food It's Beef Jerky Time!
- Thread starter SmokenFire
- Start date
Good point Phil, thank you for making it. Food safety is always a concern and the USDA recommends heating the raw wet/marinated meat to 160 *before* drying in order to be 100% safe. The temps I am using in this recipe are for my consumption only. 
Nice write up
I use whole muscle top round,they average about 16-17lbs
Lean is not always your friend if your looking for better jerky
A little marbling is very tasty and raises the bar in over all flavor
The inner muscle group of a whole round is truly special once processed into jerky
Im 4 yrs into continually raising the bar in my recipe
Excalibur (dryers) almost know me on a first name basis,I have 8 of the 9 trays and 2 of the 4 trays.
>....... Nothing wrong with liquid smoke if you use it correctly,not all liquid smokes are the same(fwiw)
Truly great jerky comes with R/D effort,you get out what you put in
As for the US Gov,they dont know jack shit about running a Country much less making jerky
I use whole muscle top round,they average about 16-17lbs
Lean is not always your friend if your looking for better jerky
A little marbling is very tasty and raises the bar in over all flavor
The inner muscle group of a whole round is truly special once processed into jerky
Im 4 yrs into continually raising the bar in my recipe
Excalibur (dryers) almost know me on a first name basis,I have 8 of the 9 trays and 2 of the 4 trays.
>....... Nothing wrong with liquid smoke if you use it correctly,not all liquid smokes are the same(fwiw)
Truly great jerky comes with R/D effort,you get out what you put in
As for the US Gov,they dont know jack shit about running a Country much less making jerky
I gave away my Nesco's to make Danielle happy ...
... and to create a hassle-free path to an Excalibur down the line, LOL.
... and to create a hassle-free path to an Excalibur down the line, LOL.
Looks great SF, and that marinade sounds delicious.
I'm thinking of making some soon as I've been getting hassled to do so. I've used Rump roast before making Biltong, but may try Eye round roast if I can find some.
Oh, and I air dry mine with no heat, but only during a hot Australian summer. Biltong is a little different as there is also vinegar in the marinade which helps to keep the nasties away during drying.
SR.
I'm thinking of making some soon as I've been getting hassled to do so. I've used Rump roast before making Biltong, but may try Eye round roast if I can find some.
Oh, and I air dry mine with no heat, but only during a hot Australian summer. Biltong is a little different as there is also vinegar in the marinade which helps to keep the nasties away during drying.
SR.
Whole seed as in uncrushed in any way whatsoever, wouldn't this have trouble adhering to the end product?TNKS said:
I love jerky. Looks awesome!
9-12 hours in my Excalibur at 160 drys it perfectly. I had a Nesco and checked the temp. 145 degrees max. The baddies get on the meat at under 140 degrees. Preheat your dehydrator before adding the meat. This is the first time I've ever seen anyone use or recommend 100 or so for drying meat. With a brine or without. Even fruit gets dried at 125. But if it works for you, enjoy..
You know what? There's two people I trust with food safety it's Wicked Mike and SmokenFire.
I tried the method he mentioned. I started at 105 for about 16 hrs. I had to crank it up after that because I had some stuff to do but I'm still here and not sick.
Think about it, when people cure, they use salty brine to drive the moisture out of the pores of the meat. Cold smoked salmon is brined. And not with Prague powder all of the time but with just salt. There are many meats that are packed in salt mixture, allowed to sit , wiped off and then allowed to cure in 50F temps!!! And we eat them everyday. Almost every Italian sausage is cured like that. Meat hanging in 50-55F temps is prime breeding grounds for bacteria, virus and bad mold. But we still do it.
The method Dru uses allows for less flavor loss due to evaporation and a softer, firmer end product. Not a hard, brittle end product that is often (but not always) achieved through a hotter, faster process.
And, that's not just some shit I read on the internet. That's from my own experience.
I tried the method he mentioned. I started at 105 for about 16 hrs. I had to crank it up after that because I had some stuff to do but I'm still here and not sick.
Think about it, when people cure, they use salty brine to drive the moisture out of the pores of the meat. Cold smoked salmon is brined. And not with Prague powder all of the time but with just salt. There are many meats that are packed in salt mixture, allowed to sit , wiped off and then allowed to cure in 50F temps!!! And we eat them everyday. Almost every Italian sausage is cured like that. Meat hanging in 50-55F temps is prime breeding grounds for bacteria, virus and bad mold. But we still do it.
The method Dru uses allows for less flavor loss due to evaporation and a softer, firmer end product. Not a hard, brittle end product that is often (but not always) achieved through a hotter, faster process.
And, that's not just some shit I read on the internet. That's from my own experience.
As I stated this recipe/method is my own, and is used for my own consumption only. If you have any questions or doubts at all then be sure to increase temps when drying your meat. I've got 25 years in food service, have been sanitation certified in 5 states and absolutely believe in following proper food safety protocols. I used to make my jerky at the recommended 160 but wasn't satisfied with the results. So a couple years back I started experimenting with different methods.
In one of those experiments I actually dried meat on a rack in the sun in my backyard over a low smoky fire. What I didn't lose to flies (should've had more smoke) was damn delicious! Took about 3 days though, and it was a lot of trouble moving bits back and forth over the smoke. Was actually thinking of building a glass aquarium smoker set up so I could use the sun and keep more smoke - but then the peppers starting coming in and I got busy making sauce.
Smoking and drying/curing are very old preservation methods, just like fermentation and salting. These methods were around long before the USDA decided how we should all do food. I encourage everyone to try this recipe, then dry at temps they are most comfortable with. I showed you mine, feel free to show me yours!
In one of those experiments I actually dried meat on a rack in the sun in my backyard over a low smoky fire. What I didn't lose to flies (should've had more smoke) was damn delicious! Took about 3 days though, and it was a lot of trouble moving bits back and forth over the smoke. Was actually thinking of building a glass aquarium smoker set up so I could use the sun and keep more smoke - but then the peppers starting coming in and I got busy making sauce.
Smoking and drying/curing are very old preservation methods, just like fermentation and salting. These methods were around long before the USDA decided how we should all do food. I encourage everyone to try this recipe, then dry at temps they are most comfortable with. I showed you mine, feel free to show me yours!
Look what i started, ooopsSmokenFire said:As I stated this recipe/method is my own, and is used for my own consumption only. If you have any questions or doubts at all then be sure to increase temps when drying your meat. I've got 25 years in food service, have been sanitation certified in 5 states and absolutely believe in following proper food safety protocols. I used to make my jerky at the recommended 160 but wasn't satisfied with the results. So a couple years back I started experimenting with different methods.
In one of those experiments I actually dried meat on a rack in the sun in my backyard over a low smoky fire. What I didn't lose to flies (should've had more smoke) was damn delicious! Took about 3 days though, and it was a lot of trouble moving bits back and forth over the smoke. Was actually thinking of building a glass aquarium smoker set up so I could use the sun and keep more smoke - but then the peppers starting coming in and I got busy making sauce.
Smoking and drying/curing are very old preservation methods, just like fermentation and salting. These methods were around long before the USDA decided how we should all do food. I encourage everyone to try this recipe, then dry at temps they are most comfortable with. I showed you mine, feel free to show me yours!
lol, I have never used those high temps, I find the salting the most important factor.