Beef Jerky methods/tips

hansw · Jun 18, 2014

Hi Guys, I'm new here and just north of the 49th parallel ie a Canadian.

After having spent many hours reading posts concerning methods for preparing beef for jerky, I'm not that much the wiser. There are wet marinades, dry marinades, some add water some, some don't, and on and on.

There were some good posts from members who have tried various methods but they conclude only with which they found best for their preference but not WHY they favoured that method. For example, a wet marinade infuses more flavour than a dry or vis versa.

For those of you who have spent the many hours/years experimenting with the many different methods of seasoning, cutting with and against the grain, wet verses dry, with or without a curing salt, etc, can I ask what you've tried
and then, most important, why you settled on what you think is best.

Thanks
Hans

dummy que · Jun 19, 2014

beef jerky

i love to make jerky i use eye of round fairly cheap if beef is cheep anymore $3.99lb use to be $2.99lb slice with grain of meat eye of round is a long muscle i use to wet marinade fond imho that putting spices on than putting in ziplock bag then in frig. overnight to 2 or 3 days alows meat to absorb the flavores of the spices i use lowerys season salt,garlic powder,large grind black pepper,onion powder,white pepper,japlopina groud,cayenne pepper mustard powder i don`t use cosher salt to avoide makeing it to salty cook on lang at 250 deg. till done if you get it to done put in frig. in ziplock it will moisen back up

IamMadMan · Jun 19, 2014

To start to answer you question, I prefer to use a cure when making jerky.

The smoker creates a low temperature warm moist atmosphere devoid of oxygen which is the perfect environment for food borne bacteria to grow and multiply. While one would not feel the effects of the illness right away, it could take uo to two weeks (or longer) for the symptoms to manifest.

Although I know a person who has made jerky several times without a cure, I'm not comfortable putting my family, my friends, or myself at risk. I won't eat his jerky for this reason.

Cutting against the grain make the jerky easier to bite and chew, and the wet marinade also imparts much more flavor than a dry cure seasoning because the liquids are exchanged in the meat cells as they try to equalize themselves with the curing brine/marinade.

I don't go that high of a temperature when I smoke. I cold smoke for 1-2 hours (no heat), then raise smoker temperature to 100° to 110° and smoke until dry but slightly pliable.

but there are many methods to follow. I like the flavors imparted with a cold smoke.

.

Militant83 · Jun 19, 2014

When I make my jerky I go to my butcher and have them slice up some eye of round. Just tell them your making jerky and most good butchers know what you want. I get mine around 1/8th in thick.

I use a store bought dry jerky cure and go by the box directions for the curing process. My next step is to put a cold smoke on it for an hour or two. I place a small pile of coals in my cooker and toss on some wood chunks.

Once I got a some good smoke into the meat I transfer the meat to my dehydrator for 5-8 hours or until the desired texture is reached. I prefer a tough jerky.

matadorbait · Jun 20, 2014

I use eye of round, cut with or against grain (different texture, but I like both), then add 1% of the weight of the meat in salt, 1% in ground black pepper, 1% in sugar, and some habanero or spices. Put it all in a covered pan for a day, turning once or twice, in the fridge. Then leave the pan open in the fridge for a day, turning once or twice, until there is no juice or water left--just a pellicle. Then into the smoker at the lowest possible temp (say 150F) for an afternoon--with the meat spread out over the rack. Let the fire die down and check--if it needs more drying I finish in the oven, or the car on a hot day. No cures ever.

In summer, sometimes I skip the smoke and just dry it in the sun + wind. Works fine for me (maybe not for our friends in Portland or New York).

hansw · Jun 26, 2014

Thanks for the responses.

I'm new here and couldn't find my thread..:doh: which is why I haven't been active on my own thread.

Anyway, I've been doing the wet marinade method so far but I see there's a case to be made for dry so this weekend I'll give that a try. You don't know till you try it yourself I guess.

Jerky seems to be one of those things you have to keep on experimenting with until you arrive at our own signature result although I suspect I'll keep tweaking things ad infinitum.

Hans

mchar69 · Jun 26, 2014

I will say we made 10 lbs of venison jerky w/
High Mountain jerky cure and seasonings
- at 170f in an oven with a wooden spoon to crack the air...
it needed WAY more seasoning.
Go big or go home, I guess.

hansw · Jun 28, 2014

UPDATE:

I tried the dry rub today and found it lacking in the favour achieved from the wet marinade method I'd been using. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I was wondering if anyone has tried pounding the sliced meat for both tenderizing and consistency of thickness. Also I would presume the marinade would infuse better.. rather like a compromise between sliced and the ground meat jerky I read about.

Any thoughts?

Hans

Militant83 · Jun 29, 2014

hansw said:
UPDATE:

I tried the dry rub today and found it lacking in the favour achieved from the wet marinade method I'd been using. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I was wondering if anyone has tried pounding the sliced meat for both tenderizing and consistency of thickness. Also I would presume the marinade would infuse better.. rather like a compromise between sliced and the ground meat jerky I read about.

Any thoughts?

Hans

Did you use a store bought rub/cure? If not and you are able to get the High Mountain seasoning give that a try. Make sure to follow the instructions to a T. I get lots of flavor from their black pepper seasoning.

I have used a mallet to pound the strips in to uniform thickness. The butcher does a good job getting most of them close but there is always a few that are a bit thicker than I like.

captndan · Jun 29, 2014

Watch the salt! If you use soy in the marinade get the low sodium kind. Any other seasoning like garlic salt or onion salt makes the jerky too salty. KISS

Whitewookie · Jun 29, 2014

I use eye of round or rump roast, whichever is priced better. I wet marinade in a mixture of 1 1/2 cup Teriyaki, 1/2 cup Worcestershire, and about 1/4 cup white vinegar. Sometimes I add a little orange or pineapple juice. I also add a goodly amount of my dry spice mix I call 'Hot Magic".

I layer the meat into a large casserole, adding marinate and a good dusting of the spice on each layer. I then cover and put in the fridge at least over night, I like a couple of days. Remove from marinade, drain excess, pat dry, and on the dehydrator for 5-8 hours depending on ambient temp and humidity and such.

VR,
Harold

hansw · Jun 29, 2014

Militant83 said:
Did you use a store bought rub/cure?

No. I used a bought pepper mix called Porterhouse mix which I use on my steaks. Great stuff. Maybe I just didn't add enough.

The only place we have here to get a jerky cure mix (High Mountain) is Cabelas but they charge so much that the cost of the seasoning is equal to the cost of the meat.:evil:

Anybody know of any recipes that are fairly close to the commercial mixes. After all, commercial mixes are just a combination of peppers, garlic, etc... its the proportions that makes the difference.

Hans

hansw · Jul 1, 2014

Made another batch today.

Approx:
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 Tb brown sugar
2 Tb of Miran
2 Tb Worcester
1 Tb liquid smoke
1 tps porterhouse pepper mix ( pepper for all intends and purposes)
1 tps garlic powder
1 tps onion powder
1/2 tps meat tenderizer
1/2 tps cayenne

I'm making small batches to experiment so this was for about one lb of eye of round. Actually, for the amount of beef, I could half the liquid ingredients.

Tasty but found the garlic and pepper were a bit too dominate after 2 days of marinading. Next batch I'll cut those to 1/2 tps and try honey instead of the brown sugar.

Its still way better than the jerky I bought to compare to but as I progress, I see what I'm liking is a sweet and spicy favour and to get a nice balanced blend.

Hans

Militant83 · Jul 1, 2014

Thats the fun in all of this no matter what approach you take is experimenting with new things and perfecting your method to what you like.. Have fun

steelarz47 · Jul 1, 2014

here is a simple recipe that flat out works real well (RYTEK KUTAS).
The beef i use is flat bottom rd, less waiste; these also work well top rd, rib cap meat, lean parts of deer. clean all meat of fat and top lairs , slice 1/2 thick to desired length, i like longer lengths= less work, i like to slice with the grain it is chewier rip off with teeth style.

3lbs beef
1 tsp salt
1 tsp insta cure No.1
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cop soy(lachoy)
1/3 cup worcestershire
mix all ingredients well,add meat mix to cover; let sit in gallon zip loc bag 24hrs or more squishing bag a couple times to mix. i like to smoke mine at about 170 every one i give thi to wants to buy it right now.

hansw · Jul 1, 2014

steelarz47 said:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp insta cure No.1

Isn't a cure a nitrite salt? That seems like it might be a bit salty..No?--- but then you're not using Soy or Worcester ... hmmm sounds interesting.

I've being reading ingredients on the commercial stuff and they all seem to include Soy. However, maybe getting away from the Soy base could be a whole new area for experimenting.

Thanks for the tip.

Hans

steelarz47 · Jul 2, 2014

hey hansw insta cure is a nitrite salt used for curing purposes , so u can cook meats at lower temps i believe lower than 200 degree, it protects against botulism when smoking at low temps; rancidity when storing meat after the smoke. i don't think it imparts any flavor to my knowledge.
IF IT CAN'T BE CURED , DON'T SMOKE IT
my recipe does have soy and wort. sause. hope this helps some.

hansw · Jul 2, 2014

steelarz47 said:
IF IT CAN'T BE CURED , DON'T SMOKE IT.

Thanks steelarz47 for that interesting piece of info and something that's been bugging me.

Let me assure you this dog's been scurraging the Net looking for jerky recipes and the one prominent omission in most ingredients (including Alton's famous air dried jerky which involves NO heat) is a curing salt. Indeed, it wasn't until reviewing the posts on this site that the "importance" of using a curing salt became an issue.

With all due respect to the advocates here who endorse curing salt and that it's a must, empirical evidence would suggest otherwise ie major reputable sites and well known food personalities provide recipes without the stuff not even mentioning it as an aside that it might be a good idea to error on the side of safety to include some.

Personally, I've never used it and have never experienced any ill effects.

'tis confusing

Hans

steelarz47 · Jul 2, 2014

hey hans u may be ok with air drying as there is no heat or smoke in enclosed area to eliminate the oxygen,add the moisture from the meat and u have ideal growing conditions for the nastys.
IF IT CAN'T BE CURED , DON'T SMOKE IT; it only takes one experience and u will never do it again A- death is a real possibility B- u live regretting your decision and vow never again!!

i hope this sheds a little more light

Countryboyswagger · Jul 3, 2014

Wouldn't just using salt cure it? Is there a need for nitrates?

Or is only a concern when you're going to turn around and smoke something?

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