Food Dehydrator... (making beef jerky)

[karl_58sow]

Just bought one and was planning to make my own Beef Jerky.. actually I'm using some Orix meat a friend is giving me (so orix jerky).. anyone know how to make good jerky with a dehydrator.. like what seasonings, thickness, temp, and drying times?

[karl_58sow]

and how do I cure the meat can I use just regular table salt? any help is appreciated (post recipes too if you can!)

[karl_58sow]

NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO MAKE BEEF JERKY?!?! WHAT A SHAME!!!

[theweightofarms!]

i'm a vegetarian, sorry. just stick it in there, it'll work!

[Wibby]

Did you get any instructions with it? As that should have a receipe on how to make it. But let me check and see if we still have instructions or a receipe on how to make it.

[Kossori]

I think you can use sugar to cure meat as well. In any case, i'd use Morton salt.

http://www.mortonsalt.com/consumer/products/meatcuring/

[Wibby]

Ok I found a very basic receipe hopefully it helps. What you need...

2 lbs. very lean beef (chuck or round)
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt

Trim off all traces of fat from meat. Freeze until firm and solid enough to slice easily. Cut across the grain into very thin (1/8-inch) slices, then cut slices into strips 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients in a blender or shaker jar. Pour over meat strips that have been arranged in rows in a shallow baking pan. Refrigerate overnight, then drain strips.

Dehydrator. Cover trays with strips withour overlapping. Dry 4 hours at 140 degrees F. Turn strips and rotate trays. Dry another 6 to 8 hours. Well dried jerky should be dark and fibrous looking and brittle enough to slinter when bent in two.

Hope this helps any. I got this out of a cookbook but it should give you enough of an idea as what to do that you can experiment later on.

[atomicbob]

You bet I make jerky!! I have some marinating as we speak.

I start out with a real lean cut of beef. Round steak is pretty good. You don't want fat cuz it can spoil and doesn't dry. Cut it int 1/8" thick strips. You can actually ask your meat counter guy to cut it that way for you. His machine makes for more consistent thickness strips which is important.

Then you want to make a marinade. It can be most anything you like. I blend mine from teryake sauce, liquid smoke flavor, mater sauce, cider vinegar, soy sauce, BBQ sauce, salt, pepper, cajun spices, worchstershire, pineapple juice, red pepper flakes, etc. Not all at once, but you can use any of these things and many more. You name it.

So you put all this stuff in a ziplock freezer bag and squish it around. Put in frig overnight. Next day take out the bag and mush it all around again and put it back. About the 3rd day you can take it out and lay it on the dehy. I put coarse black pepper on mine here. Depending on your meat, your weather and your dehy it should take 6-8 hours to dry. Some people flip the strips once, but you do it how you want. You can tell it's done when you bend a strip and it just starts to fray at the bend, not bend easily or snap like a twig.

I don't cure anything so I can't help you there.

[karl_58sow]

Bah , curing is for pussies anyways. Thanks for the info bob I'm off to buy the steak as we speak.. i wanna test it with beef first so I don't screw up the orix.

[karl_58sow]

Well I got it marinated and sittin in the fridge right now... here is the recipe I made myself based on what I saw other people doing.. (sounds kinda funny huh?)

3 lbs bottom rump roast - sliced 1/8" inch thick
1/2 cup worcesteshire sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup liquid smoke
1.5 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon frank's red hot original hot sauce
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon KC masterpiece BBQ seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

I am going to put the black pepper on it when I stick it in the dehydrator.. now I'm just hoping that there isn't too much fat on it.

Thx for the help Wibby and Bob, ill let ya know how it tastes =)

[atomicbob]

You better have big, big dehy for 3 pounds!! That recipe sounds great though.

:yaya:

[karl_58sow]

lol how big? it has 4 trays

[Phenix]

lol how big? it has 4 trays

Holy moley!

[atomicbob]

Mine has four trays too. Seems like it holds about 2 lbs.

The rest will refrigerate in the marinade!

:yaya:

[karl_58sow]

yep i fit about 2/3rds in so 2 lbs

edit: i ate some of it raw and got the shits... just a word of "wisdom"

[karl_58sow]

Well all 3 lbs of beef jerky is in my stomach now... god i ate that quick.

[Wibby]

So how was the Jerky? It must have been good if you already ate 3 pounds of it.

[Kossori]

Yeah, i'd also like to know how it turned out. Write a review of the recipe and how you could have improved upon it. :thumbsup:

[atomicbob]

Well all 3 lbs of beef jerky is in my stomach now... god i ate that quick.

That's why I don't bother curing.

:hehehe:

[karl_58sow]

3 lbs bottom rump roast - sliced 1/8" inch thick
1/2 cup worcesteshire sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup liquid smoke
1.5 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon frank's red hot original hot sauce
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon KC masterpiece BBQ seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

This is the recipe I used. If I could change it I would...

-Cut it to 1/4" inch thick slices instead

Thats about it... the recipe itself tasted great... even some veteran jerky makers were impressed...

[karl_58sow]

making it again so i bumped the topic to the top... i forogt the recipe ahha~!

[Kossori]

I made it with that recipe. I must say it was delicious. Ate 3 pounds in about a day and a half.

[karl_58sow]

Nice lol... its sooooo good. I remade it this time but I used 3/8th inch slices and I cut it against the grain rather than with it. Tomorrow its goin in the dryer =)

[karl_58sow]

Making it again at 3/16th inch thickness =)

[Wibby]

Karl are you getting the meat sliced for you at a meat shop or something?

[karl_58sow]

Yep! On base I can buy a roast at 1.97 per pound and get it sliced free. I'm doing 4.5 pounds this time and I actually bought extra trays so I can do it all at once.

[karl_58sow]

making it again mmmmmm =)

[wihadmin]

snap some before/after pics for us karl. :thumbsup:

[karl_58sow]

ok lol will do may as well add to this process so more people can make it ill do my best to get step by step

[[mAd]Dr.Death]

Heh, I remember one of my friends bought one of those. He ended up making a bunch of bannana chips and apple chips.

[karl_58sow]

Ingredients

http://x11.putfile.com/1/709274716.jpg

Packaged

http://x11.putfile.com/1/709280957.jpg

Marinating

http://x11.putfile.com/1/709284854.jpg

Finished

http://x11.putfile.com/1/709290223.jpg

I actually didnt use the plain Teriyaki.. and that Lawry's Pineapple Teriyaki worked great and I will defenitely be keeping a supply of that around it adds a sweet flavor to the jerky. Either way, I ran out of soy sauce so I made it with Teriyaki as the replacement and I actually liked that more.

[FozzyBear]

mmmmmmm


beef :appz:

[wihadmin]

That's awesome Karl! Looks yummy too! Thanks for the posting the pics. :thumbsup:

[SoReal]

That looks good, the only gripe I have is that your meat is cheaper than what we could get it for. When I made jerky, it was 1 1/2 LB for 6 dollars. Also, quite a bit of fat on that piece of meat.

Still looks good :)

[CassiusMelacor]

i ate some of it raw and got the shits... just a word of "wisdom"

I rofled.

[karl_58sow]

Yea , I could chop that fat. I don't eat it actually I leave it for moisture. Would take forever to cut that stuff off =/.. If you use a flank steak which is more expensive but leaner, you don't get that.

[loopcycle]

thanks for posting this. we just got a dehydrator but havent used it yet.


we just got a juicer too! instant-anything liquid. its amazing.

[Leadfoot]

This should be stickied :nuts: