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When making homemade jerky it is really important to follow strict food safety precautions to prevent any foodborne illnesses. The most common bacteria growths in poorly made jerky are Salmonella and E. Coli. These can be deadly, making food safety extremely important when making jerky.
By following these steps, you will prevent bacteria growth and have plenty of safe jerky for everyone to enjoy!
How to make safe jerky
1. Clean your kitchen, utensils, bowls, and all other equipment with water and bleach. Also wash your hands with soap before handling any raw meat.
2. Thaw frozen meat in the refrigerator instead of at room temperature to prevent bacteria growth. I see many people put meat on the counter and leave it for hours. This is NOT safe and should NOT be done. Leave yourself ample time to thaw your meat in the refrigerator.
3. Marinate the meat at a temperature between 36-40°F (2°C-4°C). Do not marinate at room temperature. Keep meat in the fridge while you mix your marinade together. Bacteria can grow fast on raw meat left out at room temperature. After marinating, do not save and re-use a marinade.
4. At the beginning of dehydrating, heat the jerky to 160°F (71°C) to kill dangerous bacteria. For jerky to be safe, it should be heated to 160°F for beef and 165°F for turkey or chicken jerky BEFORE you dry your strips.
Heating the jerky after dehydrating might not kill all bacteria due to it becoming more heat resistant during the drying process. This is why bringing your jerky to 160ºF at the start of your jerky making process is recommended by the USDA.
If you have a dehydrator that will heat jerky to this temperature, you can bypass this initial heating stage. See my page on Dehydrator Reviews for more information.
If your dehydrator does not heat the jerky to 160°F, pre-heat the meat in an oven after it has finished marinating. As an extra precaution; I ALWAYS pre-heat any turkey or chicken jerky I make, as well as use curing salt, to make sure it is safe to eat. I like being as safe as possible when using fowl.
Pre-heat 1/4″ slices of beef to 160°F, it takes about 10 minutes in a 300°F (149°C) oven. To pre-heat 1/4″ slices of turkey to 165°F, about 8 minutes at 300°F (149°C) does the job. Not all oven are the same, so wrapping one strip around an oven thermometer while baking is the best way to determine when the jerky strips reach the desired temperature.
5. Use curing salt to help prevent bacteria from growing. In this age where the craze is only eating Organic Foods, curing salt might not be in your recipes. While I do understand the 'staying away from preservatives', be extra careful when not using them when making jerky!
When the right amount of curing salt is used, there are no harmful effects that many believe come from using these salts. If you decide not to use curing salts, make sure that you follow the other safety precautions closely. Especially heating the meat to 160ºF to kill any bacteria and eat the jerky within a couple of days.
With that said, I DO recommend using cure when making ground meat jerky because the meat has been handled and processed making it more susceptible to having bacteria. I also recommend using curing salt when making turkey or chicken jerky due to salmonella.
Better to be safe than sorry! So in short… No jerky recipe NEEDS cure as long as beef is heated to 160°F and fowl to 165°F. But it is another line of defense to kill bacteria and allows your jerky to last longer.
6. Store jerky in a cool dry place for up to a week or vacuum seal and freeze for up to 6 months.
That's it folks! Making jerky is both fun and VERY rewarding. Just make sure to keep in mind these tips on how to keep you and your loved ones safe when making and eating homemade jerky.
For more information, visit the USDA Webpage on Jerky and Food Safety.
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So I am new to this jerky making, I get that I need to marinade and then heat meat in the oven until it reaches 160 for beef. However, if I wanted to dehydrate the meat in the oven as well, can I just leave the meat in the oven turning oven temp to the lowest setting? Thanks in advance.
Yep, you can do the initial pre-heat and then turn the oven down to the lowest setting to finish it off.
This is my first time working with curing salts. I will follow the instructions (1tsp per 5lbs of ground turkey), but it still makes me nervous using the salt as I’ve read that too much can cause health Toxicity issues. Should I be concerned about this?
My plan is to use a dry rub to season the meat and then add a little bit of marinade as well. I was going to put the curing salt into the marinade to ensure that it covers the meat more effectively.
My main concern is that I may accidentally add to much curing salt.
You don't need to worry about it if you use the recommended about as you mentioned, 1tsp per 5lbs of meat. Mixing it into the marinade and then into the meat is the correct way to add it as it is incorporated into the meat better. You are doing everything right!
Thank you for this article. I have one question regarding curing salt. If I precook chicken before dehydrating, and I plan on making enough to last a week, therefore either freezing or refrigerating finished product, do I need to use curing salt?
You do not HAVE to use curing salt. The jerky will last a week without going bad without curing salt. I like to use it as an extra step for safety, but if pre-heating the meat first killing off bacteria, the jerky will be safe.
Question. I make my jerky from venison . The meat is ground then stored in the freezer at -0° for three months before I turn it into jerky. I am told that three months in the freezer at -0° kills any bacteria or parasites. I don’t want to use preservatives, you say ground meat shouldn’t be turned into jerky without preservatives. What is your opinion because I’m leaving it in the freezer for three months should it be safe or not.
Freezing wild game does help kill any bacteria that is specific to some wild game. This is a good practice to freeze the meat for several months. However, during the processing, slicing, marinating, and handling of the meat before it hoes in the dehydrator, there is a chance that new bacteria can be introduced. That’s why I still recommend using cute when making ground jerky.
Will, I read the thread just need clarification. If using Curing salt #1 in my recipe do I still need to preheat the meat to 160 degrees (275 for 10 minutes). Or is it one or the other?
Thanks
I do not pre-heat when I use curing salt. I do make sure the jerky reaches 160f while dehydrating though.
Will,
With curing salt #1 how long should I expect the jerky to last at room temperature or refrigeration ? Will the length be the same for preheating the jerky before dehydrating? Do you recommend using vacuum sealed bags for longer storage?
Curing salt will make it last longer than pre heating alone. Check out my page Last.
Thanks for the response. So the ideal temperature should be 160 while dehydrating the meat?
The meat doesn't need to be 160F the whole time it is drying, it just needs to reach 160F to kill any potential bacteria. It is best if it reaches 160F towards the beginning of drying, first 2 hours or so, and then the dehydrator/oven/smoker temperature can be turned down for the remainder of the drying. Just maintain an internal temperature of at least 145F for the remainder of the drying.