I would really like to make some jerky for my BWCA trip. It a cheap snack that doesnt have to stay cold. Does anyone have and secerts to share with me on how to make the best jerky. Also has anyone tried the seasoning from Gander Mtn or Cabelas? Also would you prefer it to be dehyrated or oven cooked?

Matt

I make mine in a dehydrator with a jerky gun and commercial seasoning. Dehydrate for 4 - 6 hours. I use ground venison or the leanest ground beef I can find. The secret is to have lean meat as the fat causes the spoilage. I use an American Harvester dehydrator from Fleet farm. Works great. Good Luck - Izzy

Step 1. Shoot Moose... ;)

I generally make only venison jerky, but have used hamburger a couple of times. I prefer the venison as it has little or no fat. If you use hamburger, you'd want to use the leanest you can find and pat the oil off when its done. I store the jerky in the freezer in one gallon freezer bags and only take it out as needed. I purchased a jerky seasoning variety pack from Cabela's a couple of years ago and thought it was pretty good. I wouldn't get the variety pack again, but would instead get just the seasonings I preferred (the Hot&Sweet and Mesquite were good as I recall). I have an inexpensive Nesco dehydrator, probably their bottom of the line. It cost around $20 at Fleet Farm. It's very basic, but it works great for making jerky and the other dehydrating I've done.

I use a dehydrator. I cut it from either roast or steaks. As others have said, get the leanest you can and trim the fat off. It will slice easier if you partially freeze it first.

I marinate in primarily soy sauce, liquid smoke, and brown sugar. You can other ingredients to taste.

I use a big foil drip pan and do it in oven. There are several "scratch recipes" around but as far as a seasoning kit,I like Jack Links jerkey seasoning pack in the pepper/kippered. I think it does 15 lbs. fresh meat for $7. Worchestire sauce,A-1,salt,pepper,garlicpowder,brown sugar,pich home cure makes a good base marinade to add-lib to and experiment with. All I've done is venison.

When you buy your meat at the grocery market, have the meat department slice it for you. Unless you want to partially freeze it, then saw/slice slabs off yourself. My local grocers never charge extra and are happy to recommend certain cuts of beef for turning into jerky. We often use bottom round, have the fat trimmed, then sliced so all I have to do is marinate it and dry it. Very easy. They will also slice it to whatever thickness you prefer.

I use an American Harvester dehydrator with the round mesh trays and a fan and adjustable temp controls. In addition to jerky, we dry fruit, make fruit leather, dry cooked ground beef, spaghetti sauces, etc. So it was worth the added expense for us. But if you will just make an occasional batch of jerky, the oven works fine.

I do it like Bannock. Sometimes I use a smoker rather than a dehydrator, matter of fact I prefer it. I cut down an apple tree a year ago and split all the wood, makes for a sweet smokey flavor. A dehydrator can't give you that "real" smoke flavor.

Sorry to get off course, but Mooseplums that applewood makes a Great smoked turkey! You may have already tried it, but if not,...GREAT!!

I use it to smoke/grill everything

We always slice it and smoke it. The recipes off the Internet. Depending on weather you want spicy BBQ or whatever. It's all trial and error. Pressed ground jerky sucks by the way.

Yeah Siouxfan...Ground beef jerky does suck

Jerky should be chewy, almost tough, not soft and crumbly. The only way to get true jerky is with sliced meat. I like to have a beef roast sliced 1/4" thick, venison I slice as closed to 1/4" as I can get it. the main thing is the slices should be all of a uniform thickness. Remember fat goes bad, so remove all you can, especially if you are not smoking it.
The marinade is up to you to decide what you like best, I have several recipes. I always leave my liquid and dry spices meld in the fridge over night before adding the meat. The meat then marinades in the fridge over night.
When its as dry as you like, remove cool, and freeze. The drier the longer it will last without refrigeration. My jerky never lasts very long so I don't use much salt or cure. When I'm taking it on an extended camping trip it gets more salt.

"My jerky never lasts very long ..."

My teenage son loves jerky. I cut up a 2 or 3# roast and made a batch that I was going to use for a couple of day trips around home. I thought I'd be nice and share it with him. I told him it was in the fridge. A couple hours later I noticed it was gone, so I hollered at him to put the rest back in the fridge. He sheelpishly said he ate it all. He ATE IT ALL! In just a couple hours! Two or Three pounds of roast rehydrating in his stomach! Oh yeah, he got sick, too.

Darn kids.

I'm giving my kid his own bag and hiding the rest.

Buy a rump roast ( as lean as you can find)
-Cut it into 1/4" pieces ACROSS THE GRAIN!! This is what keeps it from being too chewy
- Marinate in some lowry's steak marinade(the packet not the seasoned salt) add some worcestershire sauce
The lowry's can be hard to find, i get it at Tom Thomb down here in Texas. It is the best seasoning i have ever found, for steak and jerky.
- Dehydrate overnight i usually put mine in at like 9pm and turn off at like 7 or 8 am.
- if you want extra spice, sprinkle some pepper or cayenne on a few pieces.

-Enjoy
-Disclaimer* I always vary mine a little bit, but cutting across the grain is a must. Made some and took it on the buffalo river in Arkansas, lasted about 5 days, but only because i can't stop eating it :)

I've made jerky for years, and have gotten compliments many times (including last weekend at fishing opener). I typically use the Gander/Cabellas seasoning kits and then add coarsely ground pepper. However, I have a few questions to pose:

#1) Do you need to add the "cure?" I see folks talking about liquid marinades instead of spice rubs. What does the cure really do?

#2) Please explain what you mean by cutting the roast against the grain? I just slice it using my turkey carver. How do I tell which way the grain runs?

612er,

#1. An important purpose of the "cure" is to protect the meat against bacteria while your meat sits in a low heat environment for a long period of time. Most often the "cure" is salt. Dry rubs sometimes come with the curing salt in a separate mixture before you add the spiced rub. The liquid marinades need to contain a high concentration of salt as well. Soy sauce is commonly used as a curing base for homemade marinades. Most off-the-shelf steak and chicken marinades do not have enough salt by themselves to safely make jerky. I have also seen people use alcohol based liquid solutions to make jerky, but I have not tried that.

#2. If you look closely at the meat you will lines that run in the same direction. The 'grain' runs along those lines. Cutting against the grain means cutting across those lines as if they were strings and you wanted to cut off all of the strings.

To add to Thunks response on #1. Most comercial rubs contain sodium nitrate and sodium chloride (salt). Sodium nitrate is a phenominal preservative but at the price of the consumers health. I try to avoid it all together when I can... mmmmm bacon....

I use a dehydrater along with Bannocks liquid smoke-soy sauce-brown sugar variations. We sub the beef with salmon and only allow the cure for maybe 15 minutes before drying. I wish I was eating some right now... "squaw candy".

Hex

I slice the meat and put it in a marinade of my own, saturated brine, black pepper and garlic. Soak it in the fridge overnight and dry it in my Brinkman smoker. I put in either alder, apple or hickory, depending what I've cut. It keeps well but I often freeze part of it. It keeps forever then.

Salmon jerky sounds great. I'll have to try it sometime. Any tips for making it?

Bannok,

That was funny! LOL.

Sorry Bannok, the earlier post about your teenager eating your entire supply of jerky was goo.

I too am interested in Salmon Jerky. I came back from Alaska with a couple hundred pounds of salmon, and would love to jerky it...

My advice is to do it!

precurser: catch it or buy it wild caught! Farm raised salmon is for the birds.

1. Slice your fish while partially frozen

2. Have the brine/cure/marinade (soysauce, ginger, liquid smoke, brown sugar, etc.) boiling hot when you add it to the meat.

3. Start with a 15 minute soak and then put it in the dehydrator... if it's not flavored enough, leave it in longer next time... if it's too flavored... leave it in a shorter period of time.

4. Check it often. When you think "it's starting to dry, I'll leave it in a little longer" your done. I ended up with salmon flavored charcoal strips the first go around.

5. Enjoy.

6. I am guessing that it would be best to refridgerate if its going to be stored for any amount of time. Mine never lasts that long.

Hex

hexnymph,

Thanks, I plan to implement this recipe!

TK