Beef Jerky

Beef Jerky - Hunter Valley Gourmet Food & Wine Tasting - Two Fat Blokes

If you like great tasting natural jerky come visit the Two Fat Blokes Deli to try a variety of gourmet jerky from Upper Hunter Smoke House, our Producer of the Month.


About Jerky

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. The word “jerky” is derived from the Quechua word ch’arki which means “dried, salted meat”. All that is needed to produce basic “jerky” is a low-temperature drying method, and salt to inhibit bacterial growth.

Modern manufactured jerky is normally marinated in a seasoned spice rub or liquid, and dried, dehydrated or smoked with low heat (usually under 70 °C/160 °F). Some product manufacturers finely grind meat, mix in seasonings, and press the meat-paste into flat shapes prior to drying.

The resulting jerky from the above methods would be a salty and/or savory snack. However, often a sweet or semi-sweet recipe is used, with sugar being a major ingredient (in contrast to biltong which is a dried meat product that utilizes the acid in vinegar rather than salt to inhibit bacterial growth when drying the meat). Jerky is ready-to-eat and needs no additional preparation. It can be stored for months without refrigeration. When the protein to moisture content ratio is correct, the resulting meat is cured, or preserved.

There are many products in the marketplace which are sold as jerky which consist of highly processed, chopped and formed meat, rather than traditional sliced, whole-muscle meat. These products may contain more fat, but moisture content, like the whole-muscle product, must meet a 0.75 to 1 moisture to protein ratio in the US. Chemical preservatives can be used to prevent oxidative spoilage, but the moisture to protein ratio prevents microbial spoilage by low water activity. Many jerky products are very high in sugar and are therefore very sweet, unlike biltong, which rarely contains added sugars.

A typical 30 g portion of fresh jerky contains 10–15 g of protein, 1 g of fat, and 0–3 g of carbohydrates, although some beef jerky can have more than 65% of protein content. Since traditional jerky recipes use a basic salt cure, sodium can be a concern for some people. A 30 g serving of jerky could contain more than 600 mg of sodium, which would be about 30% of the recommended

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Group Information

What is the minimum number of people you will pick up?

There is no minimum restriction to book so singles and couples can book tours, but there is a minimum number of people needed to run tours effectively.

We do our best to make sure every tour runs, which sometimes means shuffling minimum numbers together so tours can operate.

We need to group together at least  4 people (minimum number shown on each tour) for it to operate.

Do you take parties like a 40th or 50th?

Yes. A day tour with your friends enjoying drinks and tasty food is one of the most enjoyable but hassle free ways to celebrate a birthday. We take care of the details and let us know if you would like something extra special too!

What size groups can you cater too?

Each tour vehicle contains passengers from multiple bookings until it is filled to the ‘maximum guest limit’ (shown on each tour). This limit keeps our group small so it’s fast and fun with premium access.

A tour will operate when a minimum of four seats are booked. If there are only four seats booked, great you will have the tour all to yourselves in one of our smaller vehicles. The more a tour fills up, the bigger the vehicle we use until our maximum guest limit for that tour is reached.

If you would like a completely private tour for two, or, have a larger group than the ‘maximum guest limit’ please contact us for options.

We can cater to larger groups by combining multiple vehicles for any tour.

Transfer Locations

Location
Fee
$50 flat rate
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$0
$50 flat rate
$15 per person
$50 flat rate
$15 per person
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$50 flat rate
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$100 flat rate
$0
$0
$50 flat rate
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$60 flat rate
$60 flat rate
Not Available

Sydney Transfers

  • SYDNEY direct transfers are not available.
  • To arrive from Sydney customers can catch the train between ‘Sydney-Newcastle-Maitland’ and request a Two Fat Blokes pick-up/drop-off at ‘Maitland’.

Transfer Fee Information

  • Flat rate is a single price for pick-up/drop-off at that location whether it’s two people or a full group of people.
  • Minimum 2 person pickup is required to operate the pickup service to fee based locations.
  • Fees are in addition to your tour booking and will be collected by your guide at time of pick-up. Please pay these fees by cash, ATM’s will be available on the tour.
Visit Wineries

Discover up to 3 great wineries handpicked for you.

How do you determine which wineries are best for my group?

Because we know the area so well and try to deliver the best experiences based on:
– Rave reviews from previous tour groups
– Boutique, non-touristy locations
– Excellent wines, moderately priced
– Warm & friendly service
– Perks available (cellar tours, barrel-tasting, wine-maker available, etc.)

Which wineries do we visit?

There is no set schedule of wineries. Our tour guides will take advantage of the best winery experiences available on that day, including special events, to make sure you get the most value from your itinerary, have an enjoyable day and maximise your taste time of the Hunter Valley.