Is it hard to start making and selling beef jerky?

Answer 1

It is not hard, but you have to consider Health and Safety regulations in your area. Even if you wanted to sell in a craft fair/farmer's market atmosphere, you should still get those certifications. You will be safer legally then. You also might want to consider your immediate buyers and their backgrounds. If you have a lot of people of Jewish or Muslim faith in the area, you might want to approved to be Kosher by a Messianic Rabbi. It might mean more work, but it would be appreicated.

Homemade Beef Jerky
5 pounds very lean beef or venison, trimmed of all fat
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablepoons Emeril's Original Essence, recipe follows

Cut the meat into strips 1-inch wide and 1/2-inch thick, and spread on baking sheets. In a bowl blend the seasonings. Season the meat strips on 1 side, then turn and season the second side. Refrigerate, covered, overnight.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
Cook the meat until it is completely dried, 6 to 8 hours, turning as needed to dry uniformly. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Eat as desired, or keep tightly covered, refrigerated, for up to 1 month.

Essence:
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Answer 2

If you do it legally, yes. You'd have to have your kitchen inspected by the board of health, as well as come up with hermetically sealed packaging, etc.

Our local barber shop "sells" beef jerky for some lady. It's a donation for a widow with kids and you get a "free" bag of jerky. Maybe you can do something like that, so you can get around the rigamarole of the inspections. Good luck.

Answer 3

make your first stop to the health department. there are food safety practices and procedures that must be followed. Make the second to the small business administration.

You will also need to have a nutritional label generated for your packaging. you should also looking to renting a commercial kitchen for production, you cant just run a food service operation out of your house with out a health department inspection.

Answer 4

It depends on how "big" you want to go. My ex was a hunter , so I'd make it for local gatherings,and had great success, no licenses and such for that sort of thing. Good luck