Features of storing dried meat at home

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:

1. Temperature conditions. When the temperature drops, the growth of bacteria slows down.
2. Humidity. Activation of bacteria begins with increasing humidity.
3. Illumination. When exposed to light and sunlight, the process of fat becoming rancid begins, so it is better to store meat in dark places.
4. Air exchange.
5. 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.

Canning

For long-term preservation, canned meat is best suited. Cans of canned meat can be stored for years on the balcony, in the kitchen or in the basement.

Canning essentially means sterilizing meat in containers that, once sterilized, are tightly sealed to preserve the product from external contamination. Traditionally, jars were sterilized in water, but this type of sterilization is not entirely safe for meat.

Two methods of canning are recommended - hot and cold:

• Hot canning means that before canning, the meat must be cooked almost until cooked and placed hot in jars, filled with broth. After making sure that there are no large air bubbles left in the broth, the jars can be rolled up.
• Raw canning is very similar to pickling. Raw meat is well salted and rolled into jars without adding water, since salted meat releases enough of its own juice.

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:

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.

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.

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:

1. Do not allow sudden changes in temperature, otherwise this will lead to the formation of condensation and mold.
2. It is advisable to have separate chambers that maintain humidity levels.
3. 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.
4. 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:

1. Packaging integrity. There should be no punctures, cuts or dents.
2. Best before date. It is not advisable to buy a dried product that is about to expire.
3. 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.

Dried meat

This meat is a wonderful product for lovers of hiking and extreme conditions, and athletes. It is very easy and quick to have a snack on the go, and at the same time it will provide you with a quick surge of strength and energy. And this means a lot in traveling conditions.

In addition, dried meat can be easily turned into regular meat. To do this, just fill it with hot water and leave for an hour until it returns to its previous state. Or you can simply add a piece of this product when cooking soup.

Advice from experts

• Thinly sliced ​​meat dries faster and is more convenient to eat while hiking.
• The finished beef can be kept on paper for about a day before packaging. This is done so that the moisture evaporates. Experience shows that this increases the shelf life of meat without refrigeration. And in weather conditions this is very important.
• While cooking meat in the oven, you can place a baking sheet under the rack. This will help keep it clean. In addition, the entire oven will have to be washed, since it retains the smell persistently.
• Gnawing on ready-made slices of dried meat is very tasty. But you need to be careful and take care of your teeth.