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.

 

[BrianS]

This is a really informative thread. I am getting a dehydrator very soon and will be trying my hand at jerking making. Thanks to everyone that contributed to this thread

 

[Armadillo]

Today I made my first jerky. I decided to make a turkey jerky. I marinated with a mixture of cayenne balsamico vinegar, worchester sauce, brown sugar, red vine, ground black pepper, salt and hab powder. It came out nice and chewie but with a little bias to the vinegar side. So next time I'll use less vinegar, a bit more salt and a bit more hab powder. But for the first time it came out good and I enjoy chewing it.

 

[moyboy]

This is a really informative thread. I am getting a dehydrator very soon and will be trying my hand at jerking making. Thanks to everyone that contributed to this thread

I felt the same way about this thread. Getting a dehydrator is a great investment for a chilli head, it is useful in so many ways..I have learnt alot from this thread and am happy to pass on my own learnings and failures.

Today I made my first jerky. I decided to make a turkey jerky. I marinated with a mixture of cayenne balsamico vinegar, worchester sauce, brown sugar, red vine, ground black pepper, salt and hab powder. It came out nice and chewie but with a little bias to the vinegar side. So next time I'll use less vinegar, a bit more salt and a bit more hab powder. But for the first time it came out good and I enjoy chewing it.

Good to hear you are starting to play with jerky mate..

I have never done anything but beek jerky (and only done 3 batches) so my knowledge is very limited but I have not had good results with vinegar (as I said I only have used beef, and turkey may be totally different). I used vinegar with my first batch of beek jerky and I really didn't like what I created...

I now use soy sauce but that may give you a different flavour than you are wanting...

Anyway, It's all about learning and I hope you enjoying what you are doing as that is the most important thing....

 

[chilliman64]

bumper sticker: make jerky not war

 

[Armadillo]

bumper sticker: make jerky not war

Yeah! That's true! And you can even share it with people from most other religions.

 

[Hotpeppa]

Do any of you guys have problems with the greasy residue left on the jerky itself ?....how do you make dried jerky like the kind you buy...i have tried it a few times and have had some decent results but nothing like the stuff you buy in stores....

i always get a greasy film on my jerky even after cleaning every single piece of it...

and also my jerky always goes really dark in colour, how do you retain the redness of the jerky ?

 

[moyboy]

Do any of you guys have problems with the greasy residue left on the jerky itself ?....how do you make dried jerky like the kind you buy...i have tried it a few times and have had some decent results but nothing like the stuff you buy in stores....

i always get a greasy film on my jerky even after cleaning every single piece of it...

and also my jerky always goes really dark in colour, how do you retain the redness of the jerky ?

These are questions beyond my knowledge I'm sorry.....

My meat always goes very dark as well, due to the marinade I use....(lots of soy sauce and brown sugar).

I never end up with a greasy film before of after drying. Do you wet marinate or use a dry seasoning??? What is your recipe??

I can't answer your question about meat colour except to say it might have something to do with the rub/marinate you use and the heat that is applied throughout the drying process? i.e. cold drying may help retain colour but I don't know if it all that healthy to do so???

Hope you get the answers you need mate...

 

[Hotpeppa]

thanks Moyboy !

i usually use a wet marinade... and i have tried to dry it out without any from the concerns about colour...and the same thing happened...

i want to get that redness of the meat in dry form with simple light black pepper flavour..

anyways, thanks again Moyboy ill have to just do trial and error..cheers

 

[TXCG]

i.e. cold drying may help retain colour but I don't know if it all that healthy to do so???

I cold dry and mine still comes out dark. But this is also because I use a soy sauce brown sugar marinade just like you moyboy. I'm still an advocate of cold drying, to hell with safety! You want safe eat your jerky with a helmet on

Then again, none of my jerky lasts long enough to go bad anyway, i bet it would stay good as raw meat as quickly as I eat it.

 

[POTAWIE]

Using sodium nitrite should help give a nice pink/red color as well as preventing botulism

 

[chilliman64]

you took the words right out of my mouth Potawie

 

[moyboy]

I just got my Jerky canon and jerky cutting board with jerky knife in the mail yesterday, along with a garlic and peppercorn seasoning & a traditional seasoning....

Now I don't know what to do???? Make a batch of strips using my new cutting board and knife or make a batch of mice jerky using the canon???? then I have to dicide what seasoning to use????

Actually, I have a 10 tray dehydrator so I might do both.....

 

[Nova]

A bloody canon? That would strip the meat nicely....

 

[chilliman64]

I just got my Jerky canon and jerky cutting board with jerky knife in the mail yesterday, along with a garlic and peppercorn seasoning & a traditional seasoning....

Now I don't know what to do???? Make a batch of strips using my new cutting board and knife or make a batch of mice jerky using the canon???? then I have to dicide what seasoning to use????

Actually, I have a 10 tray dehydrator so I might do both.....

and...

 

[moyboy]

and...

Well....I have 1 kg (2 lbs) of meat strips (top side) split into 500g lots. 1 lot has original seasoning and the other lot has peppercorn and garlic seasoning.....

I also have 2 lots of 500g minced beef, with the above seasonings. This way I will get an idea of how these seasonings work with strips and mince.....

The brand of the seasoning is "HI MOUNTAIN"....

They are all in the fridge at the moment and by tomorrow morning they will have had 36 hours marinating......

I'll know how it all tastes by tomorrow night....

The cutting board made it SO SO easy....I partly froze a 1.2kg side of beef and then just sliced it using the board with the greatest of ease.... I LOVE IT....and I will be playing with the jerky gun tomorrow...

Will let you know...

 

[chilliman64]

that board is the best invention for making jerky - after the dehydrator that is

 

[Armadillo]

What kind of a knife are you using for cutting your jerky meat? Does it have a special shape? Do you use food processors?

I use a big kitchen knife made of damascene steel (industrial, not handcrafted though, I have to feed a family) that I only handwash and keep seperately in it's own box. It's sharp enough to cut with or across the grain in one smooth move without having to move it back and forth like a saw.

 

[chilliman64]

just the knife that came with the board:

http://www.sausagesource.com/catalog/hme-origbrd.html

before getting this kit, I would use a super sharp Global meat knife - it's so sharp you don't know you've cut yourself until you see the blood.

 

[moyboy]

The knife is a slim line unit that glides through the meat with ease...

It's not very sharp which is good as I put a good amount of downward force on the meat so it doesn't move around all that much....so when the knife come out the end of the meat it doesn't cut me when it contacts me.....

The knife and board are really good if you are cutting big sides of beef....I usually get a 1.5kg chuck of top side.....But if you are just cutting up steaks from the supermarket then I would just semi freeze the steak and then cut it normally...

 

[JayT]

I am preparing to make my first attempt at jerky. I have read this thread thoroughly, read the venison jerky thread (as that's what I am using) and read the directions that came with my dehydrator. I actually never knew you could use a dehydrator to make jerky until I read it here. Last year I bought a Ronco 7 try dehydrator at a yard sale for $5. I figured it would come in handy for drying peppers (and it did), now I am going to try jerky. I took a 3-4lb venison roast and put it in the freezer for 3 hours. I then sliced it as thin as I could and made the marinade. I didn't measure anything, but the ingredients are Soy sauce, liquid smoke, Defcon DM MKII, CaJohn's Scorch sauce, hickory smoked salt, garlic powder, onion powder, turbinado sugar, 7 pepper blend.
I mixed it all up and put the meat in to soak for a couple of days. I have read here that this should only take a number of hours to dehydrate, but my instructions on my dehydrator say it could take 48 hours. It also only says to rotate the trays every 12 hours. I know that this model does dry at a low temperature, but that sounds like a real varience from what you all have said. Is anyone familiar with my dehydrator and have any thoughts? I appreciate your help.