jerky thickness

[mauser]

a-f-o

 

[cueinco]

I do mine at 1/8 inch. What I found was that the longer and hotter the smoke, the more "cooked" the jerky. 

Now, I only smoke it at about 170 for 2 hours and then dry it in a dehydrator set at 160. The dehydrator seems to give me the right amount of moisture for it to be chewy but done. It also prevents the crumbly cooked type jerky that too much heat and time seems to produce. Just my $.02....

 

[food sleuth]

We have made Jerky for more than 30 years using a commercial smoker to our oven, we also have a large dehydrator, but we prefer a smoker our is a masterbuilt that has work for years.

Thickness: I have tried 1/8" to 1/2" in widths up to 4" usually 1/4 for best results.

Marinade:

Our Base recipe is:

Cure # 2

Soy sauce

Beef stock

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Black pepper

White pepper

Red flack pepper

Dark corn syrup 

Salt.

Marinating time 24-48 hours.

Starting temp 175 for 30-45 min

Lower to Temperature 150 +-

Smoke Hickory 

Time 6 hours

 

[Home Dehydrator Pro]

1/4" is highly recommended, because it's thin enough for most operations. However, I've tried many batches that are cut to almost 1/8" in thickness with a meat slicer. I must say, they are by far my favorite.

This can be difficult, even with the right equipment. Your best option is to partially freeze the meat for about 30 minutes so that it isn't as pliable and frustrating to work with. IF you're using a knife, just do your best to keep it as close to 1/4" as possible.

 

[garyinmd]

We have made Jerky for more than 30 years using a commercial smoker to our oven, we also have a large dehydrator, but we prefer a smoker our is a masterbuilt that has work for years.

Thickness: I have tried 1/8" to 1/2" in widths up to 4" usually 1/4 for best results.

Marinade:

Our Base recipe is:

Cure # 2

Soy sauce

Beef stock

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Black pepper

White pepper

Red flack pepper

Dark corn syrup

Salt.

Marinating time 24-48 hours.

Starting temp 175 for 30-45 min

Lower to Temperature 150 +-

Smoke Hickory

Time 6 hours

Can you give amounts of each

 

[Stick-man]

Last time I made it I sliced it at 3/16". I felt it was too thin and will stick with the majority and cut it at 1/4".

I used eye of the round. I have not tried bottom round but I have tried top round and it has much more fat to trim which relates to much more prep time. The eye of the round seem to be the leanest and the easiest to trim the fat. Also the eye will give you more consistent size slices.

As far as price, last week at the restaurant supply I use, the price was $2.93lb for black angus, eye of the round, for 51+lbs.

 

[Lonzinomaker]

I use eye of of round (whole muscle from restaurant supply store), cut about 1/4 in thick sliced obliquely across the grain). They are usually 5-7# which makes a full batch of 5-6 trays for my Smokin-it #3.
I also do hamburger jerky. Don't use a gun. I mix marinade in, let it sit overnight, form 2 in logs and lay it on a silicone cooky sheet, flatten logs to a rectangle shape and about 1/4 in thick. Smoke for a couple of hours at 170 until meat gets to 140 deg, drop temp back to 120-140 then add jerky drier to smoker until jerky just starts to crack when bending (3-4 more hours usually). After it is done, use pizza cutter to slice into 1 in strips. I also use cure #1 (1tsp/5# meat) in all my jerkey marinades for safety.

 

[Scott Eisenbraun]

Most authentic is to cut with the grain of the meat. Cut across if want easy chew. If you don't have a slicer - freeze for an hour to firm meat, then slice with very sharp knife at approximately 1/4 inch. It doesn't have to be perfect like gas station jerky. (which mostly sucks)