Just got another batch of jerky from some friends (love friends like that). My wife said they make it in the kitchen oven, and she plans to ask then these questions too, but.......... What cut of beef would be good for this? Also wondering about how you guys/gals marinade or whatever you do to the meat before it goes in the oven/smoker. YouTube is usually my friend, but folks here have such a diverse trove of knowledge, thought I'd come here first. Figured the "Smokehouse" would be appropriate.
I usually make jerky from venison, but I've made a few batches out of beef too. I make the venison jerky from the hind quarter so a round cut or rump roast would work well with beef. I don't have my recipe handy but it is based on Alton Brown's, but I like to add a little spicy curry powder to mine for that little something extra. I marinade at least over night then use a food dehydrator. Check out Alton's recipe. I remember seeing swags post a thread on another forum about making jerky so if he doesn't trip across this thread this you might PM too.
PD, I've made lots of jerky out of London broil roasts, shoulder roasts amd rump roasts....all with good results. We would wait for the different cuts to go on sale and buy a bunch of 'em. Cut diagonally across the grain (around 3/8"-1/2" thick).
I have made jerky from beef and venison but make sure that whichever you choose to make it from is lean with no to little fat on it as fat in jerky can give it an almost rancid taste. Any of the cuts Scotty mentioned would work fine
Lots of good info here already, like Scotty said cut cross grain. A slicer is great but if you don't have one it's much easier to cut with a knife if the meat is partially frozen. Lay a few knives down on a cutting board and place the meat in the middle. Use knives as a guide for thickness by laying another along top and slicing through the meat. I use a marinade that is based with Worcestershire adding spices to it. I'll post the recipe if you want it. I also use a dehydrator but an oven works well too. Set it as low as you can and crack the door with a wooden spoon.
We make jerky with our dehydrator. But we only make it for the dogs. We use our freezer burned meats and chicken breast. The cost savings is huge. Plus, we know it doesn't have added preservative that may not be appropriate feed a loved pet. The temp in the dehydrator gets around 165f and from what I understand this would be acceptable for human grade jerky. Super easy to make. Dehydrators on amazon very reasonable. Bought ours with extra trays so we could do bulk and save.
This recipe I use for about 20lbs of jerky. When I make jerky I usually make a lot. I use deer and when I shoot a deer for jerky I will use everything but the loins and backstraps for jerky so I have two big bowls of meat. If I need a little more marinade I just make a little more. I'm not one to always follow recipes exactly I just put in a little of this and a little of that, taste it and add something if needed. But here is the base recipe I start with. 1.5 cup soy sauce 1/2 cup Worcestershire 1.5 oz liquid smoke 3 T seasoning salt 2 T black pepper 2 oz hot sauce ( less if you don't want it spicy, for mild use 1/2 oz) 1 T garlic salt If you want it a little sweet sometimes I add 2 T brown sugar, that adds a nice flavor. You can also lighten up on the soy for a milder flavor. Marinade for at least 4 hours but I normally marinade overnight. When I make a big batch like that I'm running two dehydrators for at least 2 days. It's a lot of work but then I have jerky for a long time. And I always end up giving most of it away because so many people ask for it. And I really enjoy doing it so I don't mind giving it away, they love it so I'm happy hearing how much they like it.
[quote="If you want it a little sweet sometimes I add 2 T brown sugar, that adds a nice flavor. .[/quote] This sounds good Swags Is that Teaspoon or Tablespoon?
I always cut out the fat and grind the meat to make jerky. Doesn't matter what you use...beef, deer, turkey, pork etc...whatever is the cheapest. With ground meat, you can just mix the ingredients (no marinating) and use a jerky shooter to make the strips or just roll the ground meat out on a cookie sheet, freeze it and cut into strips. This recipe makes about 3 lbs. 2 tsp. tender quick 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. onion powder 1 tsp. garlic powder 1 tsp. pepper 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup worchestershire sauce 1/4 cup honey (optional) 2 tsp. liquid smoke (optional) 2 tbl red pepper flakes The salt, tender quick and drying is what preserves the meat. All the other stuff is just flavoring, so you can mess around with that to get the flavour profile you desire. Happy munching! PS-Every time I make this stuff, my kids come over and steal it so be forewarned ....
Just what I was looking for, swags. Cool, tree burner. We had a dehydrator a few years ago, and we made some dried fruit, then never used it again. DOH!
We use our dehydrator a lot. We watch for discount fruits and veggies at the grocers and then dry to preserve.
I just did a batch last week, top round was on sale and I was too lazy to shoot any of the does scampering across the driveway this year. If you want to try some interesting flavors check out the hunting area at Wally World. Eastman Outdoors sells packs of dry rub with curing salt for 5lb batches. Don't use all the cure on a partial batch but definitely use all the seasoning, you'll need extra racks to run a full 5lbs The most recent batch I did was whiskey pepper - with an extra shot of whiskey for good measure I bought a dehydrator and run a batch every month or so. Lay it on paper towels when finished and into a 200deg oven for ~8-10mins just to ensure no bugglies. If you run any venison/wild game they recommend freezing the meat for 30days to kill any pathogens, but its still recommended to heat through when complete.
I don't know how I missed this thread. Any ways. I use the eye of the round. I put in a gallon ziplock back, get most of the air out. Wrap it up in a towel, then put it in the freezer for about 2 to 3 hours. This will solidify it just enough to make the cutting/slicing much easier. I use a Manadalay slicer at its thickest cut (1/4 to 3/8). I'll get recipe later. Love some jerky. Makes the house smell sooo good.
Enough already!!!! I love jerky and proclaim myself the FHC official taste tester, please send samples (large amounts only) of each batch to me. Thanks in advance, I'll even pay for the shipping costs
Forgot about the banana slicer. Works great. When bananas are on sale, we load up then slice and dry the ones we don't get around to eating. http://www.amazon.com/Hutzler-571-B...&qid=1392325311&sr=8-1&keywords=banana+slicer This is worth looking at just for the reviews!
