Dried meat is a delicacy that has been tested for centuries. A natural product of great gastronomic value. Contains many nutrients, provides protein for the body, and is useful for anemia. Recommended for people with heavy physical activity, especially athletes.
In order to benefit from meat, you must not only be able to choose it, but also store it correctly. It must comply with strict safety and value regulations .
- In a refrigerator
Factors affecting shelf life
Initially the meat is sterile . Contamination occurs at further stages of processing. Meat is a special environment for the development of microorganisms that are especially active in the aquatic environment. Therefore, to get rid of moisture, jerky must be dried for a long time.
Factors affecting shelf life:
- Temperature conditions. When the temperature drops, the growth of bacteria slows down.
- Humidity. Activation of bacteria begins with increasing humidity.
- Illumination. When exposed to light and sunlight, the process of fat becoming rancid begins, so it is better to store meat in dark places.
- Air exchange.
- Neighborhood with other products.
Ignoring these factors will lead to a decrease in shelf life and a change in the quality of the product for the worse.
Shelf life
If the refrigerator is not in use, it is advisable to find a cool room. In this case, the shelf life of the dried meat is 3-4 weeks, but only if the packaging is properly selected. When storing in the room, fabric bags are used. The material must be natural.
In the refrigerator, dried meat remains fresh for 4 months, and if you use vacuum packaging - up to 6. In the freezer, the shelf life reaches 1 year.
How to store jerky
Dried meat has a good shelf life, but if storage conditions are violated, it can quickly deteriorate. Therefore, its storage should be considered as for a perishable food product.
Range
The dried product is made from any type of meat : beef, chicken, horse meat, duck. Less commonly, pork has a large amount of fat and does not have a dense muscle structure; its fermentation process is slower.
There are many recipes for cooking meat. The most popular of them:
- Basturma.
- Bresaola.
- Jamon.
- Prosciutto.
- Carpaccio.
- Biltong.
Types of packaging
The basic principles underlying the correct storage of dried meat are to place it: in the refrigerator, vacuum packaging, a hermetically sealed glass container, or creating optimal conditions.
Jerky in a glass jar
Shelf life
When purchasing a product in a retail chain, you must carefully study the attached information . If there is no exact date, then you should not risk storing jerky for more than 24 hours . The timing directly depends on the preservatives and spices that the manufacturer used in the manufacture of their products.
The shelf life of the product under vacuum film increases from 3 to 5 times . It helps keep it from shrinking.
GOST has moved away from specific numbers for storing meat; the initiative has been given to the manufacturer. It only regulates the recommended storage periods. So at temperatures from 0°C and not higher than +25°C, humidity 75-78%, recommended storage times in days:
| Type of meat | Not sealed | Sealed | Vacuum | After opening |
| Pork | 30 | 90 | 180 | 15 |
| Beef, horse meat | 60 | 120 | 240 | 15 |
Freezers are used when there are no suitable storage conditions. Under the influence of extreme cold, meat fibers deform and residual moisture crystallizes between them. Therefore, with further cutting, the delicacy will deteriorate its taste by up to 40% . A long shelf life, up to a year, is the only plus.
Climate influence
Temperature and humidity play a major role in how long a product is stored . Therefore, these indicators are influenced by the time of year. So if it is cool and dry, then the meat can be stored without refrigeration. In hot or humid weather, it is better to place the product in the refrigerator. The recommended period is to stock up on it in the fall or spring, while there are no active insects.
Whole pieces
Store-bought jerky must be kept according to the manufacturers' instructions on the packaging. Some types of it, such as prosciutto or jamon, copa and other dry-cured pork products, are not stored in the refrigerator due to loss of taste.
For storage, just wrap the basturma It is protected by a generous sprinkling of spices. And storing biltong involves placing it in a container.
Chicken carpaccio should be placed in the refrigerator, wrapped in plain paper or parchment.
Chicken carpaccio
Slicing
Vacuum is used for slicing. Without breaking the packaging, it will be stored for as long as desired, according to the rules. It is better to eat the slices right away. The remaining amount must be put in the refrigerator for short-term storage, this time is considered up to 12 hours . To do this, it is first wrapped in foil or a damp cloth. The wrapper is not allowed to fit tightly with the product.
Storage rules
To reduce the number of pathogenic microorganisms during product preparation, it is important to consider basic food safety rules. Several factors can prevent meat spoilage:
- Knowing the source of raw materials is important. There must be appropriate certificates confirming the quality of the meat. To prevent microbial growth, the product must be stored at the correct temperature. For example, pork is frozen to eliminate Trichinella.
- If the product is frozen, it is thawed in the cleanest possible conditions at a temperature of 0 to +4°C.
- To avoid cross-contamination, slicing is carried out under hygienic conditions.
- Proper cooking and marinating are key. Heat-treated spices are used.
- Before drying, the meat must be well heated.
- Drying is a disinfecting procedure that prevents the growth of microorganisms. It is carried out taking into account the rules for preparing the product for long-term storage. Constantly monitor temperature and humidity.
- Water activity is considered one of the main factors influencing the shelf life of the resulting dish. This indicator should be as low as possible. According to the Institute of Nutrition, the water activity index for dried product is 0.85 Aw.
- It is important that during the drying process the water activity decreases quickly enough to prevent the growth of microorganisms. But excessive drying speed leads to hardening and cementation of the surface.
- The meat should not be allowed to remain sticky after drying.
Unsuitable conditions after preparation of the product can significantly increase the survival rate of various microbes . With proper storage, after a month, the concentration of Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes in meat decreases. Also, after 8 weeks, E. coli and salmonella are destroyed.
Experts attribute the decrease in the number of pathogens to a decrease in water activity. Pathogenic microbes in properly cooked meat do not survive under optimal storage conditions.
Basturma is affected by any temperature changes, reducing its taste, aroma and beneficial properties. Because of this, the product becomes drier and harder. It is stored in cool rooms. A freezer or refrigerator is also suitable for this, but in a confined space the meat becomes less flavorful and changes its consistency.
Basturma
Dried meat is stored in the refrigerator or freezer in a vacuum package, plastic bag, glass jar or container with a lid. In such containers the product does not weather. This also helps prevent the growth of bacteria. With good packaging, the strong smell of dried meat and spices will not spread throughout the refrigerator, and other food will not be saturated with this aroma.
For storage in a cool room, fabric bags are considered the optimal container. They are hung on a rope. The product receives a sufficient amount of fresh air, maintaining its taste and beneficial properties.
Important! The room where dried meat is hung is regularly ventilated.
The optimal shelf life of the product is from 2 to 6 months, depending on the storage and preparation method. The more spices and salt used during drying, the longer the meat will remain edible.
Tips for storing at home
Home-made meat cannot be stored for long periods of time, as it will not be possible to achieve ideal temperature and humidity parameters. Vacuuming without special equipment will not work, so the product is produced in small batches .
Basements are not always suitable for storage due to high humidity and contamination with fungal spores. The room must be well ventilated.
At home:
- Place dried different types of meat, salted in different ways, separately from each other.
- If the meat has been dried in a warm place, it must be cooled before packing.
- Home storage options: basements, storage rooms, rooms with low temperatures.
- Finished products are wrapped in cloth or parchment.
- It is better to place in glass containers and seal tightly. It will be good if you put carbohydrazide and paper napkins in the container. There is no need to pack the containers tightly with meat.
If the integrity of a piece is compromised, it is better to put the meat in the refrigerator, or lubricate the cut with vegetable oil or fat to prevent the development of bacteria.
In a refrigerator
The ideal option is to use refrigerated cabinets that maintain temperatures from 0 to +5°C . Only meat products will be stored there and there is no need to worry about the possibility of absorbing foreign odors.
If this is an ordinary household refrigerator, then you need to remember:
- Do not allow sudden changes in temperature, otherwise this will lead to the formation of condensation and mold.
- It is advisable to have separate chambers that maintain humidity levels.
- Monitor the air supply; proper ventilation will remove excess moisture and, as a result, prevent the appearance of mold. Too much oxygen will lead to its oxidation, and a small amount will greatly dry out the product.
- You should not place nearby products that have different humidity levels and have a pronounced aroma.
in freezers only when absolutely necessary.
Storage methods
You can purchase dried tenderloin in a store or make it yourself at home.
When purchasing, it is important to pay attention to the following factors:
- Packaging integrity. There should be no punctures, cuts or dents.
- Best before date. It is not advisable to buy a dried product that is about to expire.
- Compound. In addition to meat, the product should contain only salt and spices. If it contains fragrances, it is better to refrain from purchasing.
The dried meat is cut into small pieces. They should not be stacked together as this prevents air circulation. It is also undesirable to keep the delicacy next to other food.
Important! Be sure to monitor the temperature, as exceeding it leads to the rapid proliferation of pathogens. This can cause serious harm to the body.
If the meat is a little dry, wrap it in a damp towel. The water will gradually penetrate into it and return to its original consistency.
Store the product in the room, refrigerator, freezer.
Some people prefer to keep it at room temperature. But it is important to consider that the maximum permissible values for dried meat are +15°C, and in the living room - most often +18...+24°C.
The meat is placed in fabric bags and hung in a dark place. A humidifier should be used periodically nearby. In such conditions, the meat will only be stored for a few days.
It is best if the temperature does not exceed +15°C. To do this, the product is usually sent to the cellar, but this is also a mistake, since there is often high humidity.
If a portion has already been separated from the dry-cured tenderloin, it is placed in a plastic bag and placed in the refrigerator.
The freezer is not the best place to store such a product. Rapid freezing and low temperatures affect consistency. The fibers deform very quickly, so the meat falls apart during slicing. The aroma and taste are lost by almost half.
Storing prosciutto
Here are some recommendations for storing prosciutto. He also needs to be looked after. Everything that applies to storing jamon is also effective for prosciutto.
But there are several individual conditions:
- Fresh cuts of meat are covered with skins that are cut from the hams. And they are additionally processed with vegetable oil. You can use oiled parchment paper instead of skins. But this is just in case a piece of skin is accidentally thrown away.
- Prosciutto is cut for the table in small volumes, compared to jamon.
- Do not stack the ham on top of each other. Otherwise, the individual taste and aroma will be lost.
- Do the same with uneaten pieces of prosciutto as with jamon. The only difference is that you need to keep it in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours without dishes, in a damp cloth. And this meat is easy to freeze. But then the original taste is lost.
How long can you store meat in the refrigerator?
Fresh raw meat cannot be stored for long periods of time in the refrigerator, where the average temperature is 0…+4 ℃. To preserve the product before processing, place it in a glass or enamel container and cover the top with a paper towel.
Place products in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Typically this is the shelf closest to the freezer or the space at the back wall. The shelf life of raw meat in the refrigerator is 24 hours.
Chopped chilled pieces or minced meat should not be kept in the refrigerator for a long time. Such products must be cooked or frozen within 6-12 hours.
The shelf life of defrosted meat in the refrigerator is 24 hours. In this case, the countdown begins from the moment the piece is completely thawed.
How to dry meat correctly?
Dry pieces of raw meat are rolled in spices, salt and placed in a bowl, sprinkled and completely covered with salt. Cover with film and put in the refrigerator for 3 days. After a day in the refrigerator, a lot of liquid will come out of the meat; it must be drained and added dry salt again.
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