# Why is beef jerky so expensive?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-beef-jerky-so-expensive/285273>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 18, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-beef-jerky-so-expensive/285273 "2005-01-18T00:42:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-beef-jerky-so-expensive/285273/1 "2005-01-18T00:42:03Z")

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So…why is it?

This stuff goes for like $6 for eight ounces or something like that.

That’s more than sirloin. At a wild guess, I’d imagine that beef jerky isn’t quite top quality meat.

Can anyone tell me why dessicated beef is so expensive?

-Joe

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**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-beef-jerky-so-expensive/285273/2 "2005-01-18T00:47:16Z")

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I am guessing because it is dessicated beef. With all the liquids out, it probably takes a lot of meat to make that 8 ounces.

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**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-beef-jerky-so-expensive/285273/3 "2005-01-18T00:59:23Z")

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A quick search for jerky recipes reveals that it takes about a pound and a half (24 oz.) of flank steak to make 8 oz of jerky.

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**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-beef-jerky-so-expensive/285273/4 "2005-01-18T01:02:27Z")

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The price of beef jerky is determined by supply and demand.

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**Author:** ![iwakura43](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de0a6/32.png) [@iwakura43](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwakura43)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-beef-jerky-so-expensive/285273/5 "2005-01-18T02:50:39Z")

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> [@Crafter\_Man](#):
>
> The price of beef jerky is determined by supply and demand.

:smack:

The question wasn’t, why is the price of beef jerky at equilibrium; the question was, why is the supply curve for beef jerky so far to the right. I would imagine **chriscya** has addressed this point.

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**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-beef-jerky-so-expensive/285273/6 "2005-01-18T02:54:59Z")

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I have made beef jerky myself many times and it is even very expensive homemade. I generally used about $20 worth of meat and other ingredients to make a batch. I don’t really know how much the end result weighed but it would only last a day or so before I ate it all myself.