Keto bacon jerky is thick-cut bacon dry-rubbed and baked low and slow until it dries into chewy, crisp strips, about 1 gram of net carb a serving. It is the rare jerky that skips the sugar most brands lean on.
I just got back from running an errand at Sam's Club and I found a new Low Carb treat to try. I may have taken my love for bacon one step too far with bacon jerky. Unlike most jerky that is full of sugar, plain bacon jerky has only about 1g of carbohydrate. Aside from being a nice snack while on the run, it is also a perfect addition to any salad. Unlike bacon bits that have really only one use, bacon jerky can be used in many ways. If you would rather buy it than make it, the Oberto snack packs at Sam's Club are the ones I keep on hand.
From charqui to bacon
Jerky is one of the oldest ways to keep meat. The word comes from charqui, the Quechua term for the dried, salted meat the peoples of the Andes made to last through seasons without refrigeration. The principle has not changed: pull the water out and the meat keeps. Bacon is already cured and salted, which is half the work done, so drying it in a low oven is the short path to the same chewy, concentrated result. Because it starts cured, plain bacon jerky stays low carb where sweetened beef jerky does not.
Low and slow on a wire rack
Two things separate jerky from a scorched mess. The first is heat: keep the oven low, around 250°F, and give it time, because high heat burns the edges long before the middle dries. The second is a wire rack. Lifting the strips lets hot air move underneath and the rendered fat drip away, so the bacon dries instead of sitting and steaming in its own grease. A dry rub rather than a wet, sugary marinade keeps it from burning and keeps the carbs down. Baked this long the bacon is fully cooked well past safe, so this is about texture, drying it to chewy. It is one of the travel picks in my low carb snacks guide.
Sources:
USDA FoodData Central, nutrient reference for bacon
Sugarfreechic test kitchen, bacon jerky notes
