jerky thickness

payne7744 · Dec 7, 2011

i get bottom round and have the butcher slice it about 1/8 thick. i would like more chewey jerky, i use hi mountain mesquite and cook on memphis advantage at 200* (lowest it will go) with the a maze n loaded with hickory and lit at both ends. any ideas will be appreciated, pretty new to pellet smoking only only tried jerky twice. thanks

alelover · Dec 7, 2011

1/8 seems pretty thin. I did some at 3/16 and it's good. Some of it dried too much though. I did some at 5/16. Too thick and too tough. 1/4 is about perfect I think.

sqwib · Dec 7, 2011

3/16 - 1/4" is where Iike it.

garyinmd · Dec 7, 2011

I always slice around 1/4 inch. I smoke in my MES with the AMNPS and no heat for the first three hours then crank it up for around one hour. Then I finish in the dehydrator, this way you can test some samples and take it off when it is too your liking.

Gary

SmokinAl · Dec 7, 2011

I don't do jerky, but my buddy does & his cutter is set up for 1/4".

sausageboy · Dec 7, 2011

I like mine relatively thin, 3/16".

If a batch happens to come out too dry, I place it in a zip bag with half a piece of bread until it softens up a bit.

alelover · Dec 7, 2011

3/16 - 1/4 seems to be the common consensus. I will try 7/32 next time.

mballi3011 · Dec 7, 2011

1/4" is where I have always done mine.

rbranstner · Dec 7, 2011

Does the butcher cut it cross grain or with the grain?

payne7744 · Dec 8, 2011

whats the difference in final product? also is bottom round the best cut and why. thanks for any info.

chef jimmyj · Dec 8, 2011

Cutting With the grain is what many commercial jerky makers do...Gives a Chewy Jerky...Top and Bottom round are good choices...JJ

BandCollector · Dec 8, 2011

alelover said:
3/16 - 1/4 seems to be the common consensus. I will try 7/32 next time.

LOL!!!!

dougmays · Dec 12, 2011

Agreed with the rest...1/4" is my ideal! i try to be on the thin side of 1/4"..my butcher often doesn't get that right hence awhile i'm buying my own slicer from Al :)

grabber · Dec 25, 2011

I do something that may not be agreeable with the purist but I use ground meat. 90/10 beef or ground venison/ game. I use something called a Jerky gun. It's like a caulking gun. Ever wonder how all the bought jerky is uniformed and nice strips. You simply put the ground meat in the gun, run the strips and put them in the dehydrator.

mcguyver · Dec 25, 2011

I've been making jerky for years in a dehydrator and using ground meat is good especially for the older folks that don't have the teeth they used to have. I go to my local grocery and pick a nice lean round or bottom cut and ask the butcher to trim any fat and grind it for me. Quite often it is cheaper than buying the "already ground" meat and it is a lot leaner. Also, most ground meat is ground twice. You can ask the butcher to only grind it once and to grind it coarse. It still goes through the jerky gun just fine but it makes for a more chewy jerky since the meat particles are a little longer.

mrbuzzsaw · Mar 30, 2016

Hey Everyone i am new to thi s forum and this is my first post.. considering this is how i found this place i figure best to start here.

i have a couple of questions

looks like ther first one was answered here 1/4 inch. i figured that but wanted to make sure.

the second question is how can i get my top round cut to 1/4 inch consistently? what cutters are you all using?

and lastly what should i be paying for top round the only place i have found it is 6.99 a pound???? that seems high to me. i mean i am getting tritip for 2.99 a pound . what should i be paying??

mauser · Apr 5, 2016

a-f-o

dubberz19 · Apr 8, 2016

Im looking at making a big batch of jerky using 14kg of inside round. Its my first time. Need to know best way and how to cut. Any tips, tricks, advice or good recipes welcomes. Thank you

mauser · Apr 9, 2016

a-f-o

dubberz19 · Apr 9, 2016

WOW....Thank you for the thorough advice. Great info, thank you again.

jerky thickness

Newbie

Master of the Pit

Smoking Guru

Smoking Fanatic

SMF Hall of Fame Pitmaster

Meat Mopper

Master of the Pit

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

Smoking Guru

Newbie

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

Master of the Pit

Master of the Pit

Meat Mopper

Newbie

Newbie

Fire Starter

Newbie

Fire Starter

Newbie

Similar threads

Hot Threads

Featured A couple thick strips please!