Raw uncooked beef is somewhere between 59 and 62 percent moister. So the majority of beef is water. It takes over 2 pounds, in most cases 2 and a half pounds of beef to make 1 pound of beef jerky after drying that moisture out.
The meat will lose about 60% of its weight when turned into beef jerky. So, to make 4 pounds of jerky, you’re going to need about 10 pounds of means. And, it’s going to take take a lot of work to finish the process, which adds even more cost.
The cheapest products on the market are made from low-quality meat, and then cheaper ingredients are added to bulk out the weight. Sugar is often used for this, and cheap products will sometimes have over 20% sugar.
We didn’t realize how time-consuming, labor-intensive, and expensive making beef jerky can be!
If you’ve made jerky at home, you’ve probably noticed how little you end up with compared with what you started with. Tis all about the yield – how much jerky do you get after prepping and cooking your beef? That being said, some brands will cut corners and add sugar and water weight to increase the yield. Essentially, you’re paying for those ingredients and not the actual beef.