I have been making my own beef jerkey and was considering vacuum sealing a considerable amount for longterm storage. How long would you think it would still be good?

I think if you went to the store and bought some of the comerical vacuum seald beef jerkey then check the "good untill" date you could get a prity good idea. Then I think if you double that time(most companys cut the good untill date in half just to be on the safe side) but take into concideration that they are using a comerical sealer that more than likely would be better than what you can get.

Depends on if you are making modern "jerky" or real, bone dry, "grind it on a rock and you can stab someone with it" jerky?

If the former, I'd agree with big_al. There is a lot of moisture left in the QuickyMart jerky. If the later, if it is completely vacume sealed and you were able to get 100% of the moisture out of the package as well as the meat, then probably forever. At least longer than spam and twinkies.

I made a batch sometime ago, of the very, real bone dry variety : vaccum sealed ; kept some in the fridge ; kept some outside the fridge : same thing ; I ate the last bit more than a year after processing. Was good, except for too much salt : maybe that helped too ...

I could never make enough jerky for it to last more than a couple months. If I made enough to last longer, then my wife and daughters would probably die from all the sodium consumption. Same with my smoked salmon.

Whoa, hey! Let's not go all science-fictiony here.

-Blast

I like jerky, but....

Most, if not all, of the commercial beef jerkies are heavy in sugar and salt, both are preservatives. The salt is probably the primary preservative, and the jerky tends to be loaded with it: One ounce of most jerky contains around 500 mg of sodium, which is all the salt you need for a day, but the labeling folks say it's only 21% of the daily allowance. If you eat the whole 4 oz package in one day, you're eating 2,000 mg of sodium, which is quite a bit of salt. (Got a heart condition? Drop dead here.)

I looked at a package of Oberto Beef Jerky, Natural Style, Hickory Smoked: Ingredients are beef, brown sugar, dextrose, sugar, salt, hydrolyzed corn and soy protein, natural hickory smoke flavor, corn syrup solids, water, vinegar, flavorings, molasses, sodium erythorbate, caramel color, citric acid, sodium nitrite.

The brown sugar, dextrose, regular sugar, corn syrup solids, molasses, salt, vinegar and citric acid are all types of preservatives. Sodium nitrite is also a preservative (which isn't very good for you, esp in larger amounts).

Even with all these preservatives, they recommend that you eat the contents within 3 days once a package is opened.

The ingredient list also makes me wonder just how much of the 80-90 calories per ounce comes from the sugars?

Also, if these packages are vacuum-packed, why isn't the air sucked out like my little vacuum packaging unit does?

AND, does anyone know how to make jerky without all the additives, esp salt?

Inquiring minds want to know...

Sue

Commerical jerky uses specific chemical preservatives to increase the shelf life. My recipe is fairly simple but obviously loaded with salt. Salt is the main preservative in most cured meats.

1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank steak
2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Rarely do I ever measure any of these ingredients!

I do not know how long it will last. Me and my son seem to eat it up pretty fast. Jerky is definitely not health food. Might be interesting to try to cure meat with just spices and maybe honey for some balance.

Did native Americans use lots of salt when they dried meat or did they just smoke it over a low fire? Maybe a quick search of their techniques might help.

-Blast

Usually no salt.

Enough smoke to keep the bugs away, and low (tea making, not water boiling) heat for a few days.