Jerky, I want to give it a try

[nthole]

Ok, so I've always wanted to try making jerky and just never really bothered. Mostly because I have no interest in buying a dehydrator, and oh yeah, because I'm a laaaazy sum beatch.

But I've been thinking of trying it and lo and behold tonights Good Eats (sue me, I love that show) episode is on Jerky.

So here's what I've gleened to far.
-Get a Flank or a London Broil.
-Partially freeze it for easy cutting.
-Cut with the grain.
-Marinate it in something (a search here has shown pretty high praise for some Hi Mountain stuff and a couple of regulars flavors).
-Dry it.

So that last part is where it gets tricky. Alton had an ingenious method that I could surely use since I don't want to buy a dehyrator with a couple air filters and a box fan. Got the box fan, air filters, real cheap.

Now, part of his recipe was to use liquid smoke. I'd rather open up a vein on my mothers good china than use liquid smoke. So I'm trying to think of a way maybe to do a little cool smoking for a couple hours over some hickory or oak and then transfer over to the box fan method. The key is I'd like to have the jerky that is truly cured and doesn't need refrigeration (I've heard Greg's [Parrot's] jerky is too die for, but I don't want to have to refrigerate it when camping this summer, etc.).

So for someone who's never done this before, anyone share some good tips, tricks or ideas?

And Cabo...do not say, soak beef in tequila...eat raw.

EBO Master

 

[Bill-Chicago]

Calling Parrothead

Award Winning Jerky method

Good to see you posting Neil, and Greg makes PRIMO jerky

 

[Puppyboy]

MMMMMMMM jerky.

 

[Mooner]

I don't know much about cold smoking but what I do know is that you need a pretty elaborate setup for the smoke to completely cool before it gets to the meat. Im not a fan of liquid smoke either but it does have it's uses. This may just be one of them.

 

[CajunSmoker]

I've used the HiMountain cure a few times and made jerky in my BSKD. The trick is to build a small fire. Keep the heat around 185 for about 3 hours. I hung my strips off the rack with toothpicks.







The HiMountain cure directions still tell you that the meat is not completely cured and should be refrigerated. Around my house it doesn't last long enough to need refrigeration.

 

[Azinine]

Ok, But I've been thinking of trying it and lo and behold tonights Good Eats (sue me, I love that show) episode is on Jerky.

I'm still new around here so I don't know all there is to know but is Alton frowned upon in these parts? If so, then frown upon me. :-D

 

[qman]

I'm still new around here so I don't know all there is to know but is Alton frowned upon in these parts? If so, then frown upon me. :-D

Jared--This is a big and diverse group. To say the least:roll:
There are those among us who do not fully appreciate Alton's Antics.
There are others though, who do enjoy the show.

So not to worry. You won't be kicked off the island for watching him or refering to him here--at least I don't think you will.:lol:

 

[nmayeux]

I'm still new around here so I don't know all there is to know but is Alton frowned upon in these parts? If so, then frown upon me. :-D

Alton is one of the most liked of the TV chefs, and I haven't heard of anyone saying otherwise, outside of the goofyness... As for his jerky, I'm going to give it a try this week. Instead of liquid smoke, I was thinking of placing the marinade in the smoker during my next smoke for a couple of hours to capture the essence. I am not a fan of liquid smoke, but many mainstream chefs swear by it, and I know that it has been in production for over a century.

P.S. What ever you do, DO NOT say anything bad about Rachel Ray!:twisted:

 

[boatnut]

I use round steak, which I buy when it's on sale just for jerky. Like Alton says, partially freeze and slice uniformily. I usually put mine on racks and smoke for just about an hour in my GSM, then I transfer to the dehydrator. The cheap dehydrators at wally world work great for this. My smoker just wont get down to the low temps necessary to dry it , so it usually ends up "cooked" if I try to do it all the way on my particular smoker.

 

[Diamond D'z]

I have made some pretty darn good jerky with london broil. Use Alton's freeze and slice method. However I will marinate 24 hrs in the fridge, take out the next day, crank up the oven to 170max, use the top rack and toothpick the end of strips and let hang. Place bottom rack as low as it can go and cover with aluminum foil. I cook @ 170 for approx 4-6hrs depending on the thickness of slice.

REMEMBER - do not use any part of the meat that has fat in it as it will go rancid. I use a concoction marinade as follows:

Red Pepper flakes
Soy Sauce
Terriyaki Sauce
Wroschtershire Sauce
Brown Sugar
Cayenne Pepper
Ground Black pepper
Liquid Smoke

I can tell you from experience and at least 30 batches, everyone that eats it says it is the best mutha friggn best jerky they have eaten.

 

[jpw23]

What kind of time are you looking at with a dehydrator?

 

[bbqbull]

I make quite a bit of jerky. I smoke a lot for friends as well. I use Hi-Mountain jerky mix for my batches.
I have the best luck using my electric cookshack smoker. I use their stainless steel rods. I thread the marinated strips onto the rods and slide them in the shelf brackets.
I could do the same w/a bandera and use a very small fire w/some wood added for smoke.
Biggest thing w/the cookshack method is to open the door every 20 minutes or so for about 20 seconds to dump excess moisture.
This method works well for me.

Mike

 

[Roo-B-Q'N]

I'm still new around here so I don't know all there is to know but is Alton frowned upon in these parts? If so, then frown upon me. :-D

I am sure some around these parts wouldn't find Alton as attractive in a swimsuite as say Rachel Ray or Giada, and there are others that would find him as attractive if not more so . . . and there is nothing wrong with that.

As to the jerky, I don't marinade, the whole point of making jerky is to remove all the moisture from the meat so why add more before dryinng. Just my 2 cents.

I use the hi mountain cure and since my oven has a dehydrator mod I use the oven. But I have cold smoked it before and both turn out awesome.

 

[Roo-B-Q'N]

REMEMBER - do not use any part of the meat that has fat in it as it will go rancid. I use a concoction marinade as follows:

And biting into fat that has not dried all the way isn't as good as it sounds either.

 

[Yakfishingfool]

The verticl end of my BYC will hold in the low to mid hundred when smoking at the horizontal at 250. This is a safe envirnment for making jerky? wasn;t sure if the moisture would be too much of an issue, assuming most of it would exit the chimney. Scott

 

[The_Kapn]

I do more than my share of Jerky and am constantly revising the process and the flavor.
Right now, I smoke in the FEC for 2 hours using Mesquite or 3 hours using Hickory. 160 deg works perfect for me. Then into the dehydrator to finish the drying.
Jerky needs 2 things to cook----a bit of heat and lots of airflow.
If I just cook it in the smoker, it is never as dry as I like. Just my preference here.
If you finish in the oven or smoker--you need to use a fan or something to remove moisture.

I used to use Bottom or Top Round. Now, I find that Eye of the Round is the most cost effective beef for me. Almost no trimming for waste. Brisket cooks wonderful, full of flavor. But, a major trimming job!

My marinade is basic Soy, Whorsey, and spices to flavor. 6 cups per 8 lbs of meat.
I dust the meat with Emeril's Essence when it is loaded on the racks to cook.

Here is a bit I posted not too long ago--
----------------------------------

For jerky in "the old days":
My 5 tray Excalibur holds 8 lbs of jerky, sliced at 1/4", per load.
So, I did 16 lb batches. Sliced and marinaded 16 then cooked 8 per day for 2 days.
Reason was simple-labor.
Cleaning the slicer and the trays was a PITA. So, I could do those two chores only once per cook, instead of twice!

I discovered today that partially cooking the meat in the FEC leaves very little on the racks to clean. Basically just a soap, rinse, and dry. No brainer.
And, the meat shrinks-- so much more can fit on the dehydrator shelves.
That 7 lbs of meat I did today fit on 2 1/4 shelves instead of almost all 5.
I could have started with 14 or more pounds and still put it on one dehydrator load! CooL :lol:
And, the meat is partially cooked, so less moisture and crap to clean from the plastic dehydrator shelves. Just a soap and rinse and they are done. No more picking and scrubbing like I used to do--even with a heavy PAM prep.

So, I used to take 2 days for 16lb and have a hell of a chore cleaning up.
Now, I can do 14-16 lbs in a day and spend 1/2 or less time cleaning up.

And--10 hours start to finish instead of 14-16 like before.
And--it tastes even better!
I can't loose on this deal! :lol:
------------------------------------

I have 13 lbs of Eye of the Round in the freezer right now to cook in a few days. YUMMY!!!!!!

Have fun and let us know how it went.

TIM

 

[nmayeux]

I have used the dehydrator to make jerky, and it does pretty well; however, one of the highlights of Alton's show was making jerky using no heat at all. He says that cold dried jerky has a completely different flavor than heat dried jerky. I'm going to give it a try, and see if there really is any difference.

 

[Markbb]

Jerky

Recently I purchased a Open Country Dehydrator at Bass Pro made some killer Jerky 7 to 8 hours,I've been using it to dehydrate veggis like jalapeno now thats a different story takes alittle over 12hrs, word of advise when grinding the jalapenos let all the powder settle before you pour into a container.....don't ask me how I know this

 

[Mooner]

Recently I purchased a Open Country Dehydrator at Bass Pro made some killer Jerky 7 to 8 hours,I've been using it to dehydrate veggis like jalapeno now thats a different story takes alittle over 12hrs, word of advise when grinding the jalapenos let all the powder settle before you pour into a container.....don't ask me how I know this

Instant Mace? :-D

 

[Markbb]

Yes

In my eyes and up my nose,it stung for awhile