Jerky.com Guide
What Is Carne Seca?
Carne seca means "dried meat" in Spanish, and it's a type of dried beef used in Mexican cuisine, especially in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. We don't sell carne seca at Jerky.com, but we do sell beef jerky and Mexican-inspired flavors you may like if that's what brought you here.
Shop related jerky How it differs from jerkyWhat is carne seca?
Carne seca is Spanish for "dried meat," and in Mexican cooking it refers to dried beef. It's a specialty of the borderlands of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. In a well-known recipe from Taylor Boetticher and Toponia Miller, the beef is simply seasoned with lime and mild dried Anaheim chile, then dried until the slices are firm but still pliable.
Traditionally, very lean beef is sliced thin, salted, and dried, often in the sun, so it will keep without refrigeration. Some writers describe an older version made with venison, with beef becoming the usual meat as cattle ranching spread in the north. The dried meat can be eaten as a snack, or broken down and cooked later.
Where does carne seca come from?
In northern Mexican cuisine, especially in Chihuahua, Sonora, and Nuevo LeΓ³n, carne seca is a familiar pantry meat. The same tradition shows up across the southwestern United States, including Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Texas.
In northern Mexico, carne seca is often cooked into a dish called machacado, or machaca in other states, with tomatoes, onions, chile verde, and eggs. Potatoes sometimes join the pan, or stand in for the eggs. In Tucson, carne seca is a popular filling for enchiladas, chimichangas, and tacos, and it's sometimes mixed with eggs. In New Mexico, the name can also mean a very thin, crispy style of dried beef, often seasoned with red chile, green chile, or both.
If you're looking up machaca, that's the shredded, cooked form of this dried beef. We also wrote a guide to machaca.
How is carne seca different from jerky?
Carne seca and jerky are cousins. Both start with lean beef that has been dried so it keeps, and both can be eaten as a snack. The bigger difference is how people use them. Jerky is typically a ready-to-eat snack, eaten in strips straight from the bag. Carne seca is also a snack, and it's just as often a cooking ingredient, shredded or pounded and simmered into a meal.
Seasoning can differ too. The carne seca described by Boetticher and Miller is simply seasoned with lime and mild chile. A lot of American jerky, including flavors we make, can be savory, sweet, smoky, or hot, depending on the recipe. Texture varies as well: some carne seca is thin and pliable, and the New Mexico style can be thin and crisp. Jerky at Jerky.com comes in more than one chew, from Soft and Tender to a drier Old Fashioned style.
We don't sell carne seca, and we don't want to blur that line. If you came here looking for a dried beef snack, our Beef Jerky collection is the honest place to start.
How is carne seca eaten?
As a snack, carne seca can be eaten on its own. Boetticher and Miller also call it an essential component for machaca, a Sonoran specialty. Once it's shredded or pounded, it can be rehydrated and cooked with tomatoes, onions, chile, and eggs, or tucked into tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and chimichangas.
That cooked, shredded form is the heart of our machaca guide. The short version: machaca is usually the dried beef after it's been pounded into shreds and turned into a dish, not a bag of snack strips.
What can you shop at Jerky.com?
We don't sell carne seca. If you want a dried beef snack, or a flavor that leans toward chile, lime, or fajita, these are real products we sell today.
All-Natural Beef Jerky - Original
A classic All-Natural flavor and an easy place to start if you want a dried beef snack.
Shop now All-Natural Beef Jerky - Original
All-Natural Beef Jerky - Green Chile
A New Mexican favorite with the flavor of fire-roasted green chiles, and more about flavor than heat.
Shop now All-Natural Beef Jerky - Green Chile
Soft and Tender Style Beef Jerky - Fajita
A Soft and Tender flavor made with lime juice, tamari sauce, fresh cilantro, and paprika.
Shop now Soft and Tender Style Beef Jerky - Fajita
Soft and Tender Style Beef Jerky - Tequila Lime
A Soft and Tender flavor made with real tequila and lime.
Shop now Soft and Tender Style Beef Jerky - Tequila Lime
All-Natural Beef Jerky - Sweet Chipotle Adobo
An All-Natural sweet and spicy chipotle adobo flavor.
Shop now All-Natural Beef Jerky - Sweet Chipotle Adobo
Old Fashioned Style Beef Jerky - Peppered
Oklahoma Jerky Company's drier, tougher chew, smoked for hours.
Shop now Old Fashioned Style Beef Jerky - Peppered
Beef Jerky Sampler Pack
A mix of classic beef flavors, made for first-time customers or sharing.
Shop now Beef Jerky Sampler PackGreen Chile is a New Mexican favorite with fire-roasted green chiles. Soft and Tender Fajita is made with lime juice, tamari, cilantro, and paprika. Tequila Lime brings real tequila and lime, and Sweet Chipotle Adobo is a sweet and spicy All-Natural flavor. If you want a drier, tougher chew, look at Old Fashioned Style Beef Jerky. You can also browse all of our beef jerky, plus All-Natural and Soft and Tender styles.
Frequently asked questions
What is carne seca?
Carne seca means "dried meat" in Spanish, and it's a type of dried beef used in Mexican cuisine. It's especially common in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. People eat it as a snack or cook it into dishes like machaca.
Is carne seca the same as jerky?
They're related, but they're not the same thing. Both start with dried beef, but carne seca is often cooked into meals, not just eaten out of the bag. Jerky is typically a ready-to-eat snack, which is how we make ours at Jerky.com.
Does Jerky.com sell carne seca?
No, we don't sell carne seca. We do sell beef jerky in several styles, plus Mexican-inspired flavors like Green Chile and Fajita. If you want a drier, tougher chew, Old Fashioned Style is a good place to look.
How is carne seca eaten?
Some people snack on it as is. In northern Mexico, it's often cooked into machaca or machacado with tomatoes, onions, chile, and eggs. In Tucson, it's a popular filling for tacos, enchiladas, and chimichangas.
Where does carne seca come from?
It's closely tied to northern Mexico, especially Chihuahua, Sonora, and Nuevo LeΓ³n, and to the southwestern United States. Traditionally, lean beef was salted and dried so it would keep. Today it's still a specialty of that borderlands region.
Looking for a dried beef snack?
We don't sell carne seca, but we do sell beef jerky in classic, chile, and lime flavors, plus a drier Old Fashioned chew.
Shop beef jerky Read the machaca guide