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Beef jerky

B

Bill

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Any tips or advice on how to make your own jerky?

Wanting to give it a try but not interested in spending too much on any extra equipment.

Thanks.
 
We slice a deer or beef roast with a meat slicer REAL thin,marinade it in any kind of flavor you like,couple hours. Pat dry,after marinaded Lay on a cookie sheet, Sprinkle seasonings and cook low oven 200 six to eight hours...Till dry.
 
I built a smoker out of an old closet. Lined the bottom with tin and made it so I could slide lots of racks in. I soak the meat in real salty water and then use green ash for the smoke. Just use pepper or white pepper.

Excellent.

Takes most of the day fiddlin' around to make a batch, what with adding a little more wood and keeping the fire small, but it's well worth it. And I've even made thin hamburger patties and smoked them. You can kind of cook them and then store in the freezer in plastic freezer bags and you don't have to cook it so long also. The stuff keeps real well that way.

Slicing the meat with a knife, partially freeze it first to firm it up.
 
Mrs.Greg said:
We slice a deer or beef roast with a meat slicer REAL thin,marinade it in any kind of flavor you like,couple hours. Pat dry,after marinaded Lay on a cookie sheet, Sprinkle seasonings and cook low oven 200 six to eight hours...Till dry.
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I do about the same- slice thin, marinate overnight- (have a couple of different recipes) then I put it in an old food dehydrater my wife had...The 6 trays in it work perfect to lay out the meat on...
 
Yep, having the meat partiially frozen helps a lot... Haven't made any Jerky myself but used to slice pound after pound of various roasts for Jerky when I worked at Albertsons... NOthing like getting ready to go home and having someone coming in wantin 20 pounds of meat sliced up for Jerky, lol... Oh wel, at least some of them brought some in for us to sample...


Had someone have us slice Tenderloin for Jerky... Good god, what did that cost per ounce of Jerky.
 
I slice half-thawed meat (usually venison) about a scant 1/4" thick, and lay the slabs in a bowl. Every layer gets a sprinkle of a boughten jerky cure mix, red pepper flakes, Worchestershire sauce, and lime juice; just a sprinkle (varied according to taste). Most batches are about 3 or 4 pounds of meat. When done slicing, I stir the works up some, then put it in a Ziploc bag and let it marinate in the fridge for 24 hours. I spread the slices on drying racks set in cookie sheets, (spray with non-stick stuff unless you really like to wash dishes), dry in the oven at 180-200 until it looks like it needs another hour, then take it out to cool. Keep the product refrigerated. Also prop the oven door open a little bit with a pot-holder, otherwise it bakes instead of dries the meat.
Good luck! Making jerky is a great winter night project.
 
Tenderloin for jerky :???: I use the lowest cut usually.Round roasts mostly. I forgot but others thought of it...don't completly thaw the meat,way easier to slice. We've used the smoker too...greg liked it,me not so much too smoked flavored for me. We bag and freeze it after its done.
 
MRs. Greg, I thought she was nuts too but you never know with some people with more dollars than sense see something on Martha stewart or read something in a magazine.. Most folks used Brisket type cuts or rump roast...

We also sliced Tenderloin for Carpacio which while quit yummy I don't think I will ever eat again.
 
I like to use hamburger. Lay it thin on sheets and don't overcook it so it is easy to chew. Good for those with dentures!!!!
 
Mr Lilly's dad makes deer jerky. He has an old refridgerator that he's made into his smoker. Uses Pecan wood, or Mesquite if he can get his hands on some. Takes him about 8 hours to smoke/dry it. he cuts it in 1/4 to 1/2 inch strips and puts his seasonins on it. Salt and black pepper mostly, but there is somethin else on there, I'm not sure what. It's the best stuff.
 
The South African version is called 'Biltong", when I sold it on a commercial scale through tne farm butchery, we found that silverside (Flat round- as suggested by mrs Greg) gave the highest dry yield and the best financial return. We would also make thin spicy dried sausage-Droer wors, which are very popular. I have recipies but we dried the salted, spiced, meat and no cooking or smoking was involved, possibly not to American taste?
 
andybob...sounds interesting but like you suggested,I'm not sure about it not being cooked or smoked. I'll try anything once.

By the way...I always find your posts interesting,neat to learn something new from other areas.
 
Thank you Mrs Greg,I enjoy all the varied views and opinions on this forum as well. If anyone is interested in the dried salted idea (even if only ofacademic interest) I am prepared to post a basic Biltong and droerwors recipe!
 
andybob said:
Thank you Mrs Greg,I enjoy all the varied views and opinions on this forum as well. If anyone is interested in the dried salted idea (even if only ofacademic interest) I am prepared to post a basic Biltong and droerwors recipe!
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I would be interested in both. Some of the best steak i have ever had was at a Braai in S.Africa. Both beef and wild game was excellent and I doubt either was grain fed. I can't remember if the game was Oryx or Kudu but it was excellent. A beautiful country, too bad it is facing so many challenges.
 
For 'Biltong', cut the meat with the grain (opposite to the way you cut a steak), instrips 25-50mm thick (1-2inches).
For 25Kg meat; (55Lbs) 600 grams Kosher salt
15 ml fresh ground black pepper
80-160 ml whole coriander, roasted lightly then ground.
I often add a little ground clove or allspice to taste.
Layer the salt/spice mix with the meat and leave to draw out the water for 48 hours, the hang in an airy space (traditionally the porch) a fan to increase air movement will help the meat dry sooner.
In humid weather,adda little vinegar or worchestersire sauce to the wet meat to prevent mould , when as dry as preferred usually will still bend without breaking, it can be sliced as thinly as required and used as is or cooked.

Droer Wors;
4,5 Kg Beef or venison
1Kg sheep tail fat or Beef brisket fat (Not kidney fat!)
34 Grams fine salt
20 Grams whole coriander (Roast and grind)
5Ml ground cloves
10 ml fresh ground black pepper
Thin natural sausage casings.
Cut the meat and fat into cubes, add the salt and spices, grind and fill the casings.Hang well spread out and dry as with the biltong.
Worchestershire sauce added to taste before grinding makes a nice variation.
These are basic recipes and everyone has their favourite 'secret'ingredients (nutmeg allspice etc)
 
Biil, Sorry, I have had a rather dissconected week I had meant to ask where you were visiting in South Africa? I had a large Kudu population on my farm in Rhodesia, My in laws had both Kudu and Orynx (Gemsbok) on their Namibian ranch, they have now sold the ranch and semi-retired onto their farm in Delmas near Johannesburg, South Africa. The gemsbok is the better venison, but both are great eating the S African orynx is available in Texas I believe, I haven't read anything about Kudu in the 'States 'though.
 

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