Jerky - to cure or not to cure, that is the question

qposner · Dec 4, 2020

Evening all! I have 4lbs of eye of round marinating in the fridge. I did not use curing salt in the marinade and am starting to have second thoughts. I was planning on putting it on my MB gravity smoker tomorrow morning set to 160. I have no problem storing the finished product in the fridge, but like I said, Im starting to have second thoughts. Am I likely safe? If not, is it to late to add a bit of curing salt (1 tsp)? Thanks!

drunkenmeatfist · Dec 4, 2020

I've never added cure to my jerky and I am still alive.

qposner · Dec 4, 2020

drunkenmeatfist said:
I've never added cure to my jerky and I am still alive.

Thanks. Only the second time Ive done it. First time I used cure in a homemade marinade. This time I got lazy and am trying store bought teriyaki sauce and Johnny's Sweet, Hot & Crazy marinade (ballpark 2# of meat to each).

drunkenmeatfist · Dec 4, 2020

I usually plow through my jerky within a few days so spoiling was never a problem for me. I am the furthest thing from an expert though.

toys4dlr · Dec 4, 2020

Keeping it in the fridge is not the main issue, the issue is how long you are in the "danger Zone" 41-140. The cure keeps the bad bugs at bay if you slowly smoke/dehydrate the meat. If you are hot smoking and getting it done fast (few Hours) , it should not be a problem.

I personally use cure #1, just as a CYA. I find the slower I dehydrate the jerky, the better the end product is for me. I have been playing with times on my Frankenstein electric cold smoker I built to see what the difference is in the end products of jerky and snack sticks.

Best of luck

qposner · Dec 4, 2020

toys4dlr said:
Keeping it in the fridge is not the main issue, the issue is how long you are in the "danger Zone" 41-140. The cure keeps the bad bugs at bay if you slowly smoke/dehydrate the meat. If you are hot smoking and getting it done fast (few Hours) , it should not be a problem.

I personally use cure #1, just as a CYA. I find the slower I dehydrate the jerky, the better the end product is for me. I have been playing with times on my Frankenstein electric cold smoker I built to see what the difference is in the end products of jerky and snack sticks.

Best of luck

Thanks. I am planning on smoking at 160, so not cold smoking. Im assuming it will take around 6 hours. Thoughts on that?

thirdeye · Dec 4, 2020

Adding cure to jerky is not primarily about safety or preservation. Dehydrator, smoker or oven temps are usually adequate to get your jerky out of the danger zone in 4 hours, and most folks store jerky in the fridge, or freeze portions for later. The main benefits of cure in jerky is flavor, color and texture. Think about ham verses a pork roast...

Smoke Dawg · Dec 4, 2020

I do a salt brine with garlic and onion powder overnight, lightly rinse, then flavor brine for 1-2 hours and in the smoker (hanging) over a fire until done. Stores great but I do freeze so I have some later

Jerky - to cure or not to cure, that is the question

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