About Cole Hartley & JerkyNest
My name is Cole Hartley. I have been making jerky at home for five years and eating commercial jerky for much longer. I started making my own when I realized how much sodium, sugar, and preservative filler was hiding in popular store brands — and how different a batch made with good meat and honest seasonings tastes. JerkyNest is where I share what I have learned about both sides: the best commercial jerkies worth buying and the gear for making your own.
The jerky market ranges from genuinely excellent small-batch producers to mass-market products that use meat by-products, liquid smoke, and enough sodium to last a geological era. My job here is to distinguish them clearly.
My background
I grew up hunting and fishing in Montana, where drying and curing meat is a normal part of how a household deals with a good season. My grandmother made beef jerky in a countertop dehydrator and elk jerky in a cold smoker, and that early exposure gave me a baseline for what the process should produce. I have since formalized that knowledge: I own a commercial-grade dehydrator, a pellet smoker, and a manual meat slicer, and I make jerky from beef, turkey, venison, and salmon regularly.
I also backpack seriously — jerky is the ideal trail food because of its protein density and shelf stability — which means I have field-tested dried meat in conditions that reveal durability, packaging quality, and whether the texture holds up after a hot afternoon in a pack.
How I review jerky and dehydrators
For commercial jerkies, I evaluate:
- Ingredient quality — what cut of meat? Are there fillers, by-products, or unnecessary additives?
- Protein density — protein per ounce relative to the price. Jerky should be protein-efficient.
- Sodium content — healthy jerky is naturally lower-sodium. High sodium is often a sign of lower-quality meat being compensated with seasoning.
- Texture and chew — too dry is brittle; too wet is spongy. The ideal is firm with give.
- Flavor — does the seasoning complement the meat, or mask it? Is the smoke flavor natural or from liquid smoke?
For dehydrators and accessories, I evaluate drying capacity, temperature range and consistency, ease of cleaning, noise level, and whether the finished product comes out evenly dried without hot spots.
What you will find here
JerkyNest covers beef, turkey, bison, and exotic meat jerkies, dehydrators and smokers for home making, and accessories (meat slicers, jerky guns, cure kits). I earn a commission when you buy through my links, which supports the site without influencing what I recommend.