My beef jerky comes out a little wet/greasy

[rdefino]

So I'm marinating my beef in soy, Worcestershire sauce, some liquid smoke and a variety of spices. I marinate for about 9hrs then I dehydrate for about 7hrs.

But after vacuum sealing the packs and eating later, the beef is wet.

Any way to keep it from being wet? Am I not dehydrating enough.
 

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[forluvofsmoke]

You need to check the texture before you stop drying...should be leathery, to brittle...brittle being very dry. Time during drying is irrelevant. Also, let it lay out in open air or covered with paper towels to cool and finish drying when you remove it from your dehydrator...then, package to store.

If not at least to a leathery consistency, it may not be safe to eat due to not being dry enough to properly preserve it...if there's too much water activity, bacteria can still survive and colonize. I shoot for approx. 50% weight-loss from pre-marinated weight to dried weight. This gives a decent texture for the most part and is dry enough for safe storage.

If you're not using cure #1 in the marinade, be sure to get temps up to 160* in the dehydrator right away, per USDA recommendations.

Eric

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Forgot to mention: if it is greasy, you need to use lean-trimmed meats.


Eric