Let's talk about jerky!

[Ti954]

I make my own beef, deer, elk jerky. You name it. It's the shit!!

[1KPerDay]

 It's the shit!!

Sounds delicious.

[Marcster]

No dehydrator needed.  I'm of the oven-using crowd, although I did see and was intrigued with the Alton Brown fan dehydrator.  Never tried it, though.

Here's my recipe and method.  I love what this produces.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/stimpy617/Jerky.jpg

No salt in that recipe?  Or is the sodium in the soy sauce acting as the salt to preserve the meat?

[1KPerDay]

Shoyu is about 112% sodium.  

[BillL]

No salt in that recipe?  Or is the sodium in the soy sauce acting as the salt to preserve the meat?

There's plenty in the soy sauce.  I've never considered adding more.  Actually, there may be salt in the cajun seasoning I use.  Can't remember right now.  I'll have to check the label.

[Marcster]

There's plenty in the soy sauce.  I've never considered adding more.  Actually, there may be salt in the cajun seasoning I use.  Can't remember right now.  I'll have to check the label.

Now that I think about it, yes, the sodium in the soy sauce is acting as the salt in most jerky recipes.  And you haven't gotten sick, so that must be the case.

[BillL]

 

[MadOzodi]

dangit!  someone send me some jerky to nom-nom on!

 

[CRFJohn]

I just finished a batch of homemade jerky, I make mine extra spicy, lots of chili powder, soy sauce, worchestershire sauce, teryaki, Daves Insanity sauce, and everything spicy I have around. I usually use a rump roast sliced up into strips and baked in the oven at 170 for 3-4 hrs

[atadaskew]

Anyone make bacon jerky?

[Marcster]

Anyone make bacon jerky?

The high fat content of bacon would have a negative affect the stability (i.e. non-spoilage) of the jerky.  It would also be difficult to dry since the fat would "sweat" as it dried and would need to be blotted off.

The two books on jerky that I have both start with "remove all visible fat from the meat", which is about half of every piece of bacon...

[CLAY]

It's time to make some more- I'm down to the last bits...

[Mr. Whippy]

Rebump of this thread:

In general, what is the "shelf life" of your jerky and do you store it in the Frig or just in a dry dark cupboard?

[Ti954]

Anyone make bacon jerky?

Yeah...it's called bacon.

[Ti954]

No dehydrator needed.  I'm of the oven-using crowd, although I did see and was intrigued with the Alton Brown fan dehydrator.  Never tried it, though.

Here's my recipe and method.  I love what this produces.

So you don't cure your jerky? Just marinade then dry?      

I cure mine for at least 24 hrs then marinade for another 24 hours.

[Marcster]

Rebump of this thread:

In general, what is the "shelf life" of your jerky and do you store it in the Frig or just in a dry dark cupboard?

My Just Jerky cookbook recommends a week at room temperatures for homemade jerky, a month in the fridge, or longer in the freezer.

Commercial jerky is vacuum packed (and typically has extra preservatives) allowing it to store at room temperatures for longer time periods (a year?)  Even commercial jerky packages recommend consuming within a week of opening.

[gradus]

They opened a Beef Jerky Outlet up the road in Concord, NC.  I'll have to make a stop.  www.dojerky.com

[Marcster]

I just ordered four additional drying trays for my my dehydrator from Amazon (that will give me eight total trays, the maximum recommended for my Nesco FD-80).

I also ordered a Prago Jerky Gun so I can make jerky using ground meat (which is cheaper, thought it will be more like a Slim Jim consistency, for better or worse)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WZJOQY

With eight trays I should be able to make 2-3 lbs. of jerky at once (from 6 lbs. of meat).  

-----

I plan to bring some jerky to ST.N's Burger Run (Region 6).

[veefer800canuck]

To get a better deal on meat, you should look into buying a cow. Or a half, or a quarter, depending on your needs.

I have a family of 5 and bought an entire cow last year.

One of my co-workers hails from a farm, and his parents raise beef cattle, mostly they sell off the cows for finishing elsewhere, but they do keep about a half-dozen for friends and family and finish them on site.

I got a 900+ pound hanging weight cow and saved a bundle on our yearly grocery bill.

Only downside is: not enough T-bone steaks to satisfy me.

Hell the entire cow could be made of 100% T-bones and THEN I'd be a happy man!  

[Marcster]

veefer800canuck -- the trick is having a freezer large enough to store all that meat!  I don't have a stand-alone freezer.