When it comes to moreish snacks, none are quite as addictive as beef jerky. You might be thinking; why are we talking about storing your jerky leftovers when its unlikely you're going to be able to abstain from finishing the whole bag? (go on, we challenge you to put the jerky away for more than five minutes!). But in the interest of public service and food safety, let's look at some ways to store your Jerky Co products and how long they will last.
How Long Can I Store My Beef Jerky?
If kept in a sealed container in a refrigerator, our bulk buy beef jerky shelf life is seven days after delivery/purchase. We realise this is a fairly short shelf life, but that's because our jerky is free of unnatural ingredients and preservatives. This is to ensure the best quality, natural and authentic jerky money can buy. We want our quality ingredients and delicious flavours to satisfy our customers, so we won't compromise our meat with any unnatural ingredients.
Our pre packaged jerky has a slightly longer shelf life if left sealed, but we still recommend you eat it within seven days. Once unsealed, refrigerate and consume within seven days.
How to Store Beef Jerky?
The best way to store your jerky is to keep it in an airtight container and pop it in the fridge. Ideally, it should be stored below 5 degrees celsius. Don't store it at room temperature for long periods of time because it risks going bad. While we use MSA grade lean meat, it is still vulnerable to bacterial contamination if not stored properly. So don't just throw is in the pantry, make sure you seal it and put it in the fridge so that it stays fresh for up to seven days.
To read more: How To Store Beef Jerky
Why Such a Short Shelf Life?
Meat preservation is as old as any culture in the world. It's something we've been doing doing since we began eating an omnivorous diet, but there are risks involved. While the intention is to prevent the meat from becoming contaminated with bacteria, the fact that the drying process does not expose it to high cooking temperatures means that dehydrated meat needs to be stored in sealed containers and at a low temperature. Before we had refrigeration technology, there was no choice but to try to preserve the meat and hope for the best, but with our modern food safety standards, we recommend you devour our jerky within this seven day time period. Let's be honest though, that jerky isn't going to make it past day one!
Why Does Supermarket-Bought Jerky Have a Longer Shelf Life?
This is usually because mass produced commercial beef jerky contains a lot of preservatives to ensure a longer expiration date. This is necessary for supermarket jerky to survive long supply chains at room temperature, without developing bacterial growth and giving their customers food poisoning.
Unfortunately, adding unnatural ingredients and preservatives compromises the quality of the product. As we discussed in a previous blog about real vs candy jerky, a lot of the mass produced stuff is made from subpar meat and then pumped full of unnatural and unhealthy ingredients. This results in a product that can barely be referred to as ‘jerky’, and in fact it is far closer to a piece of candy!
Can I Freeze My Jerky?
You sure can! If you reckon you're able to refrain from demolishing the whole packet right now, or you have purchased in bulk, and you want to store some for much later, you can indeed pop your jerky in the freezer. The best way to do this is to make sure that your jerky is stored in an airtight container. Once frozen, you can store beef jerky like this for up to 12 months. While it does seem to use to be impossible to refrain from just polishing off the whole packet in one sitting, it also seems like a pretty good idea to have a batch stored away, so you’re always stocked up for a impromptu snack.
It's Snack Time!
Now that you know how to store your beef jerky, we challenge you to put the packet down and save some for tomorrow. Go on, we dare you! Once you try our delicious jerky, it's virtually impossible to stop before the packet is empty (don’t say we didnt warn you!). Nevertheless, it's good to know how to safely store our jerky so that you can avoid wastage.
Jump on our online store to browse our excellent range of dried meat products. Our jerky and biltong is made from the highest quality topside beef and is marinaded with premium ingredients to ensure the most satisfying meat snack money can buy. Whatever your favourite flavours, we guarantee there is a product in our range that you will absolutely love. And we can pretty much guarantee that you won't be needing to store any leftovers!