Charles Joseph: A Love of Beef Jerky, Shared One Batch at a Time

I’m Charles Joseph, the guy behind Beef Jerky Hub. It took one bite of a friend’s spicy jerky from Thailand to get me hooked on homemade jerky for life. I write for people who feel the same way about a good batch.

What I Love About Jerky

Jerky is honest food. Meat, salt, smoke and time, with nothing to hide behind. It travels anywhere, keeps for ages, and every region and family seems to have its own take on it, from sweet and peppery to hot enough to make you sit up straight.

There’s a patience to making it that I find hard to resist. A marinade that works overnight, a long slow dry, and the small satisfaction of checking a piece that bends and cracks just right. Handing someone a bag you made yourself beats anything with a barcode.

Helping You Make Your Own

Most of what I write here exists to get you from curious to confident. Sometimes that means a recipe worth trusting. Other times it’s the less glamorous details, like slicing the meat evenly or storing the finished batch so it lasts.

If you’re making your first batch, start with the basic beef jerky recipe and the guide to slicing meat. Everything else on the site builds from there.

Helping the Makers Get Found

The other half of the mission is the people who make jerky for a living. Small-batch smokehouses, family shops and online sellers deserve to be found by the folks looking for them, and the big suppliers have a place too. That’s what the jerky directory is for. If you make great jerky and you’re not in it yet, tell us through the Contact page.

I’m still convinced the best jerky doesn’t come from a store. If I can talk you into trying a homemade batch, or point you to someone who makes a great one, I’ll consider that a pretty good day’s writing.