Have you ever watched "Gun Smoke", "Bonanza", Or Even "The Big Valley"? How did people of the time eat? More so when they were riding around on a horse? How did they store meat when they had no refrigerators?
Beef Jerky is thought to have originated in South America during the 1550s. The Quechua tribe, who were ancestors of the ancient Inca empire, produced a meat similar to beef jerky called ch'arki, or charqui. It was made by adding salt to strips of muscle tissue from game animals such as deer, buffalo, and elk, and allowing them to dry in the sun or over fires for extended periods of time. This method of preparation enabled the people to preserve meats during times when it was readily available and eat it when food was scarce. When the Spanish encountered this method of meat preservation, they adopted it and made it available to the rest of the world. It became a staple foodstuff for American cowboys and pioneers. Early explorers built smoke huts and hung cuts of meat over a fire to smoke cure the meat. True jerky was made when the meat was first flavored and then cured. Over the years, people discovered that the meat could be made more palatable by the addition of various spices.
I have been making my own Beef Jerky for about 20 years, this is my version
http://allrecipes.com/personalrecipe/62933988/beef-jerky/detail.aspx
