It should bend and look like splinters where it bends. It should not break. It also should not feel moist. Cutting 1/2 inch is too thick, it should be more like 1/4 inch thick. Try cutting the meat while partly frozen and it will be easier.

The science behind the staling of bread is really interesting to study. You need to choose the right ingredients, don't over-bake the bread, and to choose the correct type of wrapping to help keep breads "fresh" longer than 2-3 days. Moisture changes in the loaf after it cools, and that contributes to staling through evaporation and moisture redistribution. If you leave your loaves unwrapped, you will quickly see a 10% weight loss, but usually less than 1% in tightly-wrapped bread. So how quickly you package your loaves after they are cool, and what you package them in can affect it's "freshness". Choose a close wrap - such as plastic wrap or a tight-fitting plastic bag, rather than a loose-fitting plastic bag. If you reuse plastic bags for your bread storage, make sure they are sprayed with a bleach/water solution (1-quart water and 1 t. bleach) to kill any mold spores on the bag surface. Adding coconut oil to your bread will also aid in preventing mold longer than using vegetable oil or butter, as well as using honey and agave nectar instead of sugar. When bread is wrapped loosely in a plastic bag, the moisture from the crumb of the bread quickly migrates through the crust and then into the air in the bag. Even more so if the bread has one end sliced, or if you slice the entire loaf. I only slice bread as needed so it stays fresh longer. The moisture level in the crust increases from about 12 to 28% when stored in a loose-fitting plastic bag, such as a zip-lock bag which is much larger than the loaf of bread. The worst place to store bread is in the refrigerator. In one scientific experiment I have in my files on the subject, refrigerated bread staled as much in one day as bread held at 86°F did in six. Because of the ingredients I use, methods of making and proper storage of the bread, the 100% whole wheat bread recipe I make will stay fresh enough for a peanut butter sandwich after 7 days. We typically use one 1-pound loaf of bread a week. Those ingredients that aid in preventing staling and mold are agave nectar (or honey), coconut oil, and a mixture of chia seeds and water. Chia seeds hold moisture in the crumb of the bread. I also use an overnight sponge method to make the bread, make sure the dough is well-hydrated, use a long, cool, slow rise, and make sure I don't over-bake the bread. If you choose to make lean breads, they begin to stale within 2 hours of baking, which is why fat-free loaves like Italian or French breads stale so quickly. Fats slow staling by improving the loaf volume. -Sweeteners slow staling directly by retaining moisture. The better choices for sweeteners are honey and agave nectar, especially if you are going to freeze the bread. -Use emulsifiers, such as egg yolks or lecithin. Choose breads that are good keepers to begin with. -panettone -breads made with starters (acidic doughs) -breads prepared with cold slow rises -breads that include moist cooked grains (wheat, rice, etc.) or fruit (such as raisins or currants). -breads containing dairy products, potato, potato starch, mashed potato or other mashed cooked vegetable, potato water, eggs, oatmeal (dry or cooked), etc. -well-hydrated (moist) doughs - Slack doughs, along with optimum proofing and oven temperatures, maximize absorption and reduce staling. It's better to err on the side of a wet dough. If your dough is dry and you over-bake the loaf, this contributes to breads quickly drying out and going stale. Bake most panned loaves of bread to an internal temperature between 195-205°F. The higher the temperature, the dryer the loaf will be. Some of the more interesting aspects of staling breads... -Unwrapped bread looses moisture and flavor faster, but retains crumb texture. If you use a loaf of bread quickly, just up-end the cut side on a cutting board and cover the loaf with a cotton towel. This method is often used by people because they like the improved crumb texture from using this method. -Wrapped bread stays softer (especially if you wrap the bread while it's still slightly warm) and tastes better (especially when wrapped after the loaf is completely cool), but the crust softens faster. -The crumb firms fastest at low temperatures between 20-50°F, which are refrigerator temperatures. -High storage temperatures (above 95°F) affect color and flavor. -Optimum storage temperature for bread is 70-95°F. -Freezing at 0° to -20°F has the effect of about one day's storage time, but cold storage effectively stops all other aspects of staling IF the bread is tightly wrapped in one or two layers of plastic wrap, then a layer of foil. Tight wrapping is necessary to keep the moisture in the crumb from migrating through the crust, creating ice crystals which are found when bread is stored in a loose-fitting bag in the freezer. -You can re-gelatinize the starches in stale bread by spritzing a slice with a fine mist spritzer (often used for plants) mist the slice with water. Warm the slice/s in a toaster for a moment or two. You can only use this method once. If you want to re-gelatinize a whole loaf, or a portion of an unsliced loaf, wrap it in foil and bake it for 10-20 minutes at 300-350°F. But you will need to use it quickly. -Grainlady

I find that one Nesco dehydrator tray full of jerky can fit into one quart sized ziplock bag. I store those bags in the freezer, moving one bag at a time to the fridge when I want some; I'll usually eat the stuff in the fridge in a few days. Doing it this way I've never had any go bad. I don't use nitrites or nitrates. You didn't ask, but here's my favorite formula for jerky: Guinness Beef Jerky Marinade (This amount of marinade is sufficient for about 5 to 6 pounds of beef, which I find fill my Nesco dehydrator's eight trays fairly full) 5 to 6 lbs lean beef, sliced thinly--see Note 1 2 bottles (12-14 oz each) Guinness Stout 2 tablespoons kosher salt OR 3 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce--see Note 2 2 tablespoons garlic powder 2-4 tablespoons hot stuff --see Note 3 optional: liquid smoke, 1 to 2 tbsp In a large bowl pour stout and add salt, whisking to dissolve salt and decarbonate the stout. Add the garlic powder and hot stuff and mix well. Put the beef strips in the marinade by handfuls, swirling around to make sure all surfaces have come in contact with the marinade. Place the beef in a nonreactive container (a stainless stockpot works fine), pour the remaining marinade over the beef, mix well and refrigerate for at least an hour (more is better--overnight is fine). If you have time, mix up the beef strips every so often in the marinade. Place the strips flat on the trays and dry to your desired amount of dryness. I prefer crisp to leathery, but do it however you want. Note 1: Before slicing the beef, trim all extra fat off the surface of the meat. I like to use round roast because it's very lean; whenever possible, slice the strips across the grain. Slicing it with the grain results in a stringy final product. Eye of round costs a little more, but is very lean and also is very easy to slice across the grain, and that yields a less stringy product. Don't use a fatty cut of meat because it won't dry as thoroughly and won't have the storage properties of a leaner cut. (The fat can turn rancid.) Note 2: I have found mushroom flavored soy sauce at an Asian market. It works great in this recipe. Note 3: For the hot stuff, cayenne works well; you have to judge for yourself how hot your particular cayenne pepper is. (Mass market cayenne from brands like McCormick is relatively mild; powdered chili peppers from a Mexican or Indian market will be much hotter.) If you’re unsure, go easy with the hot stuff. You can always sprinkle a little more hot stuff on the finished product if you wish. I have used chipotle powder with good results; 4 tablespoons in this recipe makes a quite hot product, and 2 tbsp makes a pleasantly zingy one. If you want something quite mild, use sweet Hungarian paprika which would make a product not at all hot but would still have a good flavor. You can also use smoked Spanish paprika (‘pimenton’) which comes in three degrees of hotness (sweet, bittersweet & hot). If you use that, though, or chipotle powder, don’t use any additional smoke flavor. --Don't use a hot sauce that's vinegar based (like Tabasco or Sriracha)--the vinegar taste will be concentrated in the finished product.

This is the recipe that came with my dehydrator. I've never tried it. My dehydrator says for beef jerky takes 8-10 hours. Mine has two vents, and the top is set on 4, the lower on 3. I let mine dehydrate overnight, and it took about 10 to 11 hours, total, but I used ground meat (see below) DEHYDRATOR BEEF JERKY Most meats are suitable for making jerky, but leaner cuts such as Round, Flank, or Rump are preferred over Chuck and Rib. Pork should be avoided, and Chicken is best and safest when it is cooked first before dehydrating. Have your butcher slice the meat to about 1/4" thick. Cut the slices into 1" strips. Be sure to cut across the grain. Excess fat and gristle should be removed. meats are usually easier to slice if they are partially frozen. There are many spices that may be used for marinating. Salt should be used in moderation as dried meats become much more savory. Of course, the longer the meats are marinated and the more spices are used, the more flavorful the jerky will be. A little lemon juice will help maintain the red color of the meat. Vinegar cuts some of the gamey taste out of wild meats. SOUTHWEST JERKY 1 tsp. pepper 3 tbsp. chili powder 1 tsp. salt 1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper 2 cloves garlic (minced) 2 tsp. cumin 2 lbs. meat sliced Combine ingredients and thoroughly mix together This is a dry marinade so there is no liquid. Sprinkle the spice mixture on the meat slices and work into the grain withi your fingers. Cover and marinate overnight. Dehydrate. This is out of the book too, but I used it with ground round, which I just rolled really flat between wax paper, and froze, then sliced into strips and marinated. I had to put it back into the freezer to partially freeze it to get it to lay out in the dehydrator. I had to use a layer of paper towels to catch the grease, and help it dry. It made a nice skin, but seemed to take forever to get done! I tried it again in the oven at 150, and it did much better. I tried "rolling" some of them, but it just didn't work well. It wouldn't make a skin at all, and it was gooey inside, like it wasn't done. CLASSIC MARINADE (Makes about 1/2 lb. jerky) 3 tbsp. brown sugar 1 tsp. pepper 1 tsp. salt 1 tbsp Liquid Smoke 1/4 c. soy sauce 1/4 c. Worchestershire Sauce 2 lbs. Round or Flank Steak (sliced thin) Mix all marinade ingredients in bowl, pour over meat slices, thoroughly wet all sides of meat and layer in the marinating dish, cover tightly and marinate in fridge overnight. Rotate meat layers every couple of hours if you can. (this is why I did it during the day). Drain othe marinated meat and spread non-overlapping on dehydrator trays. (You can save the marinade for anotehr batch later). **For a chewy texture, slice the meat with the grain, or across the grain for a more tender jerky. Good luck!