If you've tried a few different brands of jerky you would have noticed they all vary in texture. Some beef jerky is softer and easy to chew. This style of jerky is not dried as long and has a higher water content. This soft jerky can be eaten quickly. Sometimes you might notice the jerky is almost see through. This means it has been made with a meat paste and not meat strips. This meat paste is usually cheap ground beef and the fatty offcuts, mixed with spices and preservatives. This paste is processed and pressed into uniform strips to dry. This is a cheap beef jerky.Tough jerky is more traditional and will take longer to chew. This is generally what people think of when talking about beef jerky. Made with strips of beef that have been marinated and laid out to dry. This is the type of beef jerky to buy if you want something that you can chew on for a while. Tough beef jerky often uses less preservatives than soft jerky because the extra water removal stops bacteria from taking up residence.