Chicken Jerky vs Beef Jerky: Texture, Protein and Which to Buy

Chicken and turkey jerky are leaner and milder than beef jerky, and usually drier and more fibrous. Beef jerky has more flavor and a better chew. We make certified Glatt Kosher beef snacks only, so this is an honest look at both sides, and at which one to buy.

What chicken jerky and turkey jerky actually are

All jerky is the same idea. Take lean meat, season it, dry it until it keeps. What changes is the animal, and the animal changes almost everything you notice when you bite in.

Chicken jerky and turkey jerky are poultry strips. Usually that means breast meat, sliced or sometimes formed, then marinated and dried. Beef jerky is beef, most often a lean cut sliced across or with the grain. Biltong, which we also make, is beef too, but it is cured with vinegar and spices and air-dried instead of cooked.

Chicken and turkey are close cousins here. They behave almost the same in a jerky bag, so when this article says poultry jerky, it means both. The searches are about equal in size, and the buying advice is the same.

Texture: where the real difference is

Texture is the first thing you will notice, and it is the main reason people switch back and forth.

• Beef jerky chews. Beef has more fat running through it and a heavier muscle structure. A good strip bends, resists, then gives. It has some weight to it.
• Poultry jerky tends to be drier and stringier. Chicken and turkey breast are very lean. With little fat to keep the strip supple, they dry out faster and shred along the grain. A well-made one is firm and a little fibrous. A poorly made one is like chewing a flavored rope.
• Poultry is milder. Chicken and turkey taste lighter than beef, so the marinade does most of the talking. That is fine if you like a teriyaki or a pepper kick. It is a drawback if you wanted the taste of meat.

None of that is a rule for every bag. A good maker can make a tender chicken strip, and a careless one can make a leathery beef strip. We wrote about the second problem in why jerky ends up mushy or low quality. But if you pick up a random bag of each, the beef will usually chew better and the poultry will usually be drier.

Protein, fat and what to read on the label

Both are high in protein. That is the point of jerky: the water is gone, so what is left is concentrated meat. We are not going to quote a protein number for either one, because it varies by brand, by serving size and by how much sugar is in the marinade. Read the panel on the bag in your hand.

Here is what is safe to say. Chicken and turkey breast are leaner than most beef, so poultry jerky is generally lower in fat. That is the honest case for it, and it is a real one if fat is what you are watching. But fat is not the only thing on the label, and the ingredient list is where poultry jerky can quietly lose its edge. To compare any two bags:

1. Find the first ingredient. It should be the meat. If sugar or soy sauce comes before it, the bag is more marinade than meat.
2. Count the sugar. Sweet marinades are common on poultry jerky, because sugar covers the mildness. Brown sugar, honey and syrup all count.
3. Work out protein per ounce. Take the grams on the panel and divide by the serving weight in ounces. That is the fair comparison.
4. Check the sodium. Dried meat is salted. Poultry jerky is not exempt.
5. Check whether it is whole meat or formed. Whole muscle strips are the cleaner buy. Formed strips are chopped meat pressed together.

Kosher: the part most jerky articles skip

This is where our view differs from a general jerky guide. For a kosher household, the animal matters before the flavor does.

• Chicken and turkey are both kosher birds, but only if the bird is slaughtered and processed under supervision. A regular grocery bag of poultry jerky does not meet that standard just because chicken is a kosher species.
• Every ingredient has to be kosher too. Marinades are where this goes wrong. Sauces, flavorings and glazes often contain things that are not kosher, or that cannot be verified.
• Poultry counts as meat. Chicken and turkey are kept separate from dairy, the same as beef. Keep meat and dairy separate, and wait between them according to your family's custom. If you are unsure how long, ask your rabbi.

We sell beef only. Our biltong and Meat Candy are certified Glatt Kosher, and we do not make a chicken or turkey jerky. If you want the full picture of what to check on any bag, read Is Beef Jerky Kosher? What to Check.

Where Grub fits

If you came here deciding between poultry and beef, here is how we would think about the choice, and what we make.

• You want the most beef flavor and a real chew. Choose beef jerky. Our Meat Candy is real, whole sliced beef, cooked and glazed. Hickory Kickory Dock is the smoky, classic one. Baa-Baa BBQ Sheep is Korean BBQ, sweet and savory together. Meat Candy uses a glaze, so check the label for anything you need to avoid.
• You want a savory snack with a short ingredient list. Choose biltong. Our Sliced Biltong comes in Original, Peri Peri and Loaded Garlic. Original is grass-fed kosher beef, coriander, black pepper, salt, garlic and vinegar. There is no sugar in that list.
• You want something leaner than beef. That is the one job poultry jerky does better. We do not make it, so we cannot recommend a bag.

Our full jerky range is on the kosher beef jerky page, and every biltong size, flavor and sampler is on Buy Biltong Online. If you are still working out whether biltong or jerky suits you, we compare them side by side in Biltong vs Beef Jerky: The Complete Comparison.

When poultry jerky is the better choice, and when beef is the wrong pick

We sell beef, so you should hear the case against it from us.

• Beef is the wrong pick if you want the lowest fat. Poultry breast is leaner. If that is your priority, poultry wins on that one measure.
• Beef is the wrong pick if you do not eat red meat. Some people avoid it for taste or for personal reasons. Then poultry is the answer, and no argument from us will change that.
• Beef can be too sweet. Meat Candy is sweet on purpose. If you want savory, pick biltong, not Meat Candy.
• Poultry is the wrong pick if you hate dry, stringy meat. That is the common complaint, and it is built into how lean the bird is.
• Neither is cheap protein. Eggs and canned fish cost less per gram. You are paying for convenience, and with ours, for grass-fed beef and kosher certification.
• It is salty. If you have a medical reason to limit sodium, talk to your doctor first.

How to choose in thirty seconds

• Want flavor and chew: beef jerky.
• Want savory and a short ingredient list: biltong.
• Want the leanest bag: poultry jerky, from a kosher source if you keep kosher.
• Not sure: buy a small bag of each and let your own mouth decide. Our sampler pack has one mini bag each of Original, Peri Peri and Loaded Garlic biltong, which is a cheap way to find out whether you want the beef texture at all.

Biltong and jerky are both ready to eat the moment you open the bag. Do not cook either one. Reseal after opening and keep it out of the heat. We ship within the US only, and US orders over $50 ship free.

The bottom line

Poultry jerky is the lean, mild, dry option. Beef jerky is the flavorful, chewy one. For most people, beef is the better snack, and for a kosher household, it is the easier one to trust. If you want savory, buy biltong. If you want sweet, buy Meat Candy. Both are certified Glatt Kosher, and both are real beef.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is chicken jerky healthier than beef jerky?

It is usually leaner, because chicken breast has less fat than most beef. "Healthier" depends on the whole label, though. Sugar and sodium vary a lot by brand. Compare the ingredient lists and protein per ounce, and do not judge by the animal alone.

Is turkey jerky different from chicken jerky?

Not much. Both are lean poultry, both dry out easily, and both are mild enough that the marinade carries the flavor. If you like one, you will probably be fine with the other.

Which has more protein, chicken jerky or beef jerky?

It depends on the brand. Both are high in protein, and the number is driven mostly by how much meat is in the bag and how much sugar is in the marinade. Take the grams on the panel and divide by the serving weight in ounces to compare fairly.

Is chicken or turkey jerky kosher?

Only if the bird was slaughtered and processed under kosher supervision and every other ingredient is kosher too. Chicken and turkey are kosher species, but that alone does not make a bag kosher. Look for a reliable kosher certification on the package, and ask your rabbi if you are unsure.

Does Grub make chicken or turkey jerky?

No. We make beef only: Sliced Biltong, Meat Candy and a few small-batch extras. All of it is certified Glatt Kosher.

Why is chicken jerky so dry?

Chicken breast has very little fat. Fat is what keeps a dried strip supple, so lean poultry dries hard and shreds along the grain. A careful maker can soften this, but it is the nature of the meat.

Can I eat jerky with dairy?

No. Beef and poultry jerky are both meat, so they stay separate from dairy. How long you wait between meat and dairy follows your family's custom. If you are unsure, ask your rabbi.

Do you ship outside the US?

No. We ship within the US only, and US orders over $50 ship free.