Jerky is easy to make at home and a huge savings in cost over store bought jerky. Simply mix the spice and cure packets with you choice of ground meat, press into jerky sticks or use the Nesco Jerky Express to press out slim-jim type sticks. Then place on a dehydrator and after a few hours, you have great tasting fresh jerky at a fraction of the cost of store bought. This bulk pack includes 24 spice packs including Original flavor, Hot & Spicy, Teriyaki and Cracked Pepper & Garlic.
$ 19.99
Our favorite,
This is our favorite jerky spice mix and use it so much it was more convenient and much more affordable to order in a large quanity. My only complaint was that it was short product quantity. Amazon couldn’t have been better in sending out another order to take out what was missing and return the rest. The second order was also short. 18 cure packages instead of 24. So order with confidence but make sure you count it.
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|Great for a Starter Set!,
These flavors are very tasty, and every batch of Jerky I have made with theses flavors has received praise! The variety pack is a great starter set. I am giving this 4 stars instead of 5 because I would rather have a smaller cheaper set to start with until I find my favorite flavors. Or a set of the same size with more varieties (as there are more flavors that are not included with this set).
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|Celiac Alert/Wheat/Nitrates/Nitries/Food Safety,
I hope some of you will find something here useful, heretical views and all ;^) !
The Nesco spices are typical of other pre-packaged jerky mixes. While I don’t share the concerns others have about the presence of nitrates/nitrites, and I am not personally impacted by MSG (although I sympathize with those who have adverse reactions to it), I do want to give a heads up to any Celiac sufferers out there that the Teriyaki flavor contains wheat. This isn’t really a big surprise as most Teriyaki sauce also contains wheat, but I thought it was worth pointing out.
For those who are concerned about the nitrates/nitrites, and who disagree with my view (and that of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Cancer Society and the National Research Council) that they are benign, and even beneficial, I would like to point out that they are there to protect you against food poisoning.
However, the spices and the cure are packaged separately, so it is possible to leave the nitrates/nitrites out entirely. Of course, you are taking a (potentially fatal) risk when you do so. It is true that you may be running your dehydrator above the 140 degree mark, but the temperature is not uniform throughout your dryer. I do process whole cuts (not ground) without cure, but the meat has been carefully handled, and I use a torch to pre-treat the exterior of the meat before drying (or cooking at very low temperatures, as the case may be).
All and all, this is a complex topic, and I would suggest a lot of reading about the issues of food safety before making a choice to leave out using a cure.
Here is a reading list for those who are interested:
The FDA “Bad Bug Book” available free on the web. Search for “Bad Bug Book: Introduction
Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins Handbook
The “Bad Bug Book””
Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food
Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing
Worth searching for on the web: “low temperature cooking”, “nitrates (nitrites) vegetables”, and “no nitrates (nitrites) added”
As for the ingredients of the Nesco Seasoning, here is what the packaging lists:
(Apologies in advance for typos and transcription errors:)
ORIGINAL FLAVOR:
DEXTROSE, SUGAR, SALT, SPICES, NATURAL HICKORY SMOKE FLAVOR, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, HYDROLYZED SOY PROTEIN,DEHYDRATED ONION, DEHYDRATED GARLIC, LESS THAN 2{660353129f8d892044c993645a1c75194301fec6786a7f617c15adde0b0011e9} OF CARAMEL COLOR, SILICON DIOXIDE, CALCIUM SILICATE
TERIYAKI FLAVOR:
SUGAR, SOY SAUCE POWDER(SOYBEANS, SALT, WHEAT, MALTODEXTRIN), DEXTROSE, SALT, SPICES, MSG, 2{660353129f8d892044c993645a1c75194301fec6786a7f617c15adde0b0011e9} or LESS SESAME OIL, DEHYDRATED GARLIC, DEHYDRATED ONION, NATURAL FLAVOR, CITRIC ACID, SILICON DIOXIDE
HOT-N-SPICY FLAVOR:
DEXTROSE, SALT, SPICE, SUGAR, NATURAL HICKORY SMOKE FLAVOR, DEHYDRATED ONION, DEHYDRATED GARLIC, MSG, HYDROLYZED SOY PROTEIN, LESS THAN 2{660353129f8d892044c993645a1c75194301fec6786a7f617c15adde0b0011e9} NATURAL FLAVOR, CARAMEL COLOR, SILICON DIOXIDE, CALCIUM SILICATE
(Note that none of the above flavors contain nitrates/nitrites, they are all in the separate CURE packets, listed next.)
CURE: SALT, SODIUM NITRITE(0.62{660353129f8d892044c993645a1c75194301fec6786a7f617c15adde0b0011e9})
If you do choose to leave the cure package out, you may want to add some table salt if you like a salty jerky flavor. Just be sure you understand the issues involved – nontyphoidal Salmonella, Clostridium Botulinum, and their various cronies are not your friends. And if anyone eating your jerky is immune compromised, then please do not leave out the cure. After all, what is worse – your scientifically unfounded fear that one day they may get cancer from the preservatives, or the risk that they will drop dead in the here and now from a pathogen that flourished in a slightly too cool dehydrator?
Anyway, these seasonings make jerky that tastes good, and while making your own seasonings from scratch is probably a better choice, the little packets are very convenient when you are tired or in a hurry.
Bon Appétit and best wishes to all !
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