Culinaire Magazine May 2022
May 2022, Culinaire Magazine published:
Alberta-made Jerky
A better way to hit the road.
by Kelly-Anne Riess
For thousands of years, people have been making and eating jerky, primarily as a way of preserving meat for the future, or as something to take on a journey.
Jerky dates back to Ancient Egypt, long before the refrigerator was invented, but likely its history goes much further into the past. closer to home, in North America, many indigenous groups across the continent utilized smoked fish and bison in their various culinary traditions. Later, early cowboys in the 1820s made and carried jerky with them as a nutritious, filling and handy snack that could be eaten when out herding cattle.
Fast forward to today and the popularity of the snack have never been greater. This has been a boon for Alberta's local beef jerky industry that knows how to make a healthier version of the snack - lower in sugar and sodium then many of the more commercial offerings, and lower in chemical preservatives. Business has been booming.
"This is not your common,
toothsome hunk of salt beef. " says Tara Seitz,
owner of Uptown Jerky in Vulcan,who only adds aromatic vegetables and spices to her jerky. Seitz decided she'd start her company while eating her own homemade jerky, and jokes her product if like if Brad Pitt and charcuterie had a baby.
