drying My goal is to make ridiculously hot beef jerky

Tried jerky with ground? My friends uncle does that. He doesn't use the gun to push the group d meat out though. He rolls it out with a pin and cuts it and lays it.

I like a thicker piece and have found that I'm not drying a long time. Tops is usually 8 hrs at 160 w my little nesco. That bad boy puts out some air!
 
as far as the heat goes, from discussions I've had woth some jerky makers using Pure Evil, it seems that powders and PE used in the marinade leave a lot of heat behind in the marinade.  Adding powders after the meat is drained or adding PE right before drying or even brushed after dry seems to be the best way to get heat on the finished product. 
 
 
 
Re: Wally-World meats----look at the labels of all the meats at walmart.  I have yet to find a meat, steak, roast, poultry, pork or other sold at the WalMart meat case that is not injected with a 5-15% broth/brine/salt solution.  So even $7.50/#  could be $8.60/# for the meat.  Or look at it that you are paying $7.50 # for broth.  It's been a while since Ive checked, but about 5 years ago, I looked at every single meat package and could not find a single one that wasn't injected/enhanced.  I asked the person in the white butcher's coat who was stocking the case if I could buy a custom cut.  I was told everythign comes in prepackaged in the sealed trays, they don't actually do any processing onsite (Big Surprise There!!!! :rolleyes: )   
 
We are forunate that we have 3 butcher shops in the valley, 2 are in the local grocery stores and there is one independant butcher shop.  All fo them breakdown the carcasses in house, grindtheir own beef, make their own brats, sausages, jerky/pepperoni sticks.....
 
 
Anyway, just watch what you are buying and know what you are paying for. 
 
As to the heat, powders or PE added after the meat is drained seems to be the most efficient.  Has anyone ever tried draining the meat (maybe start the drying process?) cook down/reduce the marinade and use that as a baste?  Seems like that would get all the flavors and heat back on the meat, but I'm just throwing ideas out there.  I've only done a couple small batches.  I'm sure the Pro's have already tried this and will tell us how and why it wouldn't work.  :)
 
My friend has rebasted the meat with his marinade. He didn't reduce it though. It was a teriyaki heavy marinade. It came out good but sticky, too sticky for my liking. Taste was on point though.

Thats a good idea Salsalady. Maybe I'll try that and see. And I know about that saline injection. I like to usually go to Public ( local grocer ) which cuts all meat in house but during the summer I have to be extra frugal seeing as how the better half only works 9 mo a yr for the school board.
 
I totally understand the budget thing, Sirex,  It's just kind of a pet peeve of mine that everything WW sells is injected.  I buy the IQF chicken breasts and strips at the local store and I know they are 15% broth.  But a t-bone steak? or a prime rib injected with brine? 
 
 
and probably 99% of their customers don't know they are paying $7.99 for salt solution. 
 
 
OK. Off the soap box..... Back to jerky talk...
 
 
I could see the teriyaki sauce being too sticky for jerky.  Maybe some of the brines with soy and no sugar would reduce and work better.  I dunno~~~  Just talking~~~   
 
I tried the ground meat jerky a couple times.  Gotta have the pink salt (cure not Himalayan). Results are more slim jim than jerky imo.  Not bad, but not as good as jerky.  Got a buddy who makes venison sticks - love em long time - but for me jerky is thinly sliced lean meat soaked in delicious and dried.  And I always cut against the grain else I think it's too chewy.  But that's just me.  :D
 
London broil is fine, flank is fine.  Skirt is not as good imo - harder to cut against the grain.  If you're a 'with the grain' person who liked chewy jerky then you'll love skirt.  Brisket flat is good for jerky too, but more trimming.  Eye of round is also good - least amount of trimming imo - but I like flank since I can cut long narrow strips and with eye of round I get little 'flaps' for lack of a better word.  
 
I dry at low temps because I think it really helps not cooking off/out the marinade and heat/spice.  I've found that going about 16-24 hours at 100 degrees yields better results that quick and hot 6 hrs at 160 - the marinade isn't cooked/evaporated off - it dries in/to the meat.  Just my tastes tho.  YMMV. 
 
Ahhhhh see I was scared to do that. Got a case o the food poisoning earlier this year. Missed three days of work because of it.

I trust you though so I will try low and slow next time!
 
sirex said:
Ahhhhh see I was scared to do that. Got a case o the food poisoning earlier this year. Missed three days of work because of it.

I trust you though so I will try low and slow next time!
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I trust you too.  :)  I've also had food poisoning, and it's definitely no fun.  My logic behind my method is to use more primal type cuts (not ground meat or precut) and slice them myself in my kitchen after they have been dry brined with sea salt and a bit of pepper.   The 48 hour soak in the marinade they go through before the dehydrator is salty and acidic, and the long drying process insures that all the water has come out of the meat.  Need to trim well/have lean meat though - because even cured fat can go bad if kept too long.  That's why I usually reach for flank as it's pretty lean and comes in easily sized pieces for practical use.        
 
Wow, tons of awesome info you guys have provided to me in your responses! Seriously, thank you all so much! This will be a huge help to me when working on my next batch. Can't wait!
 
I used to have one of those jerky guns that pushed ground meat into strips or tubes, they suck. They come apart in your mouth when cooked/dried. I gave it away. I want real jerky that you have to bite/pull apart. I have always found that london broil makes great jerky. I freeze it slightly so it is easier to cut by hand.
 
JayT said:
I used to have one of those jerky guns that pushed ground meat into strips or tubes, they suck. They come apart in your mouth when cooked/dried. I gave it away. I want real jerky that you have to bite/pull apart. I have always found that london broil makes great jerky. I freeze it slightly so it is easier to cut by hand.
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Yeah mine is not a one of those but a tray system. I might try it once and if it sucks abandon it. It has promise just need to see if I like the texture. 
 
Opening day is this weekend here :) 
 
The texture is what did it for me. I liked the concept, but once I made it, the way it broke apart in my mouth turned me off.
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
Yeah mine is not a one of those but a tray system. I might try it once and if it sucks abandon it. It has promise just need to see if I like the texture. 
 
Opening day is this weekend here :)
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Have to make sure the grind is very small and well mixed to be truly happy with the results.  Anything larger grind is going to get pebble-y and unappealing.  
 
I make small batches. This one is gonna be insanely hot! Tomorrow I make ghost powder and apply it when the meat is on the racks... Before I put them in the dehydrater..

Thin cut, cheap meat. Gonna be good!


http://i.imgur.com/VqU78dT.jpg

And this thin sliced has saved me heaps of time. I used to throw all the meat in the freezer for 2 hours so I could thin slice it.
 
The best way to increase the chili to meat ratio is to slice the meat very thin.
You get a very dry , crispy , but tasty jerky almost like crisps.
 
Boris said:
I make small batches. This one is gonna be insanely hot! Tomorrow I make ghost powder and apply it when the meat is on the racks... Before I put them in the dehydrater..

Thin cut, cheap meat. Gonna be good!


http://i.imgur.com/VqU78dT.jpg

And this thin sliced has saved me heaps of time. I used to throw all the meat in the freezer for 2 hours so I could thin slice it.
Click to expand...
Those would be great for a test batch.
 
LUCKYDOG said:
Those would be great for a test batch.
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That's pretty much what I'm doing. Lots of trial and error. Those bottom round pre-cuts are basically like thin slices of bacon. I only make small batches because I'm the only one who eats them, my wife won't go anywhere near 'em! Lol! Too hot for her!

Everything is marinating now.
 
you need to roll the marinated strips in MUCHO cracked black pepper kernels  before smokin' ...black pepper is one hot MOFO !
 
So it was a success. It was the hottest batch of beef jerky I've ever made, yet it still tasted great. There were a few times where one piece was way hotter than the rest, but that's just luck of the draw I suppose.

Mission accomplished, and thank you all for your advice!
 
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