How necessary is it to marinade meat before making jerkies?

Question

So I just got myself a dehydrator, for the purpose of making jerkies.

I was thinking of just seasoning the meat lightly instead of marinating them, which takes considerably more time, needs more sauce and a bit more effort.

Would it make a lot of difference? I suppose I could always experiment, but from the "making sure I won't get sick from parasites" point of view, will a super dry jerky be safe if it's not been marinated?

Also, would it depend on the meat?

Answer

Marinating your meat makes it safer primarily by introducing it to salt, which kills bacteria. It is possible to make jerky safely without it, though you need to be careful.

You should use lean meat; fat is the most likely component in the meat to go bad.

It's also important to regulate the temperature closely and make sure hold the meat at temperature for long enough.

You can get some really really nasty bacteria if you don't cure meat correctly, so it's worth taking some time on it. Check out this guide on safely making jerky in a home dehydrator for more info.

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