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Jerky Basics 101

I have recently started making my own beef jerky and thought I would put up a simple pictorial guide to how I do it. If anyone would like to offer suggestions to improve my technique, please do so!

Some basic rules to jerky:
*Jerky is dried, not cooked, so don't be in a hurry!

*Since jerky is dried, you will need to add salt, so it doesn't make you sick.

*Some add sodium nitrite as a preserving agent, but if you plan to consume it soon, keep it in the fridge, just use ordinary salt and CLEAN YOUR HANDS when making it!!
If you plan on selling your jerky, seek advice from a professional.

Since jerky is dried, make the process as sanitary as possible. This will reduce the chance of introducing bacteria and other nasties.
 
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I just rotated my trays and i'm glad i did cause the bottom 2 trays were starting to become dry and the top trays were still wet......

I'm still learning all about my dehydrator so this is a good experience..

I will look at rotating the trays down one every hour for the next few hours.....

Thanks CM64, I wouldn't have look unless you mentioned it.......:mouthonfire:
 
Well I dried my first batch of jerky.....And i have learnt a few valuable lessons:

1. Rotate your trays!!
2. When you are learning, DON'T make such a bloody large batch....hehe, cause you don't know how its going to turn out....and if you don't like it or you dry it to much you are throwing a lot out....
3. DON'T use any dried ingredients in the marinade (dried herbs) unless you are going to boil the marinade to soften the dried herb or you plan on cleaning the meat after the marinating!!!!!! I have all the herbs fresh but i was running short on time..and now i have cruchy herbs all over my jerky cause they were dry to start with then they got another 8 or so hours of drying time...
4. Reference to point 3, DON'T rush. It takes time to do it right...
5. Take the time to really make sure your meat is cut at a consistent thickness or you will have irregularities with the dryness of the meat....and any really thin and tiny bits will go very crunchy....


I'm not unhappy with the results but i will try a different variation to the marinade in my above post...I preferred the flavour of ring sting's jerky much more....

Plus i have more of the stuff than i can pock a stick at...

I'm happy i did it and will do it again for sure...now I've started, I have to perfect it....

Thanks for all your help guys, couldn't have done it without your guidance
 
I use powdered herbs and spices - onion powder, chilli powder or flakes etc I mix it in with some water first and then mix it through the meat.

each batch gets better - trust me! (write down your recipes, cooking times, tray rotating times etc every batch and then make comments afterwards - after a few batches you'll know what works and what doesn't.)
 
Ok, I made my second batch of beef jerky on the weekend and i was a lot happier with the results.

I used ring stings recipe but instead of the Naga/Fatalii sauce that he used (I have none at the moment) I used 2 tea spoons of the chilli factory's 'Turbo Supercharged' to get some heat happening, (I will use more next time) and i also added 1 tablespoon of 'crazy bull - hickory smoked Chilli BBQ sauce' for addedd flavour.

The crazy bull sauce shouldn't be allowed to have chilli in the name as there is no real heat to speak of but as a BBQ sauce it truely is to die for!!!!!!!!!!!

Next time i will be substituting half of the soy sauce in ring stings recipe with more of the crazy bull BBQ sauce to see how it goes....

The only thing i was a little disapointed about was the meat was extra chewy....

I think i have cut it with the grain????

This is a concept that I am still yet to comprehend??? Which way is against the grain???

I know i got meat from the butchers for my first batch and he said it was already cut against the grain so i didn't take much notice....and even though i dried the first batch a lot more than the second I found the second to be a lot chewier....and the same meat was used...
 
If you reduce the soy sauce amount, be sure to add some extra salt for the curing process.

If you are using skirt steak, you can pretty much see the grain of the meat. This refers to the direction that the muscle tissue is in. Generally, for stuff like eye fillet (waaay to exxy for jerky) it is more or less the same direction as the long part of the fillet.

Ask your butcher to point out the grain for you. Also, let em know it is for jerky, and ask when they are carving up a carcass, that way you won't be getting steaks, but the entire piece of meat.
 
if the grain runs down the length of the jerky strip you have cut with the grain - think of it like a plank of wood. cutting across the grain will make it much easier to chew. I usually go with the grain for a bit of added texture, and you get to savour the flavour and heat for a bit longer as it's too hard to swallow if you don't chew it enough.

third batch will be even better.
 
Ok, I made my third batch on the weekend, and I was very pleased...

I used ring stings recipe again but added 1/3 cup of my crazy bull BBQ sauce and Turbo Supercharge as the chilli sauce....

It came out a bit chewy but I am really happy with it....It was in for about 10.5 hours so I might dry it a little less next time and see what happens.....

I am going to stay with this recipe now as it's a good one, but i need to focus more on cutting the meat more consistently
 
I made a batch on the weekend and used my new cutting board - laser accuracy as far as consistent slicing goes, and much faster than doing it just 'by eye'
 
chilliman64 said:
I made a batch on the weekend and used my new cutting board - laser accuracy as far as consistent slicing goes, and much faster than doing it just 'by eye'
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Can you put up a link please mate...or explain a little more.....;)

You have me interested
 
the board has edges on it - it's 1/4 inch on one side and 3/8 on the other side. you just place your slab of meat in the centre and run your knife through by resting it on the raised edges, giving you perfect slices every time. I used to slice by eye and invariably got different thicknesses though still reasonably consistent. the board makes it foolproof.

you can get one here also - they're in Oz:

http://www.arizonagunslinger.com.au...33_35&osCsid=559ccd1770d13e7d4a775b580ba647a0

do it mate - if you're getting into the jerky as much as I think you are you won't regret this purchase. it reduces your slicing time by at least 50%.
 
it sure would but it would probably be a little expensive - ok if you've got the cash - I suppose it's a case of how fanatical you are
 
POTAWIE said:
No cash here, but I already have an inexpensive slicer;)
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well you're in business then provided you have a dehydrator (which I think you do...)

when using a knife to slice it is recommended that the meat be partially frozen by placing in the freezer for about an hour prior to slicing. this helps the meat retain its shape and gives even slices without the meat compressing or changing shape as you slice. (it helps to use a really sharp knife also.)

if you already have a slicer you probably don't even have to worry about the partial freezing. I'd be interested in the results.
 
I do my jerky a little different now since I mainly use my smoker, and like any meat being cold-smoked you want the surface to be very dry/tacky so the smoke has a good surface to stick to.
Most of the jerky I make is either venison or goose but this is a poor year for deer so I may just have to buy beef.
 
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