Jerky is lean meat that has been trimmed of fat, cut into strips, and then dried to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt, to prevent bacteria from developing on the meat before sufficient moisture has been removed.
Jerky is a form of meat preservation in which fresh meat is dried to prevent it from spoiling. The word “jerky” comes from a South American native tribe called the Quechua, originally part of the ancient Inca empire, as early as 1550. They called it ch'arki, which means “to burn (meat)”.