History of National Craft Jerky Day
National Craft Jerky Day was created by the ‘Long Beach Jerky Co.’ The company was founded by Alex Naticchioni and Richie Beckman in 2013, but its legacy can be traced far beyond that. It all began with Albert Naticchioni, fondly called ‘Gramps,’ Alex’s grandfather. Albert made his own jerky and stuffed it into the stockings of family members during Christmas.
This holiday tradition morphed into a business idea decades later, when Alex and his friend Richie hit on the inspiration in their small Long Beach apartment one night. The duo decided to take Gramps’ old recipe and stay true to that while experimenting with other recipes. After several trial runs, Long Beach Jerky Co. took off. Their menu now includes jerky flavors such as ‘Gramps’ Original.’ ‘Buffalo Wing,’ ‘Cracked Black Pepper,’ and ‘Spicy Teriyaki.’
According to historians, jerky originated in the Andes Mountains of modern-day Peru. Jerky is any kind of lean meat that has been sliced into strips and dried. The word ‘jerky’ owes its origin to ‘ch’arki,’ a word from the Quechua language meaning ‘dried, salted meat.’ The earliest records of ch’arki date back to the 1550s. Jerky is usually prepared by salting thinly sliced meat parts and leaving them to dry under the sun, over a fire, or in an electric dehydrator. When the meat is completely dehydrated, it can be eaten without cooking. The salting process prevents the growth of bacteria, and if properly done, jerky can last for months without spoiling.
Modern manufactured jerky typically contains preservatives, fat and may even contain brown sugar for taste.
