From the ancient Egyptians to the indigenous people of South Africa and even the native tribes of the Andes mountains, the human race has enjoyed dried meat for thousands of years. 

The preservation of meat is a clever way to create a longer-lasting source of sustenance – dried meat has a high-protein, low-fat, and highly nutritious composition. Different cultures have experimented with preserving meat in a variety of ways – depending on where you grew up, you may know it as ch’arki, jerky or biltong. 

Although beef jerky has roots all over the world, it’s an exclusively American delicacy today. It has become pretty vogue lately – in fact, some say we’re experiencing a bit of a "jerky revival" as high-protein diets have grown in popularity. Flavor and texture innovation, too, has sparked greater demand. 

Keen to experiment with adding flavor at home? Try smoking your jerky in an Oakford Pellet Grill. This will give the jerky a mature, smokey taste. It might even inspire a feeling of kinship with those ancient cultures.