I compiled 5 of MMJ’s favorite jerky-related facts to educate, surprise and (hopefully) entertain you.
You might be asking, sure Mike, but what about the burning meat, squirrels, and 23 billion cows?
I’ll get there.
But first, I’ll start with the basics.
You can use almost any type of meat to make jerky. While beef is the most prevalent in the United States and is the meat MMJ primarily uses, you can find bison, venison (deer), turkey, fish, moose, elk, alligator, kangaroo, turtle and even more types of jerky!
“Jerky”is derived from the Spanish word “Charqui,” which came from Quechua, a Native American language, and it means “to burn meat.”
Humans are NOT the only animal species to make jerky. Squirrels make jerky too. I’m being serious. Red squirrels have been known to hang fungi out to dry between tree branches. The dried mushrooms last longer during winter. Red fire ants also save “tasty” cuts of their meals and set them to dry to preserve for future meals…who knew?!!
If all you consumed was beef jerky for an entire day, you would need to eat around 5 pounds of beef jerky to meet a standard 2,000 calorie diet. That’s nearly 25 bags of MMJ’s BOLD beef jerky! I eat a LOT of beef jerky, but 25 bags in a day is a bit much…anyone up for a 25-bag MMJ challenge? 😆
Thinking on a global scale, it would take about 23 billion cows worth of beef jerky to feed the entire planet on beef jerky for an entire year. That’s a LOT of dried meat!
Hopefully you learned something about the topic I’m so passionate about and perhaps you were even mildly entertained.
Now go forth and drop your newly-acquired jerky knowledge among your friends today. And don’t forget…have fun, snack BOLDLY and eat jerky.
