The History of Beef Jerky

Beef jerky is a staple of modern mankind. We find it at grocery stores, gas stations, state fairs, and even on the Web. It is a tasty treat that is a part of Americana, but where did it originate?

Early Origins

The earliest known mention of jerky comes in the form of a recipe written in Latin at approximately 160 BC. Credited to a Roman named Cato the Elder, the recipe called for pork to be salted and dehydrated using fresh air and smoke.

Modern jerky can be traced to the 1500s in South America from a process developed by the Quechua tribe. The Quechua tribe are ancestors of the ancient Inca empire.

The Quechua tribe made a form of jerky called ch'arki – which is loosely translated to mean “dried salted meat”. The process entailed adding salt to thin strips of meat from game animals. The salted meat would then be dried in the sun or over fire for an extended period of time, until most of the moisture in the meat had been removed. In addition to giving jerky it’s signature flavor, the salt would also inhibited bacteria growth. The meat had to be cut thin so that it can be dried quickly without the use of high temperatures which would cook the meat. 

While beef jerky is the primary form of dried meat you will find today, the tribes of ancient South America would use the meat of such animals as alpaca and lama. The meat would be deboned, and the excess fat cut away. It would then be cut into thin pieces and pounded flat.

Finally, the meat was rubbed with salt and then dried. The process enabled the people to preserve high-protein meat for times when food was scarce. Jerky can be stored for months without refrigeration. 

Jerky versus Pemmican

A product similar to charqui was made in North America by the Cree tribe. Pemmican is a concentrated mixture of protein and fat from large game animals. While the Quechua tribe in South America used lama and alpaca meat, the North American Cree used meat from buffalo, elk, and deer. The Cree also used additives like cranberries and sasktoon berries to flavor the pemmican.

Similar to jerky, the process for making pemmican involved cutting the meat into thin pieces which was then dried until brittle. Stones were then used to pound the meat into small pieces. Next the shredded meat would be mixed with melted fat. The mixture would then be packed in rawhide pouches.

In North America, Native Americans taught European settlers the process for making pemmican. The pioneers embraced the salted meat and thus jerky was born.

It was during the expansion west by North American pioneers that jerky reached its height in popularity. The fact that meat could be stored for long periods of time was instrumental to the survival of pioneers as they made their way west.