I eat almost all my meat half dried. After a lot of experimentation, I am settling in on ground meat. I have 3 dryers. 2 are Nesco professionals that go down to 95' with fans. The ground meat is easy to mix with seasonings and dries quickly. I found a device that is similar to a caulking gun. I squeezes out jerky-like strips very quickly. It drys to my liking in a day. I can vary the spices for variety.
I only dry the meat half way because I like the flavor and texture much better. One day portions are put in baggies and stored in the freezer to control mold and spoilage. These are great to take to work with raw fruit and veggies.
The ground meat is less expensive from my grass fed meat suppliers. Various meats (pork, lamb, goat, chicken) can be mixed. I also grind and add organ meats which I can get at a much lower cost from some producers. Heart and kidney are great dried. Liver is kind of strong but is mellowed by the other cuts. If needed, I chop the meat in a food processor. Ground meat also has a good fat content that is evenly distributed.
About a two week supply works pretty good for me. I don't know why anyone would want to store it for any longer.
There is evidence that our prehistoric ancestors smoked and dried meat. And seafood. It is a way to take advantage of seasonal migrations. The native Americans in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. dried their salmon in cold smoke over a period of about a week. Smoke is a preservative and keeps flies away.
While my co-workers are destroying themselves with vending machine crap, I'm eating good and feeling great. It also saves a lot of food preparation time, cleanup, and I can eat while I'm doing whatever. Three meals a day were designed for the 8 to 5 workforce.
