How Its Made Beef Jerky Discovery Channel

packs a good dose of protein then some beef jerky might just hit the spot eating dried cured strips of meat dates back to the ancient cultures of South America jerky may be an English mispronunciation of a native word for burnt meat beef jerky is no longer means of subsistence but rather a popular snack food that comes in a variety of flavors this premium brand is handcrafted in small batches the process starts with beef rounds a lean cut from the muscular hind quarter of the cow there's just a bit of fat enough to give the meat good flavor workers put the beef rounds through a slicer which cuts them into thin strips of identical width so that the jerky pieces come out as uniform as possible the direction in which the slicer cuts as well as the thickness of the slices five millimeters are calculated to maximize flavor and tenderness the next step marinating will further tenderize the meat many large producers inject the marinade prior to slicing this company marinates after slicing so that the marinade is sure to tenderize and flavor every single slice of beef after loading a small batch of meat into a rotating drum workers add the marinade ingredients a secret recipe consisting of both dry and liquid seasonings the meat and marinade spin together for more than an hour by the time the strip's come out of the drum they're drenched in marinade after marinating for another 24 hours they're ready to go into the smokehouse workers lay the marinated beef strips on stainless steel rods they space them well apart to enable the hot air to penetrate each and every one from all angles once they fill a rod they hang it on a rolling rack a rack holds 100 rods roughly 110 kilograms of beef strips each rack goes into its own individual smokehouse inside which two simultaneous processes occur water soaked hard wood chips burn slow smoking the meat the jerky also cooks slowly at low heat no higher than 82 degrees Celsius to maximize the flavor the variety of beef jerky dictates the type of hardwood they use for sweeter flavors such as honey barbecue or teriyaki they smoked with Hickory or Applewood whereas for more savory or spicy flavors they use mesquite wood over the course of five to seven hours in the smokehouse the circulated warm air gradually dries out and cures the meat and the smoke from the wood infuses it Quality Control technicians take samples from each fully smoked batch and measure the thickness to make sure it's the required three to four millimeters after workers cut the strips to between 6 and 8 centimeters long the jerky enters an automated scale which weighs out the quantity per package meanwhile an automated packaging machine heat seals the bottom and sides of printed plastic film forming a pouch then inserts a resealable zipper and prints on the lot number and best by bait the machine then cuts apart each individual pouch and flushes the inside with nitrogen this forces out fresh foods worst enemy oxygen then the Machine drops in additional ammunition a tiny oxygen absorbing packet now the pouch is ready to receive its allotment of beef jerky in the smokehouse the raw beef loses about three-quarters of its weight as the moisture inside evaporates and the fat cooks off so half a kilogram of raw beef yields only about a hundred grams of beef jerky a conveyor belt transports the now-sealed pouches to the boxing and shipping area every five minutes quality control technicians take a sealed pouch off the line to measure the nitrogen and oxygen levels inside earlier on they tested samples from every single batch coming out of the smoke house to make sure the slow cooking process killed off all the bacteria in the beef and dried it sufficiently to ensure this meaty treat has a minimum shelf life of 14 months

Channel: For the love of life

Views: 239,282

Keywords: How It's Made (TV Program), Discovery Channel (TV Network), beef jerkey, beef, manufacturing, processing, factory, food, disney, Jerky (Dish), Cheese, Chicken, pork, cows, bacon

Id: E2_0Jmx0P9w

Length: 4min 55sec (295 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 23 2013