Does anyone have a good ricipe
That they are willing to share?

Terry--If you are not grinding the meat and using a jerky gun--try it. I find it makes better and easier jerky. I have been lazy lately and bought the jerky spice kit at Wal-Mart that is made by Nesco. This kit has two packages--one is salt and other spices. They say use one of each per pound. I found that too salty and I like salt. I use 3-4 for 6 pounds of meat. I mix it into the ground meat real well and let set covered in the fridge overnight and then use my jerky gun to fill the trays with one continious spiral. Break to length after it's done. Ground meat will cure faster than sliced so don't leave it as long--check often--a few hours is plenty. In the past I did make my own marinate out of soy sauce,vinegar,and whatever sounded like it might work.

I got one of those kits. It was okay, ....but only "okay." I mixed it and put in the dehydrator immediately without letting it set in refrigerator overnight. Maybe that's what i did wrong.

Plinker

Plinker--My guess would be not letting it set overnight would be a problem--wouldnt get the curing effect from the salt for one thing. There are gobs of kits out there---was your kit a Nesco? Taste etc aside,do you like using the ground vs sliced?

It was the Nesco brand with the jerky gun that Walmart sells. I prefered the sliced variety but do want to try letting the mix soak overnight. The kit was great, except the gun would be better if it held twice as much. They may make them different sizes, don't know. Would recommend the larger size if there's a choice.

They probably have to include the excessive salt with the mix so there's absolutely no chance of spoilage. At our house, the jerky wouldn't last long enough for it to spoil, so it'd be okay to use less salt. When i do a batch with the proper soaking, i'll do an update here.

Plinker

Plinker--Come to think of it--I believe the jerky gun that comes with that kit is small. There is a larger one--size of caulking gun that is available. Yes the amount of salt is excessive I use about half what they say.

The salt does two things - 1-acts as a preservative , 2- draws moisture from the meat.[that's why you soak it ] One of my books has two solutions , one for the winter and a stronger one for the summer.

Here's how I do it,

I use a dehydrator. I don't make it in an oven. When using a dehydrator, you are drying meat between 145 and 175 degrees Farenheit. Consequently you are setting up the perfect medium for botulism poisioning. My understanding is that if you have not held the temperature of your meat at 0 degrees for at least 60 days, you need to use a chemical cure to make sure that you do not grow the organism that results in botulism poisoining.
I use the "High Mountain" brand of cure and seasoning.Their website is www.himtnjerky.com. I live near Houston Texas where there are numerous businesses that cater to the commercial food industry. High Mountain products can also be ordered from Cabelas.
I find it easiest when making venison or turkey jerky to use meat that is semi-frozen. I only use whole muscle meat. I do not use ground meat. I've been making jerky for six years so I've refined my process. You can purchase a jerky board and knife or you can cut the meat free-hand. You want slices 1/4 to 3/8" thick. The cure is sodium nitrite. It penetrates the meat at a rate of 1/4 inch per 24 hour period.
I cut the meat into 1/4 inch slabs first. Then I cut it into strips. I typically make it in 4 lb batches. Four lbs.of raw meat will make one pound of jerky when dry. Lately I place 4 lbs of prepared venison or turkey in a 1 gallon zip lock bag with at least 4 ounces of teriyaki sauce for at least an hour. After the meat has soaked I lay it out on freezer paper and add the cure and seasoning. High mountain has a number of seasonings. I like the pepper blend the best. I add the cure and seasoning by weight on the meat that is laid out on the freezer paper. After coating the meat with the cure and seasoning I place the meat back in the gallon zip lock bag and put it in the refirgerator for 48 hours. After approx 48 hours I put it in the dehydrator at 175 degrees for approx. 5 to 6 hours depending on the thickness of the jerky strips. I make the venison jerky out of venison hind quarters and backstraps. My kids and friends go nuts over it.
Good luck
GWB

I just remembered an incident and thought it should be repeated.When I was in gunsmithing school one of the students had made jerky.He came home one day and all he had in the house was jerky,but he was very hungry so he ate a good bit of it. With the dried salty meat he became thirsty and not thinking of the consequences he drank a good bit of water.The meat swelled up from the water and he spent hours with pain and discomfort !!

I have been using a dehydrator, as well as a smoker for a few years now. The dehydrator works very well if your on a time limit, but it is tasty. I have used hi-mountain sesonning, but find it doesnt taste as well as others, and is too salty if you follow the recipe given.
I also mix in Teriyaki sauce into the spice/ground meat mix, as well as liquid honey and lots of garlic...both of the above are super mmmmmmm.....

Here's the recipe we use for jerky:bison,deer or beef remove all fat.4 TBS soy sauce,4 TBS Worcestershire sauce,1 TBS Ketchup,1/4 tsp pepper(more pepper for hotter jerky we also use crushed red hot pepper flakes))1/4 tsp garlic powder,1/4 tsp onion salt,1/2 tsp salt we make a big batch and marinate the meat overnight coating it well.It's easier to partially freeze the meat to slice it into 1/4 to 3/8 thick strips.We use our dehydrator setting at 145 deg for 8 to 10 hours.This makes great jerky that everyone we've given it to wanted the recipe.

scr83jp, I take it the above ingredients, are on a per pound basis. Sounds good, I may try some this weekend.

quote:

Originally posted by cmfic1:
scr83jp, I take it the above ingredients, are on a per pound basis. Sounds good, I may try some this weekend.

Sorry 'bout that it's for 1 pound.

Soy sauce,brown sugar, coarse cracked pepper,fresh minced garlic. Use just enough brown sugar so the soy is no longer salty add the garlic to taste. Let meat marinate 24 hours. Dust it with the pepper to taste just before you start drying it.

I make mine in the oven. Set the oven on the lowest setting. Skewer the meat on bamboo k-bob sticks spacing it to fit between the grates in your oven. Put down foil for drips. Crack the door open and check every for hours.

If you really want to make large amounts build a light bulb dryer it really simple. Just do a search on the net.

A Jerky Maker’s Check List:
Use fresh lean meat that is free of fat and connective tissue.

Slice the meat across the grain.

Add the correct amount of seasoning. If you do not have a scale, use approximate equivalent measures for seasonings as follows:

Salt: 10.5 ounces (298 grams) = 1 cup

8.0 ounces (227 grams) = ¾ cup

3.0 ounces = 4½ level Tablespoons

Sugar: 5.0 ounces (141 grams) = 2/3 cup

3.5 ounces (100 grams) = ½ cup

1.0 ounce = 2 level Tablespoons

Ground spices: 0.5 ounce = 6 level teaspoons

0.08 ounce = 1 level teaspoon

Saltpeter

Potassium Nitrate : 0.3 ounce = 2 level teaspoons

Cure the meat for the correct length of time at 38 °F. Salted meat should be placed in wooden, stainless steel or stone containers.

Keep the drying or smoking temperature in the smokehouse or oven at 120 °F (use a thermometer).

If an oven is used, line the sides and bottom with aluminum foil to catch the drippings. Open the door to the first or second stop, or prop open to allow moisture to escape and to lower the oven temperature. A fan will speed air circulation and the drying process.

Use hardwood for smoking.

Remove the jerky from the smokehouse or oven before it gets too hard for your taste. Five pounds of fresh meat should weigh about 2 pounds after drying or smoking.

Store jerky in clean, airtight containers or plastic bags at room temperature, or wrap it in freezer paper and freeze it. Check often during the first month to be sure jerky is dry enough to keep well. Although jerky will last almost indefinitely at any temperature, its quality deteriorates after a few months.

Seasonings and smoking or drying times can be changed to suit individual tastes. Be careful however, to maintain minimum temperatures to avoid bacterial growth.

Large pieces of meat that are pickle-cured make excellent jerky when sliced and dried or smoked. Corned meat pickles are preferred because spices are included in the cure.

Deer Jerky: Debone the hind leg, splitting it into individual muscles, top, bottom and tip. Pump with brine (you can use ordinary syringe; inject into several areas). Use 2 pounds of commercial salt cure mixture per gallon of water. Place in a crock or USDA-approved plastic container. Do not use plastic containers such as garbage cans, plastic bags or supermarket ice cream buckets. Cover completely with brine and weight meat down to keep it submerged.

Store in cooler (38 °F) for 10 days. Every two days, change the position of the meat and weight it down again. After 10 days, remove meat from the brine and smoke for five hours at 150 °F. Hang to dry at room temperature (about two weeks). Cut off to use as needed.

Oven-Method Jerky: Slice 3 pounds of meat ¼ inch thick. Remove all fat. Lay the meat out in a single layer on a clean counter surface. Dab each piece with a brush dipped in a mixture of ½ teaspoon liquid smoke to 2 tablespoons of water. Salt generously. Sprinkle with pepper if desired. Place the strips layer on layer in a large bowl or crock. Place a plate and weight on the top of meat. Let stand at a cool temperature (45 °F or less), overnight or at least six hours. Remove meat strips from bowl and dry.

Remove oven racks. Stretch meat strips across the racks. Allow the edges to touch but not overlap. Do not cover the entire rack. Allow room for air circulation in the oven. Arrange the racks so the top rack is no closer than 4 inches from the top source of heat and the bottom rack no closer than 4 inches from the bottom of the oven. Set the oven temperature at 150 °F and let the meat dry for about 11 hours. Check the meat early in the drying process. If there is excessive drip, catch it on aluminum foil on a rack near the bottom of the oven. Lower the temperature till the oven feels warm but does not cook the meat. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Note: Frozen meat may be "jerkied." Thaw meat and proceed according to one of the recipes given.

High Mountain pepper and garlic mix. I grind meat and MIX WELL with the finins' and leave at least overnight in frig. Extrude with Jerky Gun onto racks made of wood frames and aluminum screening. Use dehydrator I made with cedar plywood, powered with 4, 60 W bulbs and a dehumidifyer, both on restats to control heat and air speed. Rotate the racks during the day, fan only during night. Takes about 24 hrs to dry. Then finish at 225 degrees in oven for about 1/2 hr. (intended to kill any bacteria,etc).
This way I do away with the slicing and messy meriade, can use smaller pieces of venison, duck, goose (trying wild turkey next week) and get much more tender jerky with no annoying sinue.

Well this maybe a bit of a cheat but damn its quick, simple a reeeeal tasty.

I tend to use just the two loins (back straps) to make biltong.
All i do is take the loin and slice it longways into two if its an average roe size or larger.(with the grain)
Then cut across the grain in two places.
This makes a total of six pieces per loin, each around 125-150mm in length
by 1cm thick.

Ok, well thats the hard part done.

Now all i do is dry off the meat with paper towel then sprinkle on Schwartz Grill &
Sizzle Steakhouse Pepper seasoning. Making sure that its totally covered.
I know you can get this in the UK but not sure about elsewhere.


I have a biltong box that a friend and i made that has a 250watt heat lamp
and a computer fan at the bottom with vent holes at the top above where the meat hangs.

Place venison in the box, plug in, switch on, wait 24 hours and then start munching.
Really really tasty.

Yes its the lazy way but you can't argue with the taste

I have got pics of the box but not sure how to add them here.

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak!!!

I have tried an way of doing this that is fast and easy. Instead of useing the gun I use a rolling pin, put a lump of seasoned burger in between 2 sheets of wax paper, roll it until it is about 1/4in thick remove the top paper and cut into strips with a pizza cutter, really fast!!! And no hand cramps.