Jerky Making

[Tsalagi]

Well, this isn't going to exactly be a making jerky on a wooden rack kinda deal, but I haven't seen any threads here about making jerky. So, I thought I'd share my jerky-making adventures.

With the recession, I'm out of a full time job and the part time "filler" doesn't have a whole lot of hours. So, when I find a sale on meat, I like to take advantage of it. But we have a limited amount of freezer space. What's to do? Make jerky! I've been playing around with some recipes and found one that is dead-bang the best marinade so far. I HATE---HATE!!!---that sweet, flaccid crap they call "jerky" in the stores. Yecchh! Too sweet. In fact, I don't like sweet at all in jerky. And I don't like jerky so soft it rivals butter. THere was a guy where I used to work (LOL, used to work---sounds funny after having been there 10 years... ) who made this jerky that was great. Tangy, kinda sour, a little heat. I could see the crushed red pepper on it, but he wouldn't let on what was in the marinade. Well, I found it within two tries! Here's my jerky marinade for about a pound and a half of meat:

2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup Yamasa shoyu (Use real shoyu; Kikkoman's will work. La Choy is just a chemical formula. Don't use it.)
1/4 cup Bragg's Unfiltered/Unpastuerized Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tablespoons Wright's Hickory Liquid Smoke
3 tablespoons crushed red pepper

That's it! I marinade in a covered crockware bowl in the fridge at least 6 hours; overnight sometimes. Then I put it into a Nesco American Harvest dehydrator at about 140 for usually over the day or overnight. I don't like my jerky too soft. I like it a bit more on the "brittle" side, though still a tiny bit chewy. I don't bother getting good cuts of beef for this. I buy the cheapest of what's on sale. That's the whole point. It's going to be jerky, not filet mignon smothered in asparagus tips. Once, I saw some beef fajita strips that were on sale for $1.99 a pound. I used those---they were already cut up for me, see!!--and made some killer jerky with that. I bought a bunch and just kept marinading and loading the dehydrator for days. Almost had me an assembly line operation going.

Today, I am trying a new marinade. Using straight Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce can be pricey. And I wanted to make a "mock pemmican". So, being that pemmican used berries in the mix, I decided to try something new with the marinade. Fruit juice! I wanted to use berry juice for at least a stab at authenticity. This marinade I list below is for about close to 4 pounds of beef round steak that was on sale at $1.99 a pound.

1 cup Welch's Black Cherry and Concord Grape juice
1 cup Ocean Spray Cranberry-Blueberry Juice
1/3 cup Bragg's Unflitered Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 cup Worcestershire Sauce
1 cup Yamasa Shoyu
1/6 cup or 4 tablespoons Wright's hickory liquid smoke
a handful of crushed red pepper
 a couple pinches of chipotle powder

I mixed this up into a bowl and am marinading in two bowls. One will marinade for 6 hours and be started tonight. The rest will marinade overnight and be on standby to go right into the dehydrator after the first batch is done. I haven't tried this marinade yet, so I will post on how it is. I picked those fruit juices because they're not sweet, they're tangy, just a little sour, and are berries. 

On meat, I discovered that mutton and lamb make EXCELLENT jerky. Around here, mutton can be had pretty cheap because it's popular here with the Dine'h. So, I lay hands of the cheapest mutton leg I can find and make jerky! It turned out great, better than great. Almost tasted wild. I haven't tried it with the new marinade yet, but it's next.

The next meat I'm going to make jerky from is jackrabbit. I can harvest several jackrabbits here a day and while we love 'em baked or barbequed, I gotta try making jerky with one and see how it tastes. If they're good, that'll give me even more reason to hunt 'em. Then I can bring a couple extra over what'll fit in the freezer and make jerky out of those.

[sailordad]

hey thanks for the jerky  recipies
i too hat that sweet soft jerky
i like it jaw tireing hard,and a little kick in it
i hope to take my first sefl bow deer this season(actaully mi fisrt deer ever)
and i plan on making jerky
my sons(both of whom are in the NAVY)requested i send them jerky  ifn i get a deer
so that pepper recipe is the one i plan on using,providing the gods of the hunt and the forest smile upon me

thanks again

[Tsalagi]

Glad to see another guy who doesn't like the store bought sugarmeat. I don't know why people love their jerky so sweet. It's like meat candy or something.

  With the Nesco American Harvest dehydrator, if the jerky is still too soft, just let it run a few more hours. I like it hard also. Not crispy, but something to work at while eating. Lasts longer that way and the chewing releases the flavors.

One thing I learned is not to add black pepper. It detracts from the flavor. Also, don't add salt. The soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce will add just the right amount of salt. I found the apple cider vinegar gives it an awesome tanginess that you just won't find in any store jerky. The crushed red pepper, a lot will fall off in the dehydrator. So, if you like your jerky hot, add more crushed red pepper to the marinade.

 I might one day experiment with adding some Tabasco to the marinade and see what happens. I'm thinking about two tablespoons should be the right amount for the first marinade and probably four tablespoons for the fruit-juice based marinade.

[Tsalagi]

Well, the first batch using the new fruit-juice marinade is done. It only soaked for about 6 hours. It's not as savory, tangy, and tasty as the original marinade I use. It's good and the meat flavor really shines, though. You can taste just a hint of the marinade, though none of the fruit flavor at all. It just isn't as tangy as I like it. That could be due to the length of the soak. We'll see. I loaded the second batch which soaked for those 6 hours and all night. Tomorrow, I will see if the difference is made by the length of the soak.

[nugget]

I marinate my jerky in Dales marinade. It acn be bought in most grocery stores. It is a steak marinade. It has soy, worchestire sauce, and all the other goodies already in it. I let it soak overnight and slap it in the dehydrator.  If I want it spicy I add crushed red pepper or cayenne pepper to the marinade.

[woodstick]

gota try that one sounds good. my kids and wife will eat all i can make and even more. every deer my daughter kills all but back strap is made into jerkey. we got some hot sauce called insanity sauce which is real bad stuff bout 2 drops is all you need and it is good if you like it hot, real hot.

[Tsalagi]

Well, the longer soak added a littlre more tanginess, but it isn't worth adding fruit juice. The first recipe of just Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, liquid smoke, and crushed red pepper is the hands-down winner. But, you never know til you try! I'll have to see if I can find that Dale's marinade here.

[VenomBOWslinger]

I SAW JERKY AND I HAD TO STOP BY...AWESOME MAN GREAT RECIPES AMONGST SOME OF MY PROFESSIONS  I AM A SOUS CHEF AND LOVE RECIPES AND STORIES ABOUT COOKING ADVENTURES.. I AM ALSO AN AVID JERKY MAKER MY BRINE IS SOMEWHAT SIMILAR TO UR RECIPE BUT I ACTUALLY COLD SMOKE MY VENISON AND BEEF NOT GONNA LIE I LIKE BOTH WITH HICKORY, SOMETIMES APPLE THEN I LIKE TO PLACE IT ON A RACK AND FINISH IT OFF IN MY OVEN!!! FOR THOSE OF U WHO DONT HAVE A DEHYDRATOR U CAN DRAPE IT ON THE RACKS OF UR OVEN SET OVEN TO 110 AND LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN A CRACK FOR ABOUT AN HOUR OR SO IT WILL BE SLIGHTLY SOFT WHEN U BRING IT OUT OF OVEN AND WILL GET A BIT HARDER WHEN IT COOLS COMPLETELY... U CAN DO FISH LIKE THAT AS WELL...TSALGI GREAT THREAD MAN U PUT A LOT INTO IT BY GIVING OUT THE RECIPES AND SHARING UR IDEAS....P.S. WHERES THE PICS AND SEND ME A SAMPLE BROTHER!!!

BY THE WAY UR ABSOLUTLY RIGHT ABOUT LA CHOY I LIKE KIKKOMEN OR ANY NATURALLY FERMENTED SOY SAUCE!!!

CHEERS!!!

[stickbender]

     Sounds tasty, I will have to try that recipe.  Personally I like the crispy style.  I took some crispy style to my Girlfriends, and her brother and a Friend of his were down visiting, and I had taken about a pound or more, in a big ziplock bag, and I didn't come back with any.  A Friend of mine ,made a dryer for me.  Actually it was his, but I had given him a nice Cajun style cast iron, Gumbo pot, with a gator on top of the lid, just in time for his rendezvous made.  So his wife, said, it would take him awhile to get around to making it for me, but she was coming down to visit family, not too far from me, and she would just bring his, drop it off at one of the Fire stations I worked at, before I retired, and he could make another one for himself.  I do like the way that woman thinks!   Well she did.  I can put six racks on it.  It is interior 3/8" plywood, or marine, I am not sure, but it is clear, and nicely finished.  Anyway, each rack is 2" high, by about 18 3/4" wide, and 25 1/4" long.  It has the square wire lathe, as grating. Thereis a 1" square piece of wood, on the inside of the rack frame, and the wire lath is attached to the underside of that.  So the wire lath is recessed 1 " inch below the rack top edge.  That way, another rack can set on top without any space, and no heat escaping through the space, between the racks.The rack is set on top of the bottom piece with the heat source, and the next one on top of the preceding rack, and so on. The bottom heating source, is the same width, and length, but is 4" high, and has 3, 2" diameter circles cut along each of the long sides, and two at each end.  Each hole has a screen mesh.  with a plywood bottom.  The top is four inches high also, by the same dimensions of width, and length, and a plywood top, and in the center of the top, it has a 6" diameter hole, with a dryer fan, or some kind of little fan motor, with a metal blade.  The fan blade is facing up, to draw the heated air in from the vent holes on the bottom.  The bottom, pan has six 100 watt bulbs, with a wire running around to each in series, and then out the side, where there is a pig tail receptacle for the fan motor plug.  The bottom, is lined with heavy tinfoil, to catch drippings, and reflect the heat.  I put a rack under neath, the bottom, just to have it raised up a bit, but you can use something else, or just set on the floor, or on something else to raise it up a bit.  Anyway, I just put the jerky strips on the mesh of the racks. I used to marinate them with my buddy's recipe, but then one time I didn't have all the ingredients, so I just put the strips on the racks,  and then dusted them with garlic powder, onion powder, Cajun seasoning, and sometimes a little bit of Cayenne powder.  And then put the racks on top of the bottom, and then stacked them, and put the top with the motor on top, and plugged her in.  I can usually get jerky, to the semi dry chewy state, in about 5 -6 hrs, and full jerky in about 8 hrs.  I let it go all night, to get it crispy.  I like it that way, because you don't have to rip it with your teeth, and chew for ten minutes, and I still get the full flavor.  I cut it across the grain, and pound it out flat.  Sometimes, I marinate, and sometimes I don't.  I made some crispy for my neighbor, and the guy he works with.  The guy he works with doesn't have any front teeth, so he likes the crispy, because he can break off little pieces, and chew them with his back teeth.  But that is the machine I use.  It works great, and is not very difficult to make.  He is a good woodworker, and this unit has dado's cut into them and joined together that way.  When you are finished making jerky, you can take it outside, and wash, and brush the remnants off of the screen, and if there is a lot of drippings, you can wipe, the bulbs down, after they have cooled of course, and change the tinfoil.  I think I would just use Louisiana sauce instead of the Tabasco.  I personally don't like Tabasco.  It hasn't any flavor, and I can get the same affect with Cayenne pepper.  But the Louisiana, or Crystal, or Trappey's, or any other Louisiana style hot sauce would work, because it has vinegar in it, and it would give the tangyness you like.  I will have to try that.  I hope you can use those plans, like I said it works really great, and you can put six racks on, and do quite a bit of meat, or fruit, vegetables etc.  Hmm, Speaking of pemmican, I wonder  if I could pound in some raisins before, I dry it ?......   I will have to find out what kind of motor it is, in case I need to get another one.  But I think he said it was a dryer fan, from a clothes dryer.  But any small electric fan that has about a near six " fan blade should work.

                                                                                 Wayne

[El Destructo]

Wayne ....speaking of no Front teeth....My Hunting Buddy had to get Dentures...and could not eat Jerky anymore....so I decided to take my Normal Recipe....but instead of Shaved Venison....I used all ground.....let it marinade in your spices overnight in the Refrigerator....then take it out....spread it thin on a Cookie Sheet.....freeze it to the point that it is hard....not solid.....take a Pizza Cutter....and cut it into slices....remove from Cookie Sheet with a Spatula....then dehydrate like normal Jerky....this works as good ....if not better than a Jerky Shooter....and don't cost You a Dime..........

[stickbender]

     El D, that's a cool idea.   I will definitely try that!

                                      Wayne

[Cromm]

Hhhhmmm El D nearly answered my Q but here goes anyway;
Do you use a Jerky Gun/Cannon(ground meat) or cut the steak into strips when you make your jerky??
Thanks for your time.

[stickbender]

     Cromm, I cut it thin, used to use a knife, but bought a meat slicer, and slice it thin, across the grain, then for the smaller tail pieces, I use a sharp knife.  Then, I Pound it to a uniform thickness, pretty thin, and then cut it in to strips, or just leave it wide.
Then I either marinate it, or just put it on the drying racks, of my machine, and hand season the pieces.  You could do like El Destructo said, and use lean hamburger.  You want to use lean hamburger, or meat, because the fat will go bad.  With the hamburger, you can marinate it, or season it, and then mix it up, and then roll it out thin on a sheet of wax paper, on a cookie sheet, and then almost freeze it, and cut it in strips, and put it in the dryer, or oven.  The pemmican I think used rendered fat, to mix with the jerky, and fruit, berries, and such.

                                                                          Wayne

[El Destructo]

Ever since I did it this way for My Buddy Brad....I do all of my Jerky this way....it is really Chewy too...I use straight Venison ....no Beef or Pork added like some do. And another Trade Secret....Claudes Brisket Marinade.........

[Tsalagi]

Venom, well, I can't post pics as I don't have a digital camera. We only got this newfangled computer last year.  We don't have a TV. Haven't had one for 13 years. We once had a TV set up just to watch DVDs. TV died, we never replaced it. We have heard of these fancy new inventions called "bows and arrows"; supposed to replace the atlatl, we hear tell. 

Yes, the LaShwag "soy sauce" isn't fermented. Kikkoman's is. So is Yamasa. For a drop-dead great shoyu, try the Ohsawa Nama Shoyu imported from Japan by Gold Mine Natural Foods. Fermented traditionally in cypress vats. One of these days, I might try Bragg's Liquid Aminos as a marinade. I like their Raw Apple Cider Vinegar, the Liquid Aminos must be good. By the way, speaking of fermented foods, you like nuoc mam / nam pla?

Stickbender, I like it crispy, too. I like it both crispy and just a little crisp. This flaccid crap they sell in stores puts one to mind of some weird "meat noodle" or something. Makes you wonder how they keep it so soft. Probably some chemical once used as propellant on the old Titan 1 missile. I mean, it hardly qualifies as jerky. It's more like something the government would have invented to stock fallout shelters in the 1950s. You can almost see Bert the Turtle on the package. I don't know, I think they got the recipe for store jerky from the UFO that crashed at Roswell. "Look! It's...it's Sweet Meat Noodle! Think of the possibilities when someone invents gas station mini marts!"

Ahhhhhh! I can smell my next round of mutton jerky wafting it's heavenly scent throughout the house as it's going on an overnight run in the dehydrator as we speak!