Yes, beef jerky is non-perishable, meaning it can last indefinitely when stored properly. It requires no additional cooking, special handling or refrigeration.
Beef jerky has a long shelf life, usually one year from the date of production. It can be enjoyed past the best-by date, but it might lose some freshness in flavor and texture.
Beef jerky is a great snack to store in your cabinet or pantry in case of snacking emergency.
Beef Jerky is the King of Non-Perishable Snacks
For like 1,000 years, beef jerky has been a go-to staple for those looking for nutrient dense, portable, and delicious snacks.
Native Americans and ancient Incans (the original inventors of jerky) were clearly onto something.
Learn more about the History of Beef Jerky.
The magic lies in the dehydration process. The low and slow cooking process removes almost all the moisture (the enemy of non-perishable food) from the meat. Because of this, jerky requires no special handling or refrigeration. So to answer the question keeping you up at night…does jerky require refrigeration? No!
This shelf-stable snack is perfectly content in a cool, dry place in your pantry or on your countertop. In fact, most jerky is produced with a one-year shelf life, making it a natural choice for your snacking stockpile. Just make sure to order extra so you don't have to dip into your emergency food supply while looking for healthy snacks to eat when hunger hits.
Beef Jerky is the Best High Protein Food
It contains a healthy mix of each of the nine essential amino acids necessary for the human diet. The dehydration process (sound familiar?) removes moisture from the meat, increasing nutritional density and helping it pack a protein punch that can satiate any craving. The best part? It delivers that high-quality protein in a low-calorie and low-fat package. Talk about a win-win-win.
You might be wondering, when looking for shelf-stable and healthy non-perishable snacks — what foods are the highest in protein? And how does jerky stack up to my other favorites? Here is a list of popular shelf-stable food with high protein content.
The answer is clear.
Jerky is one of the most efficient snacks for high-quality protein per calorie. It’s the reason jerky is a go-to non-perishable meal for backpackers, campers and survivalists…and now families living under shelter in place and safer at home orders.
So whether you’re looking for the ideal non-perishable snack in an emergency situation, or dinner on a Tuesday night (not necessarily different things in most households), then jerky is the clear winner.
The key, however, is choosing the right beef jerky.
“Meat” People’s Choice Beef Jerky
People’s Choice makes beef jerky the right way: crafted by hand in small batches with simple ingredients. We would know. Our family has been handcrafting artisan jerky for four generations and 90+ years. This is real food, made by real people.
Did you know most other jerky companies outsource their production? They have no control over how their jerky is made. Not us. We make everything in house by hand. We care too much about our craft. Some might call us perfectionists, but we feel it’s the only way to do it.
Our jerky isn’t pumped out on a factory line either. It's handcrafted in small batches to ensure the highest quality.
We purposely craft our jerky to be shelf-stable and non-perishable nutrition. Some of the softer, moister jerky products on the market require refrigeration after opening. Does our beef jerky need to be refrigerated? Absolutely not. You can be confident that our jerky will be ready when you need it.
The best part? We ship factory-fresh jerky direct to your door. Most orders ship the same or next business day. Skip the supermarket, or at least take one thing off your list. Get meat delivered to your doorstep, fresh from our factory in downtown LA.
That's the front of our building. We've been in the same location since 1929. We might know a thing or two about handcrafting artisan jerky.
But don’t just take our word for it. See what some of our customers have to say.
Read: Reviews of People’s Choice Beef Jerky