Deer jerky sits at the intersection of wild-game abundance, careful preparation, and food safety. Available research ranges from an estimated 11,402–14,473 metric tons of edible venison procured by Michigan deer hunters during the 2013 season to detailed guidance on temperatures, thicknesses, and drying times. The figures below keep each measurement period, geography, and source distinct.
Table of contents
- Venison supply and sharing
- How deer yield compares with elk
- Processing and contamination data
- Temperatures and drying times
- Jerky dimensions, recipes, and storage
- What the extension guidance measures
Venison supply and sharing
A USGS study of wild-harvested venison estimated that Michigan deer hunters procured 11,402–14,473 metric tons of edible venison during the 2013 hunting season. That is an estimate for one state and one season, not a national production total. The same study shows why jerky can be a community food as well as a household project: 85% of hunters who harvested a deer shared venison with other people.
Among hunters who shared, the average reach was 5.6 people. Sharing reached the hunters’ own households in 69% of cases, relatives in 52%, and friends, neighbors, or coworkers in 50%. These categories can overlap, so they should not be added into a single percentage. USGS study on wild-harvested venison
The broader hunting context is also regional. A CDC venison and E. coli report placed annual U.S. big-game hunting prevalence at 7%, corresponding to about 11.3 million Americans hunting big game such as deer or elk each year. The reported prevalence was 4% in the Pacific States and 14% in the North Central States. Those figures describe participation, not the amount of jerky made or consumed. CDC venison and E. coli report
How deer yield compares with elk
USDA’s Cooking Yield Data for Meat and Poultry lists ground deer at an 83% broiled/grilled yield. The entry was based on 3 samples, reported a standard deviation of 1.9, and gave a lower bound of 81% and an upper bound of 85%. It also listed a cooking-loss figure of -17.7 and a change value of -0.1. The deer yield data were published in 2001, so these are historical database figures rather than a current national estimate.
For comparison, ground elk was listed at an 84% broiled/grilled yield. That entry used 5 samples, had a standard deviation of 3.7, and gave an 80%–89% range. Its cooking-loss figure was -15.0 and its change value was -1.5. The different sample counts and spreads matter when comparing the entries.
| USDA database entry | Yield | Samples | Standard deviation | Listed range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ground deer, broiled/grilled | 83% | 3 | 1.9 | 81%–85% |
| Ground elk, broiled/grilled | 84% | 5 | 3.7 | 80%–89% |
The USDA venison sampling used Venison America in Newport, Minnesota, and Wisconsin Venison in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The report described them as the two largest venison wholesalers in the upper Midwest. Each wholesaler had approximately 9 contract growers across Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The venison samples were 93% lean ground venison, and the study used 7 patty production lots. USDA Cooking Yield Data for Meat and Poultry
The same report provides a separate scale reference for North American bison: a cooperative harvested approximately 60% of North American bison yearly, represented 350 producers, and covered 19 states plus 4 Canadian provinces. Those bison figures are not deer-jerky production figures, but they help show how differently organized commercial supply data can be from hunter-harvest data.
Processing and contamination data
The CDC report includes several historical food-safety figures connected with deer meat. In a Georgia field study, 3 of 77 hunter-killed white-tailed deer carried E. coli O157, a reported prevalence of 4%. The result applies to that field study and should not be treated as a universal prevalence rate for all deer.
The same report links a 1995 outbreak cluster to black-tailed deer jerky. In the Connecticut investigation, 55 patient isolates were subtyped in that year. Those isolates produced 26 distinct PFGE patterns, of which 20 were unique. The report states that the unique patterns represented 77% of the patterns identified in that year. It also describes a 2-day interval between kill and processing as a plausible factor that amplified contamination. These are historical investigation figures; the report does not establish a current outbreak rate.
USDA FSIS says traditional drying methods for beef and venison jerky have raised concerns about Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 illness. Its guidance says jerky should be heated to 160°F or more before dehydration. A Spanish-language FSIS jerky page reports that some laboratory experiments found pathogenic E. coli surviving drying times of up to 10 hours and temperatures up to 145°F. These observations explain why drying alone is not the only temperature control to consider. USDA FSIS Jerky and Food Safety
Temperatures and drying times
Extension guidance gives several specific temperature-and-time combinations for venison. Michigan State University recommends steaming or roasting venison to 160°F before dehydrating. It recommends a pre-heated food dehydrator at 140°F and a dehydration period of 10–24 hours. MSU also recommends freezing venison in pieces less than 6 inches thick for a minimum of 30 days. Finished jerky can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 weeks in sealed containers under that guidance. MSU Extension
Penn State Extension says venison cuts should reach a minimum internal temperature of 160°F, while jerky should be heated to at least 160–165°F. Its guidance says a hot marinade dip can last about 1 minute before drying. Penn State Extension
USDA FSIS likewise says jerky should reach 160°F or more before dehydration. Its sausage guidance uses 160°F for uncooked sausage made with ground beef, pork, lamb, or veal, and 165°F for uncooked sausage made with ground turkey or chicken. The sausage page distinguishes dry, semi-dry, and cooked ready-to-eat sausages, so those categories should not be treated as interchangeable with whole-muscle deer jerky. USDA FSIS Sausages and Food Safety
Utah State University’s home-drying guide starts jerky at 160°F and allows the temperature to drop to 140°F about halfway through drying. Its Method 1 recommends a 1-hour refrigerator cure followed by 24 hours of drying. USU says sun drying is not recommended because of poor temperature control and contamination risk. USU Extension
Jerky dimensions, recipes, and storage
The MSU Extension bulletin E-657 gives a Michigan venison recipe using 5 pounds of meat cut into 1/4-inch strips. The seasoning amounts for that batch are 2 ounces of salt, 0.16 ounce of ground pepper, and 1 ounce of sugar. The meat chills for 24 hours in the refrigerator. The recipe then holds the jerky at 165°F until it reaches temperature and for a minimum of 60 minutes, followed by drying at 140°F for 48 hours or until the desired dryness is reached. MSU Extension bulletin E-657
The bulletin’s pickle-cured recipe uses 1 gallon of water, 8 ounces of salt, 3.5 ounces of sugar, and 0.5 ounce of ground pepper. It leaves the strips in the refrigerator overnight, then runs cold tap water over the meat for 1 hour. Its smokehouse process starts at 170°F and continues until the meat reaches 165°F. The hot pickle-cured method boils fresh meat strips for about 1–2 minutes until they turn gray; the bulletin says boiling brine sterilizes the meat surface before drying.
USU Method 2 uses strips 1/4–1/2 inch thick and 1-1/2 inches wide, with lengths of 4–12 inches. For flavoring, the guide recommends 1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke in 2 tablespoons of water. It recommends storing jerky in airtight jars or plastic bags. USU describes jerky as lean meat dried to about one-fourth of its original weight, a general description of moisture loss rather than a yield calculation for a particular deer. The guide also says boiling canned venison meat for 10–15 minutes before use can be used as an added precaution if desired.
What the extension guidance measures
The available figures cover several different kinds of measurement. The Michigan harvest estimate measures edible venison procured during one 2013 season. The CDC figures measure hunting prevalence, deer-test results, and historical outbreak investigation patterns. The USDA yield entries measure broiled/grilled database yields from small samples published in 2001. Extension recommendations measure preparation conditions—temperature, time, thickness, and storage limits—not the prevalence of contamination in a particular batch.
That distinction is especially important for home processing. A 160°F or 165°F target is a preparation control, while the 3-of-77 Georgia result is a field-study observation. Likewise, a 10–24-hour or 24-hour drying period is a recommendation tied to a method, not proof that every dehydrator, cut, or batch reaches the same water activity. The supplied USDA Forest Service Tongass assessment charts reported deer harvest in Southeast Alaska hunting units for every year from 1997 through 2023, but it does not provide a national deer-jerky total or a direct comparison with Michigan’s 2013 edible-venison estimate. USDA Forest Service Tongass assessment
For wild-game cooks, the most directly useful numeric pattern is therefore a sequence: use the applicable pre-dehydration heat target, keep thickness and drying time consistent with the chosen method, and treat storage limits as method-specific. The cited sources provide the measured temperatures, times, dimensions, and historical observations; they do not support a single nationwide statistic for how much deer jerky Americans make.