Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the shelf life on beef jerky??
A: It depends. When we produce beef jerky we print a “Best By” date of 18 months. Jerky stored under most circumstances will be just fine after 18 months. That said, if jerky is stored in adverse conditions, it can deteriorate faster. Storing jerky in hot, sunny places does it the most harm and will cause it the most damage. To maximize the life of jerky it’s best to keep it in a cool, dry and dark place. Stored properly, jerky can maintain its quality even longer than the suggested 18 month shelf life.
Q: What cuts of beef are used to make Lucky® Beef Jerky?
A: We use “denuded top inside rounds” for our slab jerky and 85-90% lean trim and “peeled knuckles” for our beef sticks. Over the years we have found these cuts to produce the best quality product so we stick to them.
Q: How is jerky healthy when it has so much sodium?
A: Sodium gets a really bad rap. Lucky Beef Jerky averages around 400mg of sodium per serving. This is similar to cottage cheese, vegetable juice or a half cup serving of instant pudding. Sodium is a necessary part of the human diet, depending on the amount of physical activity one takes part in, the need for sodium can be even higher than the RDI. Jerky is a very healthy way to supplement one’s diet.
Q: Are your products Gluten Free?
A: Only one flavor in our product line has Glutens added and that is “Teriyaki” flavor. All of our other jerky products have “no glutens added”.
Q: What makes Lucky® Beef Jerky a “Premium” product?
A: Lucky Beef Jerky is produced from the highest quality beef, in small batches with a tremendous amount of attention to detail. Our focus on quality starts with our cattle and doesn’t end until the product is in the customer’s hands.
Q: What is “Biltong” and how does it differ from “Jerky”?
A: Biltong is native to Africa. It is traditionally cured with sodium nitrite, flavored with coriander and dried slowly in the hot, dry African sun. African Biltong can be made from a variety of wild game meat and is very popular. Our Biltong is cured with sodium nitrite, flavored with coriander but cooked per USDA specifications to a very dry state – much drier than conventional jerky. Cooking it drier also concentrates the protein, so it is considerably higher in protein per ounce than conventional jerky.
Q: Is Sodium Nitrite bad?
A: Sodium Nitrite is actually a pretty good thing…it prevents things like botulism and other food borne illnesses that can kill a person. But like many things, when mis-used it can cause problems. In the early days of industrialized food – the late 19th and early 20th century – Sodium Nitrite was used at a much higher level than today. Modern food science has eliminated a great deal of the risk associated with nitrite in the diet. Celery Juice powder is widely used in “Natural” food production as it’s a naturally occurring nitrite…but there can be advantages to using commercially produced sodium nitrite as the rates can be managed more accurately. When it’s all said and done…most nitrate/nitrite intake comes from….vegetables. We’ll just leave that there, please feel free to Google it if you don’t believe us.
Q: Is Jerky Healthy?
A: In short, yes, jerky can be a health part of the human diet. Many would argue that variety in the diet is the most healthy. The Carnivore movement would argue that meat, salt & water is the healthiest diet. The best thing to do when it comes to eating healthy is take a look at the nutritional panel and decide for yourself. But we are 100% confident that your body will be much happier if you knock down a 1.5oz bag of Lucky Beef Jerky instead of a “King Size” candy bar.