Starting a Beef Jerky Business - Introduction

I just got off the phone with a guy named Jeff Horne who lives in Alabama. He's been making his own beef jerky for about 10 years, and his friends have loved his jerky so much they've been urging him to turn it into a business.

It's the same story I see across so many small jerky businesses. A guy is frustrated with the factory-flavored jerky found in so many stores. The guy then decides to make jerky himself. His friends love it a lot. He starts a business, and makes a lot of money.

So last week, this guy Jeff sent me some samples of his jerky, along with a letter describing the kind of jerky he likes and what he hopes to create. He's currently in the process of researching the jerky business and figuring out where and how he'd like to fit in.

I urged him to keep in touch with me, and tell me how things are going with the business, because I'd like to post a series of articles about his beef jerky startup, and maybe help other folks out there learn about how to get started. Perhaps some of you manufacturers out there would care to post comments on these articles as well.

Pictured is his jerky...


I found it with a very strong soy sauce flavor. It's a good thing it has a strong flavor, first because I like a jerky that puts out a lot of flavor off the surface, and this does that. Second, I like a jerky that offers plenty of flavor that lasts throughout the chew, and this does that also.

This is, however, rather salty, and Jeff admitted that, and went on to say that he's still in the experimental phase of finding the right flavor and create a process to ensure a consistent flavor. I didn't necessarily find my mouth getting a salt scorching from this jerky, though I imagine if I continued to eat more and more I probably would.

There is also some good meat flavor in this, but I also found the strong soy sauce and salt flavor too overpowering. That is, I couldn't get enough of the natural meat flavors because the soy sauce and salt crowded it out.

Natural meat flavors is something that will really score high with me, if it can present a great meat taste. Too much of the seasoning or marinade will make it difficult for me to taste the meat. However, I could still assign a best rating to a jerky that's has little meat flavor, just as long as it has a great tasting marinade and seasoning. But for me, great tasting meat will always beat out great tasting marinade and seasonings.

And in terms of meat consistency, these are thick cuts of whole meat. It's a dry jerky, but one that still has good flexibility to it, and tears with some ease if torn with the grain. There are some places on these pieces that are actually soft to a degree. The pieces tear off and chew like a real steak, perhaps similar to the outer strip of a rib eye.

Jeff says that he hangs his jerky during the dehydration, rather than laying them on racks. He uses dry air, as opposed to heated air, the old fashioned way.

I told him it has a good taste, and that I'd rate this initially as "good", though I could easily give this a best rating. I think the heavy salt flavor could be a problem, though he also said that this particular batch came out saltier than normal. I also think the strong soy sauce flavor masks over much of the natural meat flavors.

I also told him that there is a degree of "monotony" with this jerky, that is, it doesn't offer enough flavor complexity to keep the brain entertained. I like to suck on a piece of jerky, soften it up in my mouth, and then chew on it slightly to get the juices out. But all I taste is salty soy sauce. I'd like it better to offer some extra garlic taste, or ginger taste. Or maybe some more black pepper. Something to give it more of an interesting taste.

We also talked about brand names. What I suggested is to find a really unique name, one that plants itself in your brain easily, and is hard to forget. I brought up examples like "Alien Fresh Jerky" and "Fatman's Beef Jerky". Not only do those two names lend themselves to being remembered, but they also present a theme. Having a name that's easily remembered will help distributors, retailers, and customers build up a familiarity, and ultimately a trust.

So, I hope to hear from him regularly. If I do, I'll fill you in on how he's doing.