Hello Jerky Lovers! It’s no secret how much we love our jerky here at Mallorys Tocino. We have perfected our skills to make the perfect jerky recipes using grass-fed Australian beef, chicken and pork.
Jerky Recipes and Methods
Our recipes are passed down through our family, and we have been commercially handcrafting our jerky for some 6 years, here in Australia.
In this article, we would like to discuss the history of Jerky, where it is believed it originates, and other interesting facts about this tasty snack.
According to Wikipedia “Jerky is lean trimmed meat that has been cut into strips and dried (dehydrated) to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt to prevent bacteria growth before the meat has finished the dehydrating process.”
Modern methods of producing jerky, include marinating meat with a selection of sauces and seasoning with herbs and spices etc. Here at Mallorys Tocino, our process is similar, but with a unique twist. We use a unique grilling process to ensure a soft, tasty beef jerky. This grilling process also makes handcrafting our chicken jerky and pork jerky in a way that is safe to eat, and long-lasting when stored in our suggested methods.
History of Jerky
During our research into the history of Jerky, we have found lots of evidence that people around the world have been enjoying this tasty, healthy food staple for a very long time.
It seems the oldest evidence of jerky has been found in Egypt. Modern day jerky is mainly consumed as a snack, where as thousands of years ago Ancient Egyptians were drying mass amounts of meat as their main food staple. By drying meat in the sun, (ancient jerky) it allowed it to be stored for long periods of time, resisting decay or insect infestation.
We found it interesting that the word “jerky” comes from the Quechua language native to South America. The Incan empire had been making “Ch’arki” since about 1550. “Ch’arki” which means “dried meat”. It is believed early jerky was probably made from Alpaca and Llama.
The manufacture of Ch’arki mainly consists of salting and sun-drying.
Explorers were impressed with ch’arki and eventually brought it back to Western Europe.
Jerky has been called by a number of different names throughout the world. Native Americans made a jerky variation called “Pemmican” where-as “Coppiette” is an Italian version of jerky. West Africa, has a couple of different types of jerky, known as “Kilishi” and “Quant’a”.
“Biltong” is a Dutch mash up of “bil” meaning rump and “tong” meaning tongue or strip.
The history of our Jerky
The meat jerky originated on the tropical island of Cebu, Philippines. It is a traditional, secret, family TOCINO recipe passed down through the generations. Malcolm and Lory brought the family jerky recipe to Brisbane, Australia and established, Mallorys Jerky.
In the past, the traditonal cooking process involved hot charcoal, then to get that perfect dry texture the tocino jerky was dried on the rooftops in full view of the sun. Using modern processes and equipment, Lory and Malcolm have adapted and perfected the secret recipe.
Our jerky is made of thin slices of premium lean grass-fed meat, which is marinated in a mixture of salty, sour and sweet ingredients. This adds the soft tasty bite of flavour. The jerky is marinated with herbs and spices for 24 hours and is air dried, grilled and sealed for perfection.
Tocino Jerky
Tocino means bacon in Spanish. It is a high protein, no fat snack. (YES! No fat – because that hinders our preservation process)
Our jerky has a long shelf life in an airtight seal and is best kept at room temperature. All of our chicken jerky, pork jerky and beef jerky is 97% fat free, and is a great source of protein.
If you haven’t tried our tasty jerky we encourage you to give it a try. We are sure you won’t be disappointed. We are so confident you will happy with your purchase, we offer a satisfaction guarantee.
