Beef Jerky w/ dry rub?

About 6 weeks ago, I had 5 flank steaks that were in 1 cryovac pac that I wanted to cook. I seasoned 3 of them and put on the Traeger whole, the other 2 I decided to slice into strips and make jerky. Since I didn't have time to do a marinade and soak (note: I haven't liked the jerky I have made using a marinade), I decided to dust the strips with some McCormick Cinnamon Chipotle rub that I had in the cabinet. My daughter was helping me by dusting the strips, she was a little heavy handed I thought but let it go. Used some racks over the flank steaks to lay the strips on the smoker. It only took a couple of hours to dry down the strips since I hadn't added moisture by marinade. I thought the jerky turned out great, it was a little spicier than I prefer, but the consistency was really good and the chewyness was good also. I think if you have a good rub you will like how it turns out just dusting the strips, give it a try.

No problem using rub to make jerky... EXCEPT rub doesn't have any cure in it. Cure helps prevent botulism, which is a good thing. I would never make jerky without cure. Pick up some Morton's Tender Quick or some pink Cure #1 and follow the directions on the package and add it to your favorite rub. One other word of caution, you'd better start with a rub that's already low in salt or else you'll end up with very salty jerky by the time you add the cure.

I had pondered the fact there was no cure used, but if you consider:

Only on smoker for around 2 hours
I Foodsavered half and froze
1/4 of it was consumed same day
balance was in a baggie in the fridge

I left a couple of strips in a baggie in my desk drawer for almost 2 weeks without any problem, I ate it without any ill effects. I would not recommend long term storage without freezing but for the short term it's all good.

FYI, the risk of botulism contamination is highest during the drying/cold smoking phase and not really a concern during the storage of dried meat afterword. If you smoke your jerky at temps above 140º, then the risks of growing botulism are greatly diminished. The issue to be concerned with is how long your meat is being held at temps below 140º. If you're using a food dehydrator or a true cold smoking process, you are at great risk for developing botulism unless you use a cure in your meat preparation.

kcmike said:

FYI, the risk of botulism contamination is highest during the drying/cold smoking phase and not really a concern during the storage of dried meat afterword. If you smoke your jerky at temps above 140º, then the risks of growing botulism are greatly diminished. The issue to be concerned with is how long your meat is being held at temps below 140º. If you're using a food dehydrator or a true cold smoking process, you are at great risk for developing botulism unless you use a cure in your meat preparation.

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I'm getting ready to do some jerky. Previously made it without a cure and now have Tender Quick and cure #1 on hand. I added 1 tbs of TQ to 2# of beef per TQ directions and some Oakridge rub and it's sitting for a few hours. Will smoke it on my MES in a couple of days. Can the meat stay in this cure for this length of time?

Also I thought botulism is only a concern in low oxygen environments. Certainly there is concern for other bacteria

Scubadoo97 said:

I'm getting ready to do some jerky. Previously made it without a cure and now have Tender Quick and cure #1 on hand. I added 1 tbs of TQ to 2# of beef per TQ directions and some Oakridge rub and it's sitting for a few hours. Will smoke it on my MES in a couple of days. Can the meat stay in this cure for this length of time?

Also I thought botulism is only a concern in low oxygen environments. Certainly there is concern for other bacteria

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I don't think it will hurt the meat to have it set for a few days. Most cures are multi-day processes. Let me know how it turns out.

Here is a great place to go to for many variations of Jerky..

Back up 100% Mikes comments on proper curing and not having to much salt in a rub should you use one. I do my jerky completely air dried and sometimes cold smoked / airdried. I use a cure for this.. very very important.

Cheers!

Bill

Thanks Mike and Bill. Mike I like your rubs. Really tasty and without a lot of salt. Felt it would be good for this application with the TQ.

Bill thanks for the link. Lots of recipes!