The Meaty Snack You Might Not Have Considered For A Flavorful Salad Topping

While beef jerky makes an excellent addition to your bag of road trip snacks, the dried, savory ingredient of convenience can also upgrade your next dinner salad with a salty and meaty punch. The inclusion might be an unexpected culinary choice to toss onto a bed of greens, yet sprinkling strips of dried meat onto plates of vegetables can be one of the more satisfying ideas you've come up with from the confines of your kitchen. Plus, with so many varieties of jerky out there — think salmon, duck, mushroom, and eggplant — your salads will never be lacking for a tasty jolt of flavor.

Use the crumbly remnants at the bottom of your nearly finished package to dump on top of your salad bowls, or slice chunks from bigger pieces to stir into the creations you assemble. Whether you're making a green papaya salad with jerky or an iconic modern wedge, inviting gummy, chewy bites of jerky into your dishes will have you eager to hit your daily veggie requirements.

Once you've added handfuls of jerky pieces to your salads, you may soon realize that the smoky dried snack is exactly what's been missing from your soups, quiches, and other recipes you hadn't previously considered — we're thinking morning omelets and casserole bakes. To be fully prepared for your culinary whims, you may want to make your own beef jerky to have at the ready. Experiment using different spices and seasonings, while keeping in mind the peppy pops of flavor they'll bring to lunchtime salads.

From teriyaki, peppered, hot and sweet, and even dill pickle jerky, the possible salad combinations are yours for the creating as you mix and match flavors, ingredients, and dressings. Sprinkle peppered jerky on top of a spruced-up tuna salad or add salmon jerky to a colorful Niçoise salad for an extra boost of protein and flavor that will have even the most vegetable-adverse sitting at your dinner table reaching for second helpings.