits on the jerky. This is perfectly normal and edible and even adds to the flavour of the jerky!
If the jerky has small white dots on the surface, this is just salt coming to the surface. As we don’t use any preservatives such as nitrates and nitrites in our jerky, we rely solely on sodium to cure our beef jerky! Sometimes the excess sodium manifests as small, white specks on the surface of the jerky.
+ JERKY VS BILTONG. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Beef jerky and biltong are very similar products in that they’re both dried meat however the way they are produced differs vastly from one another.
Biltong originates from South Africa and is usually made with silverside meat. It is cut into thick steaks with the fat left on and then cured with vinegar, then seasoned with dry spices; usually crushed coriander seeds and cracked pepper - sometimes dried chilli for a spicy kick. After the curing and seasoning process, the biltong is hung in a drying box (flyscreened wooden box with a light bulb at the top to provide a tiny bit of heat) and left for a number of days to dry out in the ambient temperature. It can then be cut into long sticks or ‘stokkies’, sliced into bit sized pieces, or shaved into thin shavings.
Beef Jerky originates from North and South America and is typically made with lean beef rounds. Jerky is thinly sliced and trimmed of as much fat as possible, then cured with salt (often soy sauce) and spices/liquids are added to create a wet marinate. The marinated slices of meat are then laid out on drying racks and put into a dehydrator or smoker for 3-5 hours depending on temperature and airflow. After the dehydrating process, it is cooled down and packaged.