Beef Jerky

[BostonBull]

I had my first venture into homemade beef jerky. PERFECTION! Cant believe how easy it is to make. I used a flank steak, cut it as thin as I could, should be 1/16", I'm probably double that at least. Marinated it overnight in a store bought marinade, and put it in the oven on 170* for 6 hours or so.

Next time ill most likely use a leaner cut of meat like top sirloin, top round, or tenderloin. I had to trim a LOT of fat from the flank. Apparently fat goes rancid faster than the meat does.

Anyone else make jerky @ home?

 

[adolan]

I've made a few batches of venison jerky recently that turned out great. I did them in a bradley smoker. Did you try cutting the roast when it was frozen or thawed out? When its frozen its a lot easier to cut thinly but cold on the hands lol

 

[cerviarborist]

I've used london broil, and pretty much stick with it. It's lean enough that you don't have to work around much fat. If you either get the butcher to slice it along the grain, or purchase a cheap used small slicer, your process and product product will benefit from uniformity. As adolan points out, partially thawed material is great to work with if you're doing the sclicing at home.

I make a teriyaki marinade with soy sauce, black pepper, garlic and molasses. I generally only marinade it for a half hour or so, since the meat is already sliced thin, and absorbs the marinade quickly.

Before smoking mine, I lay it out on racks long enough for the meat to drain off excess marinade and to get a sort of shiny/translucent look.. then into the smoker on very low indirect heat.

Having uniform slices means all the product gets done at the same time, and you can actually get a cure that will last awhile.

My smoker is made from an old Electric company junction box that's about 3 feet wide, 2 feet deep and 4 feet tall, it's all aluminum and has a piano hinged door that runs the entire height. I made racks out of recycled gas grill grates, and use a small domed webber grill (stripped of all non-metallic material) as the fire box in the bottom. A cheap screw in thermometer finished it off. It'll hold a ton of food at 170 for 200 minutes.

Happy New Year BB

 

[PUClimber]

I make some deer jerky. Good stuff.

 

[BostonBull]

What did you guys use for marinades? I like em a bit spicy, and sweet at the same time. Didnt get that with this batch.


Here is my favorite jerky company.....

http://www.rosiesjerky.com/

 

[tcsafety]

Great...now I'm hungry.

Can any of y'al ship some? You know, it helps to diversify in this economy...

Treebuzz jerky...get a free slap with any purchase of t-shirt and ball cap combo?

 

[GregManning]

Sausage is typically made w/ ~30% fat.
ANY fat in jerky will turn rancid very quickly (days - weeks) at room temperature.

Years ago I made a lot of jerky.

One trick with tough cuts of meat (venison or cheap beef, etc), is to grind it, season with marinade, form it into the bottom of a loaf pan (etc) to ~1-1/2" thick, & freeze.

Then use a serated knife to make frozen slices.
Dehydrate.

 

[Jman]

I make homemade stuff all the time. My meat is usually deer, moose, elk, or something of the game variety. I'll let my jerky sit for 2-3 days in the marinade cut from thin 1/8" to thicker 1/4" slices. Its all how you like your jerky. Use really sharp knives and it won't matter if its frozen or not. I prefer thawed with really really sharp knives.

I use a charcoal smoker just because it was the cheaper version I could buy. It does the job but not as efficient as the electric versions my Dad uses. I have to tend the coals to start it then make sure I go out ever hour to add more smoking wood to the coals. The electric ones take less tending. Electric = slower, more smoke, less heat. Charcoal = more heat, moderate smoke, and faster.

My batches usually take 5-6 hours to finish and I've kept jerky for 6 months to a year. The electric versions usually take 8-10 hours give or take the level you smoke the meat at.

I do not use a dehydrator but you can make jerky solely by dehydration. So, you can smoke for 3-4 hours then dehydrate for the rest(my Dad will occasionally dehydrate if your smoking in the winter). I feel the smoking process is very important so I skip the drying part altogether.

I've never weighted what I've smoked so these are just ball park figures to my batches, but I've cut up a few pounds of meat just to get one or two if that. They don't have to be the best cuts because your cutting such small portions you can work around fat, veins, and other cartridge. Don;t bother trying to make them all look the same its impossible! I've cut up whole front or back shoulders before with good results.

My recipe is a bit salty so I'd recommend cutting the salt back a bit. One last thing, I'll put plates on top of the meat to keep all of it below the marinade level. Keep refrigerated and your good to go. Oh and don't forget to sprinkle with pepper or garlic powder on one side right after you lay it in the smoker.

Pop's jerky mix

1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup salt
2 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1 cup red wine
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (I change this to something hotter you can only add so much Tabasco sauce before it plateaus.)

Hope that helps some. Now let the smoking jokes begin!