Author Topic: Homemade Jerky  (Read 6866 times)

TechMan

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Homemade Jerky
« on: July 20, 2017, 11:04:31 AM »
Alright, who has a good homemade jerky recipe?  I have a dehydrator that I need to get back out and put some use to it.
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zxcvbob

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Re: Homemade Jerky
« Reply #1 on: July 20, 2017, 11:42:23 AM »
  • Sliced lean beef
  • Brown sugar (1 tsp per pound of meat)
  • Salt (1 tsp per pound of meat)
  • Fresh ground black pepper (1/2 tsp per pound of meat)
Mix it up in a freezer bag or plastic bowl, and refrigerate (covered) overnight. Then dehydrate it; not too hot because you don't want to cook it. If you're an overachiever, smoke it instead of using a dehydrator -- not too hot, you don't want to cook it.
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AmbulanceDriver

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Re: Homemade Jerky
« Reply #2 on: July 20, 2017, 12:07:13 PM »
Adively, don't forget RocketMan's recipe from a few years back...  :)

Here is the marinade recipe SAD.  It originated on the Interwebz, but I tweaked it some, reducing the amount of salt used among other things.

Beef Jerky Recipe
Marinade for one pound of meat, properly sliced

1 cup water
3 teaspoons salt
Dissolve salt in water first if using a coarse grained type, otherwise mix with the rest of the dry ingredients.

1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon liquid smoke

Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl, then stir into salt water mix using a whisk.  Add liquid smoke, stir.
Use mix to marinate meat overnight.  Stir meat in marinade as necessary to ensure all of it is coated.
Pat dry and place in smoker or oven for approximately three hours at 200 degrees.  Monitor closely during drying time.
« Last Edit: July 20, 2017, 12:40:35 PM by adively »
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bedlamite

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Re: Homemade Jerky
« Reply #3 on: July 20, 2017, 12:08:39 PM »
I generally use venison and keep it simple. Salt pepper, garlic, onion, brown sugar in either soy or teriyaki sauce, marinate for a day. Smoke 'em if ya got 'em, otherwise dehydrator.
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sumpnz

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Re: Homemade Jerky
« Reply #4 on: July 20, 2017, 11:06:37 PM »
If you can, taking the time to let the meat air dry for a couple/several hours before putting in the smoker will help.  You'll get fewer drips making a mess of the smoker, and supposedly that also helps the smoke adhere and penetrate better.  I'm skeptical on the latter point, but concede it's possible.  Whatever the case, air drying for a bit before smoking has produced a better result, IMHO.

zxcvbob

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Re: Homemade Jerky
« Reply #5 on: July 20, 2017, 11:59:11 PM »
The thing to remember with jerky is that it's dried meat, not dried cooked meat.  (so if you're making pork jerky, the meat probably ought to be frozen at 0 degrees F for a month before drying it to kill any trichinella, although that's a pretty small risk with commercial pork)
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sumpnz

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Re: Homemade Jerky
« Reply #6 on: July 21, 2017, 12:14:54 AM »
Yep.  I try to keep my smoker under 145F.  If it's a somewhat calm day that works well.  If it's too windy though the gas flame can get blown out.

Note though that if you go much under 130F and you are using a smoker, you should really be considering adding nitrites to your cure if you don't already.  In a nearly anaerobic environment like smoker the lower temps will promote botulism bacterial growth. 

A dehydrator though shouldn't be as risky, especially if uses a fan as that will keep the air around the meat from being anaerobic. 

Next round of jerky I think I'll smoke it for maybe an hour and then finish it in the dehydrator.  I like it run to completion in the smoker, but SWMBO complains that it's too smokey when I do that.

JonnyB

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Re: Homemade Jerky
« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2017, 11:02:54 PM »
Mrs. B and I have made jerky a couple of times from beef heart. When we split up a critter, we ask for the heart, tongue and liver. The liver gets baked into dog treats, the tongue boiled for sandwich meat and the heart is sliced, seasoned and dried.

We made a marinade of tomato sauce, onion, soy sauce, salt, pepper, sesame oil and such. The heart was sliced with an electric knife - they kick ass! - and marinated for 24+ hours before drying. We have to do it in the summer, since the dehydrator won't get hot enough in a cool garage. At 80f, though, it heats to around 150f. Just right.

The end result is yummy!

jb
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