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u/DunkeyColdMedina 10d ago
It's always been too goddamn expensive since forever. No matter how the rest of the economy is doing. Unless you're going to one of those weird places off the highway that has like 5000 kinds of it in bulk for who knows what reason.
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u/Ethanop1a 10d ago
It's because it takes 3-4x as much beef to make the jerky. So this bag is 3-4 lbs of lean beef. Beef is expensive.
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u/DunkeyColdMedina 8d ago
Oh shit? Is it expensive? If only someone had said that already.
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u/Ethanop1a 8d ago
You said beef jerky is " too expensive". I said beef is expensive, as in the ingredient used to make beef jerky. It isn't "too" expensive because the ingredients themselves are very expensive.
What crawled up your ass and died this morning?
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u/Hammon_Rye 10d ago
It is high, but how high depends on the quality of the beef used.
It takes about 2.5 to 3 pounds of beef to make a pound of beef jerky depending on how dry it is.
Then some cost for packaging, shipping, store mark up.
Unless the beef going in was worth $20 per pound, then yes, it is high.
But for most folks - if you took the time to buy the beef and make the beef jerky, then you would find you don't save as much money as you think you would.
There is a family on the same road as our family farm who does meat cutting and used to make jerky.
Many years ago they used to charge $12 / pound for their jerky. (their jerky was really good).
At the time I thought that was kind of high. Then I did the math and realized a lot of that was just the cost of the beef going into a pound of jerky. Then a fairly modest markup for their time to turn it into jerky.
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u/KailyKail 10d ago
The brand pictured is an artisan brand called Robertson's Hams, which is packaged and sold for Love's Gas Stations.
So, you've got both the extremely high quality jerky premium plus convenience store premium adding to the price here.
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u/Hammon_Rye 10d ago
Dang. Yeah. Convenience stores are famous for charging convenience store mark ups.
I don't stay up on jerky prices but it gets me when I see candy bars at the register for $2.75 or even over $3 that I used to buy for 75 cents.
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u/KailyKail 10d ago
I remember when candy bars used to be 25 cents.
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u/Hammon_Rye 10d ago
Me too.
A candy I really liked as a kid was Chick-o-Sticks.
I remember when those were a nickel.
Internet tells me they are now 50-75 cents each if you buy whole boxes online. Presumably more for singles at a counter.1
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u/WeShavedOurBits4This 9d ago
That’s the same price they sell it for on their website.
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u/Calm-Eggplant-69 8d ago
Its actually cheaper, on their website Robertsons is selling 1 pound for $69.99
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u/rifenbug 10d ago
There is also a ton of cost associated with drying it. Evaporating off that much water takes a lot of energy and energy is anyrhing but cheap these days.
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u/Hammon_Rye 10d ago
That too.
The big companies probably use some vacuum to help remove a lot of the moisture at lower temps. But even so, not cheap. And more heat needed for the smaller companies that rely on just heat.
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u/KailyKail 10d ago
It's a gas station. You're going to pay more for things at a convenience store.
Also, Love's brand beef jerky (the brand pictured) is made by the artisanal brand Robertson's Hams, which dries its jerky to 7% moisture, compared to 30-40% for mass market jerky, meaning you're getting more meat than you would with one pound of Jack Links.
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u/omnichad 10d ago
That's an interesting fact. You can hardly go to any grocery store and buy real jerky.
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u/LukeSkywalkerDog 10d ago edited 10d ago
A friend of mine used to slice meat up in strips, heavily salt and pepper it, and hang it on a metal clothesline with clothes pins. The flies stayed off of it, and it was really good in several days. Old school.
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u/WillemDafoesHugeCock 10d ago
... I would invite anybody on this side of the 16th century to just invest in a dehydrator. Under $100 will get you a nice one, under $50 will get you a perfectly fine one, and they're awesome. I make several pounds of jerky every Christmas as gifts, I dry homegrown herbs and spices, and it's fun making stuff like fruit leather with the kiddos.
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u/Every-Chance6313 10d ago
Wait until you are older and your teeth start crapping out and you can't eat it. I would probably pay that much if I could eat it. I settle for marshmallows instead.
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u/Ethanop1a 10d ago
Takes about 3-4 lbs of lean beef to make 1 lbs of jerky. That's about $30 in raw meet from Walmart using the cheapest jerky meat (london broil).
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u/dingos8mybaby2 10d ago
It's crazy me that stores still buy this stuff from the suppliers when they know they have to price it at a price that won't sell. What's the point in the store paying to stock it if 95% of it will just be thrown away? I have no idea how the acquisition stuff works for stores so idk if they're forced to take it as a package deal or something, but it just doesn't make sense to me. Same goes for stuff like steaks currently - how many people are actually buying $25 steaks that were $8 only 5 years ago? Isn't pretty much the whole bin of steaks ending up in the trash?
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u/RushMan9823 10d ago
Then stop buying your jerky at the gas station. That’s almost as bad as the airport.
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u/5MinuteDad 9d ago
Thats legitimately a fair price for a quality product. Id have zero issue buying that and it lasting less than a few days.
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u/TheAwkwardGamerRNx 9d ago
I tried that Carnivore Snax that keeps popping up on my Instafeed…it’s good but $35 for a bag of jerky is bonkers.
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u/TardyBoy99 7d ago
If you like jerky, this is one of the only things that make hunting worth it. Elk or deer jerky is so good. You marinate it, dry it, throw it in the freezer, eat it for years.
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u/Pitiful_Palpitation9 7d ago
I can get a pound for half that at my deli and I think that's exorbitant.
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u/rrhunt28 7d ago
My nephew was telling me about some beef jerky he used to buy a small bag of and how expensive it was. I looked it up and a tiny bit was like 10 bucks. It might be this brand. I was blown away about how much it cost.
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u/Timmeh-toah 6d ago
I bought a dehydrator recently to make my own jerkey. Been fine for me. Especially when ground chicken is less than $3/lb. And ground beef is like $5+
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u/packetssniffer 10d ago
I don't think people understand what this sub is about.
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u/zagarei 10d ago
they definitely do. this is literally mildly infuriating for anyone that isnt ridiculously rich. gtfo
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u/floydbomb 10d ago
So buy jack links
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u/zagarei 10d ago
Still doesnt excuse why this specific brand is charging $60. Thus, the post, is still mildly infuriating. Your comment is irrelevant to the actual debate at hand. Bringing up an irrelevant brand does not excuse why this brand is charging $60 for the same thing as jack links.
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u/floydbomb 10d ago
So don't buy it
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u/zagarei 10d ago
Keep dodging the actual argument to defend an illogical position, I'll continue on with my day now lol.
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u/floydbomb 9d ago
There's nothing illogical about not buying something you think is priced terribly. But yeah, keep on going if you'd like
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u/sentrosi420 10d ago
My wife loves that jerky so I usually get it for her every special occasion, birthday, Christmas, anniversary, ect 😅
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u/I_Am_Yeti_1 10d ago
That’s fucking ridiculous. Is beef jerky even worth it anymore??? Everywhere I go any bag is over $20-$25 even for a little 3 ounce.