Beef Jerky

[DanusLight]

Experimenting with marinades for jerky. If you have a favorite, please share!

[Drawingablank]

One of my favorites is equal parts maple syrup and worcestershire sauce, with some fresh ground black pepper and curing salt (prague powder #1). For more tang add some cayenne powder.

[BBadger]

I love Alton Brown's Good Eats jerky recipe and method of preparation. It is very easy. I've applied some modifications to the jerky creation process, however, because it his use of air filters can be expensive:

1) Buy only non-fiber glass air filters so you don't suffer from bits of woven glass.
2) Important Money Saver: If you ever intend on making lots of jerky (AND YOU WILL), buy some dehydrator trays or make your own equivalent, and put the meat on those instead of air filters. Dead box-fan grates work too. You'll need to fire the air downwards onto the trays because they won't hold the meat liked the air filters, but it will save you paying $3/filter or more (especially those non-fiberglass ones), and is reusable.
3) Construct a cardboard box with a hole for the dehydrator platters. Use a single air filters in front of the fan to prevent shit from flying onto your meat, but also to spread out the air movement.

[delle]

I always just put them on baking sheets in the oven on the lowest possible temperature overnight.

Rarely (tho not never) to disastrous results. ....and that had to do more with me having cut the strips too thin than anything else.

[Shambala]

You can always pick up a Ronco Food Dehydrator at a flea market or yard sale. They're everywhere for just a few bucks.

[DanusLight]

Oh, we have a dehydrator. Just looking for something other than the typical teriyaki.

Currently marinading is a mixture of mango puree, habanero peppers, coconut milk, a splash of rum and ginger.

I like the maple syrup idea though! Thank You!

[FIGJAM]

Oh, we have a dehydrator. Just looking for something other than the typical teriyaki.

Currently marinading is a mixture of mango puree, habanero peppers, coconut milk, a splash of rum and ginger.

I like the maple syrup idea though! Thank You!

This post gave me the idea!

Bar Jerky!!!

Make the cocktails, then marinade the meat in them.

Make a margaretta, throw in the meat.

1000's of concoctions to try!

[BBadger]

Jerky is best dehydrated cold. You don't want to cook the meat as most hot air methods do.

[tamarakay]

Oh, we have a dehydrator. Just looking for something other than the typical teriyaki.

Currently marinading is a mixture of mango puree, habanero peppers, coconut milk, a splash of rum and ginger.

I like the maple syrup idea though! Thank You!

um, yum! Just sayin.
Ken wants to get a deer this year to make some jerky but I'm resisting. I really really don't want to spend a day processing etc. I told him I'd gladly pay the processing fee if we let someone else do it.

[5280MeV]

I love Alton Brown's Good Eats jerky recipe and method of preparation. It is very easy.

This is going to drive my dog insane. Thanks for the tip. I have been looking for things that I can make and get on the plane.

[Drawingablank]

um, yum! Just sayin.
Ken wants to get a deer this year to make some jerky but I'm resisting. I really really don't want to spend a day processing etc. I told him I'd gladly pay the processing fee if we let someone else do it.

Just make him process it without you - my wife won't even stay in the house when I'm butchering. There are several drawbacks to paid processing aside from money - many do a slipshod job of it and leave bone dust, tallow, membrane, etc... Plus it is pretty common for processors to waste a lot of meat and keep some of the choice cuts for themselves.

I have never regretted learning how to process deer properly and can now skin, fillet, and vacu seal the entire animal in about 4 hours (I do the sausage and jerky at another time). Although it is hard work, there is nothing better than having all that meat boneless and trimmed clean ready to use.

[tamarakay]

I wish I could just leave, but then I feel bad. He knows I hate leaving him the grunt work lol

[Monkeypoo]

I've used the Good Eats recipe, it's great. Really great. Jerky is sooooooooo yummy.

[junglesmacks]

This post gave me the idea!

Bar Jerky!!!

Make the cocktails, then marinade the meat in them.

Make a margaretta, throw in the meat.

1000's of concoctions to try!

This post just made me all of a sudden crave a margarita like nobodies business. Yowza.

[ranger magnum]

I started with a Ronco dehydrator, but soon discovered it wasnt up to the quantity of jerky i was making.

You want a dehydrator with a fan and separate temperature control. Meats require different temps than fruits/veggies. You need to dehydrate at about 160 degrees for meat. Any higher and you begin to cook the meat.

I use london broil for my jerky. I marinate it for 48 hours. Here is the best recipe I have, and ive made pounds of jerky over the past couple years.

1 bottle Soy Vey Island Terriyaki marinade
1 bottle Kikkoman terriyaki sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 table spoon liquid smoke
2 tablespoons minced garlic

Slice jerky into 1/4" thick x 2-3" long slices. Remove as much fat as possible, as the fat will go rancid in a couple weeks.
Put meat/marinade into a covered casserole dish. Put in the fridge for 48 hours.

You can reuse the marinade for 2 batches of meat.

I dehydrate for about 10 hours.

You can also use ground beef as a base. Take 1-2 pounds and mix with whatever spices you want. I have used curry powder and salt,and came up with a great tasting jerky. Jerky shooters work best with the ground beef, though i have made mini patties and dehydrated those.

[theCryptofishist]

Do you have to add salt?

[EspressoDude]

no salt

I guess that what the org get for the tix fiasco...

[mgb327]

I do a LOT of deer jerky every winter, and agree completely with Ranger Magnums recipe and also using a "stronger" dehydrator. (the Ronco won't do it, too weak). I bought extra racks, so I do a stack of 12 at a time. Run about 10-12 hours, but check it often, shuffling the trays. When they start to become "just right", as in: not dry, not too moist, start removing the pieces, a few at a time. The recipe RM uses is very close to mine, with one big exception I learned from an old woodsman here in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. When the recipe calls for a "tbsp" of liquid smoke, pour in the ENTIRE bottle, all 4 ounces of it. Sounds radical, but it is the secret to a great jerky. You won't be disappointed, it does not overpower the marinade, but adds enough to actually get a slightly smokey flavor. I always use a bottle per batch, and my jerky is in high demand. I do not ever sell my jerky, nor my hybrid red raspberry jam, I give it all away. In early January I made 22 pounds of finished jerky in 10 days. Labor intensive, but well worth it. Took a bunch to TTITD last year, a big hit.

[Drawingablank]

Were you on H last year?

Some of the best venison jerky I've ever tasted was gifted by someone on our block.

[mgb327]

I was at 3:30 and J. Nice neighborhood. I usually carried a bag with me, hard telling if we ran into each other. I will be at 3:30 and J again this year, I drive a dark green Suburban with Va. tags. Drop by for some. We camp at about 3:28, and on the Man side of the road.

[Drawingablank]

Great I'll add it to my planned stops, and may even make it there.

I did manage to find 2 or 3 of my planned visits last year, playa time being what it is.

[Boijoy]

I have my butcher slice my beef roast super thin for jerky. ( i don't have a slicer )
I use, soy, worchestshire, a little bbq sauce, brown sugar, lots of black pepper & a splash of liquid smoke. I sprinkly red pepper flaxes on the ones I want spice prior to dehydratiing.

[Drucifer303]

i have a couple cheap and easy methods to season the jerky.

i grab some sort of teriyaki marinade, and a garlic marinade and dump that, plus the jerky into a pot and let it soak over night.

the other thing i have done, up here in the great white north you can get this product called "30 minute marinade" in a ton of flavours. soaked over night, the jerky gets a lot of flavour.

made my own sauce a couple times, puréed kiwi or 2, worcester, garlic paste, maybe some chipotle powder and some kind of liquid. cheap red wine, dilute lime juice etc. worked pretty well.

i prefer to make jerky with the oven method, for cooked jerky, but it takes far too much effort. a dehydrator that makes about 5x as much at a time as the oven method can, and takes 3hrs less to do it. but... its not as tasty.

[ranger magnum]

Good tip on the liquid smoke. Next batch starts tomorrow.

Starting some different recipes. Working on a yellow curry blend.....

[Savannah]

Ranger Magnum, your recipe sounds delicious. I love using the Soy Vey Island Teriyaki sauce for beef teriyaki (or salmon).

[shroom]

I usually make several flavors at once, lemon pepper, spicy, smoky, etc. I do like to make turkey jerky and deer jerky too.

[Ugly Dougly]

Has anyone ever made jerky on the playa? I'd imagine the dry air would be perfect.

[Boijoy]

Has anyone ever made jerky on the playa? I'd imagine the dry air would be perfect.

you would have to be careful where ya hang it.. wouldn't want the hippies running off with it.

[trilobyte]

Wait, what?

[kalouts1]

I tried to make some with wasabi powder, soy and lemon pepper....the taste was OK+.
However, I don't master the art of drying it in an oven, so it was way too dry and crispy... I figured out that you have to check the dryness of the meat more often..

Dunno if I want to take the risk to cook some more in big quantities...and it's actually almost cheaper to buy it already done..