Cecina was first introduced by the native tribe of South America (Peru) called Quechua (part of the ancient Inca Empire) in 1550. The product (Ch’arki) was boneless and defatted meat (venison, elk or buffalo) sliced and greased with salt. This meat was rolled on the skin of the animal for 10-12 hours and then dried in the sun or smoked over fire.
In South America, Native Americans ate sun-dried venison and buffalo called tassajo, which were prepared from strips of meat dipped in cornmeal, dried in the sun and wind, and then rolled into balls. The Cree Indians of North America mixed berries and tallow (fat) with cooked meat, mashed and pressed into small concentrated cakes to make pemmican.
Biltong came from pioneering South African ancestors who dried meat in the sun while traveling the African subcontinent. Folklore says that members of African tribes placed strips of venison under the saddles of their horses to tenderize and flavor the meat. The seasoning became a mixture of vinegar, salt, sugar, coriander, and other spices.
The Indians and the first settlers dried the meat mainly of deer, elk or buffalo using salt, the spices they had and drying in the sun. When the Spanish arrived, the name evolved to charqui. Most travelers preferred to pound jerky between large stones and boil it in water before eating it. During the exploration and colonization of the ocean, Spanish sailors supplied the Pacific islands with goats. What couldn’t be eaten was cut into strips and hung on their boats to air dry. When the Spanish conquerors invaded America, they were surprised to see the natives of North America drying meat as well. Soon, the natives adopted the Spanish term, Charqui, only adding their accent; the word “jerky” first appeared.
North American pioneers first dried meat by hanging it outside their covered wagon to dry in the sun (2-3 days). Another method was to build a scaffold over low heat and smoke the strips. While the heat and smoke would complete the process in half a day, the smoking method required a scale; It wasn’t long before disease and germ awareness became widespread and smoking became the norm.
Today, jerky is made from thin strips of virtually any meat or ground or minced and formed meat. Manufacturers flavor and dehydrate the product; some introduce smoke or use liquid smoke for flavor.