I DESPERATELY NEED HELP!

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johnnyjerk

Newbie
Original poster
Mar 22, 2014
4
10
I need some help and advice.  Even my dog is beginning to dislike the beef jerky recipes I have been trying to develop.  Some samples were too salty. Some were actually inedible. My theory that more is better in a marinate did not work either....Some contained so many spices that I couldn't work with my patients because of the bad smell it left in my mouth.  My head spins when I read all the samples on the web.  In addition, my fridge space is quickly filling up and I still haven't been able to find that "perfect flavor", perfect color,consistency or tenderness. .

Here is my situation:  I have a unique opportunity.  I  am fortunate enough to be part of a small group who want to add two flavors of Beef Jerky to its already established food distribution network in a country other than Canada or the U.S.  All marketing research has already been done and the rest of the team is waiting to sample that perfect Teriyaki Jerky and Hot and Spicy Jerky samples from me.

Our intention is to better the economy of this particular country by making the jerky production a "cottage industry", using locals and starting small.   (At present we already have some unrelated products being distributed.) 

I've used inside round for most of the samples.  I've  used a small Little Chief smoker, but found that my electric dehydrator worked just fine...for the dehydrating at least.  I have pulled wonderful plans off the web to build a small smoker and people are already waiting to build several of the units as soon as they receive my specs.   I feel that a small smoker would meet our needs for small commercial production.  Recently I also purchased a nice electric slicer and am looking forward to trying new samples using this slicer.

I really want to make this work and go forward with our cottage industry plans but because of desperation I have started to explore just buying jerky commercially elsewhere and repackaging it for our distribution,under our brand.  I realize that this last choice would be a cope out and would not employ as many local people in the manner in which it was originally planned for. The costs would also be unrealistic. 

Blind flavor tests, using purchased samples, indicate that our customer market prefers softer, thicker, redder colored smaller snack pieces.  Our bag size would be snack sized - about 100 grams.

My heart is in the right place and I really want this to work. I hope that this post inquiry is appropriate.  I am not advertising and would even entertain additional involvement from someone out there.  Revenues would be small initially, but opportunities in developing other flavors and then branching out into dehydrated fruits would be forthcoming. 

This is my first post.  I live on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, the North West Pacific Coast of Canada.

Any suggestions, comments or direction would be appreciated.  Thank you.

Best regards, 

Johnny Jerk
 
Is this the right screen to type a response to Smoking B?  Except for my posting I am not very familiar with how this thread works.  

If, you Smoking B asked what exactly am I asking for, possibly some suggestions on my search for that softer, redder search.  Any good recipes that meet this criteria?  Do I need to smoke and dehydrate or just dehydrate?

Johnny Jerk 
 
  Hi Johnny and welcome to the forum!  I would not think you would need a large number of spices for the marinade. Keep it simple. Using the smoker will also add flavor that the dehydrator can't. The type of wood used will affect the flavor too. Fruit woods will be milder than say hickory or mesquite. I hope that helps some but I sense you are looking for the perfect marinade recipe. You should be able to find some good ideas on this forum!

  Mike
 
Thank you So Ms Smoker for the reply.  I will try to keep the number of spices to a minimum.  We might also have difficulty in obtaining a lot of spices in the country.  I want to use Liquid Smoke, but would also like to find out if I can find a recipe and miix this up myself.  What do you think and have you heard of such?  

I agree that a smoker is the way to go.  As I said in my initial post, the people are waiting for my smoker specs so they can start building two to begin with.

Gathering a lot of wood in the country of production is not a good option.  Going exotic wood, for flavouring, would be even harder.  Wood is very expensive; but I will check into what is available.  

I hope I don't scare off people on the forum with that "perfect recipe" wording.  I would appreciate guidance into my next batch that is worth pursuing.  I need someone to say, "Hey Johnny Jerk...try this recipe! "   I'll go out tomorrow and get started AGAIN!

LOL.  

Johnny Jerk
 
So MS Smoker:  

Could you tell me what the "Points" mean?
 
I don't have any recipes that use liquid smoke...
eek.gif
   Are you going to cure the jerky? Also you will get a MUCH better response if you start a thread about this in the jerky section - here is a link to it

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/131/making-jerky
 
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