Beef Jerky Recipe?

Making Jerky is really easy and you don't need a dehydrator to make great jerky, a low temp in the smoker is all that you need, that way you get smoked meat flavor without having to use the dreadful liquid smoke. The cure (Morton Tender Quick) is important to prevent food borne illnesses.

If you have never made jerky before, I would suggest buying a jerky kit from The Sausage Maker. or a Hi Mountain kit available through most sporting goods stores. These have the seasoning and the cure in proper proportions and are almost fool-proof for the beginner. This will let you safely learn the basics as you order in the components to make it yourself the next time.

I use a whole eye of round beef roast, trim of what little fat is there and run it through the deli slicer (or by hand). Marinate and cure overnight then lay on racks to dry until tacky. I smoke for 2 hours with cold smoke then raise the smoker to 110 until it is dry.

The finished product should not be stiff but not break when folded in half. When folding it should create a distinct white line where it was folded without breaking in half



Mild Jerky
This recipe is for 5 pounds venison / beef.

1/4 cup of soy sauce
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
2 Tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 cup of brown sugar
2 Tablespoons of Tender Quick®

Make sure that the sugar and salt are completely dissolved before pouring the marinade over the venison / beef.
Marinate at least one day or and up to two days. Remove from marinade and let air dry on racks until "Tacky" to the touch.

Cold smoke for 1-2 hours (no heat), then raise smoker temperature to 100° to 110° and smoke until dry but slightly pliable.

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Cracked Black Pepper Jerky
This recipe is for 5 pounds venison / beef.
cracked black pepper is sprinkled on before drying. Coarse ground black pepper can be used in place of cracked pepper.

1 cup of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1 teaspoons of seasoned salt
3 tablespoons of fine grind black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon of onion powder
2 Tablespoons of Morton® Tender Quick® curing mix

Make sure that the sugar and salt are completely dissolved before pouring the marinade over the venison.
Marinate at least one day or and up to two days. Remove from marinade and let air dry on racks until "Tacky" to the touch.
Season with cracked or coarse ground black pepper if desired before smoking.
Cold smoke for 1-2 hours (no heat), then raise smoker temperature to 100° to 110° and smoke until dry but slightly pliable.

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Hot and Sweet Jerky
makes enough marinade for five pounds of sliced venison / beef.

1 cup of soy sauce
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of molasses
1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons of garlic powder
2 tablespoons of onion powder
1 teaspoon of celery salt
1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon of black pepper
2 Tablespoons of Morton® Tender Quick®
1/2 teaspoon of powdered cayenne pepper

Make sure that the sugar and salt are completely dissolved before pouring the marinade over the venison.
Marinate at least one day or and up to two days. Remove from marinade and let air dry on racks until "Tacky" to the touch.

Cold smoke for 1-2 hours (no heat), then raise smoker temperature to 100° to 110° and smoke until dry but slightly pliable.

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Honey Barbecue Jerky
This recipe is for 5 pounds venison / beef.

2 tsp coarse grind black pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 cup apple juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 Tablespoons Morton® Tender Quick®
1/2 cup Barbecue sauce

Make sure that the sugar and salt are completely dissolved before pouring the marinade over the venison.
Marinate at least one day or and up to two days. Remove from marinade and let air dry on racks until "Tacky" to the touch.

Cold smoke for 1-2 hours (no heat), then raise smoker temperature to 100° to 110° and smoke until dry but slightly pliable.

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Since you are just getting started, there may be some info of interest here...

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83426

One of my favorite Jerky threads ever.

TIM

Making jerky

I really like the High Mountain kits, original and the Cracked Pepper and Garlic ar my favorites. I always have good results consistently with their kits..

Wetsmoke said:

I really like the High Mountain kits, I always have good results consistently with their kits..

Click to expand...

+1 Good Stuff :thumb:

Yum...homemade jerky. I think I may be putting this on my to do list for this fall.

IamMadMan... any value in switching out the tenderquick for Prague Powder? would the jerky have a better texture or last longer?

sknabnoj said:

IamMadMan... any value in switching out the tenderquick for Prague Powder? would the jerky have a better texture or last longer?

Click to expand...

You cannot directly switch out cure #1 (prague powder #1 / pink salt #1 / ect.) for Morton Tender Quick.... The prague powder and salt would have to be weighed according to the weight of the meat. The only benefit to using prague powder is that you control the salt ratio by weight. Tender Quick does not change texture ant differently that prague powder, because it does not tenderize the meat as some think. It is simply a salt and cure premix to make measurement of it easier for those new to the process.

I suggested Morton Tender Quick because as a beginner it is easier to use, simply because the salt and the cure are premixed and eliminates the errors in weighing which are the most common mistakes to beginners.

I always highly recommend the use of Jerky Kits for the first time so the beginner can understand the basics. After the use of the kits they should then move to Morton Tender Quick. Once they have mastered that then I advocate that they purchase a good scale and the necessary supplies and carefully weigh the components and refine your own methods.

The cure is important to prevent food borne illnesses and is perfectly safe when used in the right amounts. Too little and especially too much could lead to disastrous, and sometimes even fatal, results.

The salt is also a very important part of curing, without the use of salt, the cure cannot migrate into the cells of the meat to insure a safe product.

Tender Quick Should Never be substituted for salt, and should not be kept with or near salt. It is best stored in a locked cabinet to prevent it from being mistaken as a salt or seasoning.

If you want the ratios for using cure #1, I can PM you the ratio, I just don't want to confuse the beginners.

.

Isn't Sodium Nitrite..Sodium Nitrite?


Just asking..:wink:

Lots of great recipes so far.

I usually spread meat out and add Insta Cure #1 from Sausagemaker.com.

Then marinate in:

2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder or 2 cloves smashed, minced garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp kosher salt

Stir all ingredients together warming on stove and then let cool. Refrigerate marinating meat for 24 hours. Drain and lay out on trays of food dehydrator / or smoker. Very Low & Slow till done.

Be sure to let it cool completely before putting in ziplock or other storage!

Smokeoholic said:

Isn't Sodium Nitrite..Sodium Nitrite?


Just asking..:wink:

Click to expand...

Yes..

Just like apples are apples and oranges are oranges.

Sodium Nitrite is Sodium Nitrite and Morton Tender Quick is Morton Tender Quick. Two completely different formulated products.

Sodium Nitrate needs to be weighed according to the weight of the meat being cured and then the additional salt weighed according to the weight of the meat to make the cure. Tender Quick is already pre-mixed with salt.

Cure #1, Prague Powder #1, and Pink Salt #1 all have to be weighed and additional salt needs to be weighed and then mixed accordingly. They are not directly interchangeable with Morton Tender Quick.

Many cooks have heard of Tender Quick but do not understand what it is and how it it used. Its purpose is to cure meat not tenderize it.

Tender Quick is a blend of salt, sugar, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, and propylene glycol. The amount of sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite are 0.5%.

For centuries, nitrates and nitrites have been used to cure meat. They reduce the risk of botulism/food poisoning poisoning while the meat cures and is smoked. Nitrites change the meat's color into the typical pink color we associate with cured ham and sausage.

The salt aids in flavor and delivers the nitrites into the individual cells of the meat. The sugar mellows the sharpness of the salt. The nitrate turns into nitrite, which then turns into a gas, and this is what cures the meat. The propylene glycol prevents caking and helps to keep the cure evenly distributed.

To be effective, a cure must have the correct amount of nitrites evenly distributed throughout the curing mixture. Too much or too little nitrites or nitrates is not only ineffective but can possibly be dangerous. It is very difficult for a beginner to create the proper curing mixture, because the ingredients of salt, sugar and nitrites cannot be mixed effectively if they do not understand the proper ratios and principals of curing. The lack of salt in curing also make the application of the cure very ineffective.

I highly suggest reading "Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages" by Stanley Marianski and Adam Marianski (Mar 21, 2012) if you plan to cure any meats.

The biggest problem is that food poisoning can take up to a month after ingestion before the spores create colonies and make you sick. It is not something you can test today and if you don't get sick tomorrow it must be ok.... Far from it.

.

I made MadMan's sweet and hot recipe. I couldn't find TenderQuick so I used the curing salt. It measured 1/2 tsp per lb of meat. So I mixed the whole recipe but only had 3lbs of meat, I used 1 & 1/2 tsp of "pink" salt. Came out pretty good. I have since found TenderQuick and will try that next time.

Thanks all! I want to try jerky in the near future- very helpful... Another great example how this forum and the peeps on it kick major arse!!!

thanks,

Jimmy

I go simple with mine. Buy whatever round roast is on sale, slice & cut to size, dust with kosher salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, small amount of garlic powder, and then dehydrate. I keep it refrigerated since I don't use curing salt. Has never lasted long enough to go bad.

I did all the soy sauce and crazy stuff, but found simple works great for me. Anyone smoked at 150-175? I think that's what my dehydrator is set for meat.

TXLX said:

I go simple with mine. Buy whatever round roast is on sale, slice & cut to size, dust with kosher salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, small amount of garlic powder, and then dehydrate. I keep it refrigerated since I don't use curing salt. Has never lasted long enough to go bad.

I did all the soy sauce and crazy stuff, but found simple works great for me. Anyone smoked at 150-175? I think that's what my dehydrator is set for meat.

Click to expand...

Curing salt isn't necessary with your process. You have a safe process above.

You are not cold smoking the meat in an oxygen deprived environment. smoking meat below 140 degrees is a danger zone without curing salt.

Dehydrating at 150-175 degrees helps to slightly cook the meat to destroy bacterial spores, and as you stated, there is not a long storage time for a cooked product to go bad in your refrigerator. Thanks for sharing..

IamMadMan said:

Yes..

Just like apples are apples and oranges are oranges.

Sodium Nitrite is Sodium Nitrite and Morton Tender Quick is Morton Tender Quick. Two completely different formulated products.

Sodium Nitrate needs to be weighed according to the weight of the meat being cured and then the additional salt weighed according to the weight of the meat to make the cure. Tender Quick is already pre-mixed with salt.

Cure #1, Prague Powder #1, and Pink Salt #1 all have to be weighed and additional salt needs to be weighed and then mixed accordingly. They are not directly interchangeable with Morton Tender Quick.

Many cooks have heard of Tender Quick but do not understand what it is and how it it used. Its purpose is to cure meat not tenderize it.

Tender Quick is a blend of salt, sugar, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, and propylene glycol. The amount of sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite are 0.5%.

For centuries, nitrates and nitrites have been used to cure meat. They reduce the risk of botulism/food poisoning poisoning while the meat cures and is smoked. Nitrites change the meat's color into the typical pink color we associate with cured ham and sausage.

The salt aids in flavor and delivers the nitrites into the individual cells of the meat. The sugar mellows the sharpness of the salt. The nitrate turns into nitrite, which then turns into a gas, and this is what cures the meat. The propylene glycol prevents caking and helps to keep the cure evenly distributed.

To be effective, a cure must have the correct amount of nitrites evenly distributed throughout the curing mixture. Too much or too little nitrites or nitrates is not only ineffective but can possibly be dangerous. It is very difficult for a beginner to create the proper curing mixture, because the ingredients of salt, sugar and nitrites cannot be mixed effectively if they do not understand the proper ratios and principals of curing. The lack of salt in curing also make the application of the cure very ineffective.

I highly suggest reading "Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages" by Stanley Marianski and Adam Marianski (Mar 21, 2012) if you plan to cure any meats.

The biggest problem is that food poisoning can take up to a month after ingestion before the spores create colonies and make you sick. It is not something you can test today and if you don't get sick tomorrow it must be ok.... Far from it.

.

Click to expand...

Good info to know.

Thank you!