There are many reasons why beef jerkys are expensive. One of the main reasons is that it takes a lot more meat to produce the 2.7 ounces of beef jerky that you buy in stores. Since beef is about 60% water, most of its weight disappears once it gets dehydrated so you get a lot less than the meat that you started with. Another reason is the quality of the meat. The meat used for beef jerky is lean meat and this choice of meat is generally more expensive than the fattier meat choices. The final reason is because it is labor intensive. The entire process of making jerky is time-consuming and tedious. You would spend at least three days to make a large batch of bear jerkies.