What’s Actually In Our Jerky

What it is: A curing salt that’s been used to preserve meat for thousands of years. Yes, it sounds like a lab chemical. The name is technical. The function is ancient.

Why we use it: Sodium nitrite does three critical jobs in cured meat. It prevents botulism — a deadly bacteria that thrives in sealed, low-oxygen environments like meat sticks. It gives cured meats their signature pink-red color. And it extends shelf life so the product is safe to ship and store.

The honest take: Sodium nitrite has been linked to potential health concerns, particularly when it forms compounds called nitrosamines during high-heat cooking. The World Health Organization has flagged processed meats as a Group 1 carcinogen partly because of this. The risk is real but small in normal snacking quantities. Eating a meat stick a few times a week is not the same risk profile as eating crispy bacon every morning. We use sodium nitrite in some of our snack sticks because it’s the traditional, time-tested method, and we believe the food safety benefit outweighs the small theoretical risk at typical consumption levels. If you want to read our full take on this, check out our honest blog post on nitrate-free jerky claims.

What it is: Dried, fermented celery juice. Celery is naturally high in nitrates. When you ferment celery juice, those nitrates convert to nitrites. Dry it out and you get a fine powder.

Why we use it: Celery powder does the exact same job as sodium nitrite in cured meats. Same curing function. Same color. Same shelf life. The difference is the source — celery powder comes from a vegetable instead of being chemically synthesized.

The honest take: We want to be straight with you here. Many brands market products with celery powder as “Nitrate Free” or “Uncured” because the USDA allows that labeling. We don’t, because functionally and biologically, the nitrites your body processes are the same whether they came from a bottle of sodium nitrite or fermented celery. We use celery powder in our jerky and Zick Sticks not because it’s healthier than sodium nitrite, but because it produces a slightly different flavor profile our customers prefer for those products. We won’t pretend it makes the product nitrite-free.

What it is: Citric acid is the same acid found naturally in lemons, limes, and oranges. “Encapsulated” means it’s coated with a thin layer of vegetable fat so it doesn’t release until the meat is heated during processing.

Why we use it: In small batch jerky, citric acid helps with the curing process and adds a subtle tangy note. The encapsulation matters because raw citric acid would react too early in the mixing process. The coating melts away at the right temperature and releases the acid where it’s needed.

The honest take: Citric acid is generally recognized as safe by the FDA and shows up in everything from soft drinks to baby food. The encapsulation coating is food-grade vegetable fat. There’s nothing exotic happening here despite the technical-sounding name.

What it is: A simple sugar, chemically identical to glucose. It’s typically derived from corn, though potato and other sources exist.

Why we use it: Dextrose plays two roles in cured meat. First, it’s food for the good bacteria that handle fermentation during curing — those bacteria consume the sugar and produce lactic acid, which preserves the meat. Second, it balances the saltiness and rounds out the flavor.

The honest take: Most of the dextrose gets consumed by bacteria during the curing process, so the finished product contains very little of it. The small amount that remains is a basic sugar, no different in your body than the glucose from a piece of fruit. It’s not high-fructose corn syrup or anything engineered.

What they are: Real sugars from real sources. Brown sugar is cane sugar with molasses added back in. Maple sugar and maple syrup come from maple trees. Molasses is what’s left after refining cane sugar.

Why we use them: These add depth of flavor, balance the saltiness, and help with browning during the smoking process. In flavored products like our Maple Duck Jerky, they’re a defining flavor note. In other products, they’re a background ingredient that rounds out the overall taste.

The honest take: These are real ingredients with real sugar in them. Sugar is sugar, regardless of how natural the source. If you’re avoiding added sugars, check the nutrition panel on the specific product you’re buying — we list the actual grams per serving.

What it is: A derivative of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). The name is intimidating, but chemically it’s a close cousin to the vitamin C in your morning orange juice.

Why we use it: Sodium erythorbate speeds up and stabilizes the curing process when used alongside sodium nitrite. It also helps lock in the color and reduces the formation of those nitrosamine compounds we talked about earlier — which is genuinely a good thing.

The honest take: This one actually makes cured meats safer, not less safe. It’s recognized as safe by the FDA and used in cured meats specifically to reduce health risks associated with nitrites. The scary-sounding name doesn’t reflect the actual function.

What it is: A thin, edible casing made from cow collagen — the same protein that’s in bones, tendons, and connective tissue. It’s processed into a uniform tube that holds the meat during smoking.

Why we use it: Casings are what give snack sticks their shape and that signature snap when you bite into one. Collagen casings are stronger and more consistent than natural casings (which are made from animal intestines), and they’re fully edible.

The honest take: If you eat the stick, you’re eating the casing. Some people prefer natural casings for traditional reasons. Collagen casings are made from cow byproducts that would otherwise go to waste, which is arguably more sustainable. Both options are USDA approved and safe.

What it is: Yes, “spices” is sometimes a single line item on our labels. Federal labeling rules allow this catch-all term when a blend of spices is used, partly to protect proprietary recipes.

Why it appears that way: The Zick family has been refining their seasoning blends for over 40 years. Some recipes use 8–12 different spices in specific proportions that are part of the trade craft. Listing every single one would give competitors a roadmap to copy our products.

The honest take: “Spices” in our products means actual culinary spices — pepper, paprika, garlic, onion, mustard seed, coriander, that kind of thing. Not flavor enhancers, not MSG, not lab-created flavor compounds. If you have a specific allergy concern, email us and we’ll tell you exactly whether your trigger ingredient is in a specific product.

What it is: Sodium chloride. Standard food-grade salt.

Why we use it: Salt is the most fundamental ingredient in cured meat. It draws moisture out of the meat (which inhibits bacterial growth), enhances flavor, and is essential to every curing tradition on earth.

The honest take: Cured meats are naturally high in sodium. There’s no way around it — the salt is doing real work, not just adding flavor. Check the nutrition label on each product for exact sodium content per serving. If you’re on a sodium-restricted diet, cured meats are probably not the right snack category for you.