How long can beef jerky stay warm after vaccum sealed??

[potatoc]

Senario: Know a guy in Iraq serving his country and loves jerky. I have heard of people sending it over there and I personally checked with the post office and it is legal to send that type of food.

Question: When I make my jerky it is always out of beef. I season it, smoke it low 200 degree for about 2.5 - 3 hours. Then I always vaccum seal it and keep it in my fridge until I am ready to open a bag. Jerky in the store is vaccum sealed and I see it non refridgerated. Why couldn't I send over some of my vaccum sealed jerky to this guy in Iraq???? How long can it stay vaccum sealed before spoiling?? Help me out with any info u can, much appreciated!!!!!!

 

[walking dude]

if Rich was here, he would say use a cure........and in this case i have to agree........morton's tender quick

 

[placebo]

Second the cure suggestion, need preservatives to keep outside a fridge.
Commercial jerky is probably your best bet as it already has preservatives.

On a side note when I was serving in Iraq jerky was the most requested item for me. What a treat it was to get a care package of jerky after eating nothing but T-rations for months.

 

[justsmoke2]

You could try a commercial brand jerky seasoning such as Hi Mountain. They have a variety of flavors you can choose from and its has cure in it. Kinda a fail safe solution. I have used many of there products.

 

[desertlites]

I agree-use cure high mountian.

 

[flatbroke]

Never made beef jerky before, but make deer jerky quit often, both dried by sun, and in dehydrator. I leave it out for weeks on the kitchen counter and take in lunches or what ever as needed. Only thing i add to the meat is salt, pepper and garlic, sometimes pepper flakes for hot stuff,

Never used a cure, and never had any spoil, the stuff never makes it a month witgout being eaten though.

 

[richtee]

Perhaps not. Yet.

 

[walking dude]

rich and i agree to disagree on this subject........using cure in making jerky.........but for jerky heading to iraq, i would cure it........just to be on the safe side

 

[potatoc]

well that sounds good because I always use HiMountain seasonsings for my jerky(not experienced enough to come up with my own. I personally like the Cajun blend. Lot of my buddies like the Inferno. My wife likes the Mandrid Teryaki.... So I should be safe with these eh?????

 

[richtee]

As long as nitrates are included in the ingredients, yes.

Look into your own - TQ is cheap and effective :{)

 

[potatoc]

can you explain what nitrates are?? Can u add Tender Quick to hi mountain to be safe, or am I being to anal??

 

[walking dude]

justsmoke2 said it has cure in it already............you will be fine just using it...........

 

[potatoc]

that's what I was thinking, all HiMountain has to packs in it. One for seasoning and one is cure, then they have a table of how much to use depending on how many pounds you use...

 

[potatoc]

OK I am clear with the cure! However, just for grins, how long is to long??? Can jerky sit for a month? 6 months??? A year?????? Like to know so I know how much to send!!!

 

[walking dude]

trust me dude..........send TONS.......cause you KNOW he will have to share,if it even come CLOSE to lasting that long...........LOLOL

 

[richtee]

I found a hunk under my van seat a while ago...had to be 2 months old. Ate it. True story. It's good, if kept reasonably stored, for a year or more. Prolly 5 if frozen.

 

[mulepackin]

God willing, it will be safe for much longer than they will be over there

 

[lcruzen]

I just sprayed coffee on my screen and keyboard!

 

[the_selling_blues_man]

Do we want to know what else might be under your van seat? LOL :)

 

[richtee]

Well, I did toss the french fries, half a Heath bar, and the peppermint candy. But the jerky..I KNOW it was cured well :{)