How long is my homemade beef jerky good for?

[Cco61827]

My best friend loves my homemade beef jerky and I wanted to make a whole bunch for him for his birthday coming up in a month. I was just wondering how long my homemade beef jerky is good for and if it’s safe to ship to him, since he lives in a different state.

With my homemade beef jerky I use lean ground beef, and I use a bunch of those moisture absorbing packets when I store my beef jerky in a ziplock. I also use cure in my jerky. So with all this being said, how long would you say my jerky would be good for? Thanks!

 

[dward51]

I presume you are also using cure?

NEPAS has posted many times of shipping sticks to his son in the Military overseas. He does 3 things:

1) mix 1tsp of Potassium Sorbate with a spray bottle of water, shake until mixed. Then with the stick/jerky on a wire rack, lightly spray them and let dry, turn over and spray the other side and let dry.

2) handle as little as possible so as to not brush off the dried potassium sorbate coating on the sticks/jerky (it should be invisible and flavorless). Then vacuum pack them in batches in vacuum bags.

3) Surround the bagged sticks with cooled air popped pop corn in the box you are shipping in. Doubles as padding for shipping, insulation, and an extra treat to be eaten.

The moisture absorbing packets will also help as mold will not grow without moisture. Mold seems to be what makes sticks & Jerky go bad as both are cured. That being said, I've had stick in a closed but breathable container on my desk for over a month without problems (I was out on medical leave and my office was locked, still there when I got back). Normally sticks and jerky don't make it through a week around here though.

Food grade potassium sorbate is not expensive and most sausage making sites have it online. I bought my bag from Butcher & Packer for around $6 a pound. It goes a long way.

 

[Cco61827]

Thank you so much for your input. I’ll definitely look into everything you recommended here! I actually just got done making a batch the other day and I took two jerky sticks out of my stock and threw them in a little ziplock bag with a moisture absorber pack and put it on my night stand. I’m testing to see how long my jerky sticks will last lol.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Vaccum sealing won't hurt either if you got it. Not sure if you should vaccum seal with dessicant though.