Sunday's Jerky

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nunantal

Fire Starter
Original poster
Dec 30, 2014
64
48
Austin, TX
I finished a drying a small batch of jerky (my first ever) this weekend. Not having a dehydrator, I just used the oven with the door ajar and tried to keep the temp around 150 but think I did dry it a little too long.   I only used  Pop's Brine as the marinade/cure and after the curing period, I washed it, dried it  with paper towels and then dusted it with cracked black pepper before I put it in the oven.  I wanted  to get a point to start from and thought that was the best way to do it. It didn't turn out too bad but definitely needs some additional spices.  Would like some suggestions on improving my recipe.  I'm open to all ideas.


 
Great way to get started!  

Pop's brine will get you a cured meat to dehydrate, but there are many marinades with a cure added here on the forums that will make for some great jerky!  Even in the oven you can get a slight smoke flavor if you add a bit of liquid smoke to the marinade/cure.

Do you have a smoker?  If so, you can make jerky on there as well.

Do a search for "jerky+marinade" in the search bar, you'll have jerky overload soon!

Keep going!
 
Thanks Cranky, I have searched quite a bit and found some that I will try.  I'm assuming I can just add the extra spices to Pop's brine and that they will not alter the curing of the jerky.
 
I made some myself on Sunday....life just seem right when there is something in the smoker. I use a teriyaki marinade on mine and smoked it for 3 hours @ 200
 
 
Thanks Cranky, I have searched quite a bit and found some that I will try.  I'm assuming I can just add the extra spices to Pop's brine and that they will not alter the curing of the jerky.
I'd skip Pop's brine and do a dedicated and proven marinade, with a cure, for jerky.  Pop's brine is great for its intended purpose, but there is a LOT of sugar in there that may not be to some folks liking for jerky.
 
As a good starting point you might try some of the jerky seasoning produced by High Mountain. There are several flavors that have a good balance and then start branching out to develop your own or experiment with the many variations you can find on this forum. Really can't tell how thick your pieces are from the picture, try to keep than 1/4" or less and uniform in thickness for even drying.
 
I see that Gander Mountain carries High Mountain and there's a Gander a few miles north of me.  I'll check that out. Hopefully,  they'll have a good selection.
 
The store bought jerky cures are okay. There are plenty of other ones here that are better. You do not need a dehydrator for making jerky. I do all of mine in the smoker. Whatever you use you need to keep the temps below 180°.

This is my favorite simple one, that you can add additional spices to if you want. If you do add spices, do it as a rub after marinating.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/233270/thai-jerky

Here's another post I did recently with multiple types of jerky.. The recipes are not in the first post but down the page:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/227772/london-broil-we-aint-gonna-let-spoil
 
 
The store bought jerky cures are okay. There are plenty of other ones here that are better. You do not need a dehydrator for making jerky. I do all of mine in the smoker. Whatever you use you need to keep the temps below 180°.

This is my favorite simple one, that you can add additional spices to if you want. If you do add spices, do it as a rub after marinating.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/233270/thai-jerky

Here's another post I did recently with multiple types of jerky.. The recipes are not in the first post but down the page:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/227772/london-broil-we-aint-gonna-let-spoil
I did the teriyaki recipe in the london broil thread (post 13 for recipe) and it was great!  Easy to do as well
 
I'm kinda fond of NEPA's Hillbilly Backwoods jerky... has excellent flavor ...

5 lbs meat strips
2 T salt
1 t cure 1
2 t liquid smoke. This is opt but good if your just going to dehydrate the strips.
2 t chili powder
1 T black pepper (you can cut the pepper amounts back if you like)
1 T white pepper
1 t garlic powder
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup worcestershire
3 cup cold water.

Mix all the above (except meat) in a large glass or plastic container with a cover. Mix well to dissolve the cure and salt (you can mix with the water, easier to look at)
Place the meat into the marinade and place in fridge from 12 to 24 hours, stir the meat a few times during this time to fully marinate the meat strips. Next take the strips from marinade (do not rinse the marinade off) lay on racks and either smoke or dehydrate at temps from 150 to 170. Your looking for the strips to bend not break. Can take from 8-12 hours or depending on how much power your dehydrator has.

Enjoy
 
I can't decide what flavor I want for my jerky so I throw everything at it in the marinade. I have a base of:
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup Yoshida Asian sauce from Costco
I cup brown sugar

Other liquids are not measured, but could wostershire sauce, BBQ sauce, honey, liquid smoke, A1, Heinz 57, honey and Siratchi sauce. These other liquids combined are less than a cup.

Spices added frequently include red pepper flakes, cayanne and black pepper, Montreal steak seasoning, garlic (minced, dried), chili powder, dried onion flakes, sliced jalapeño peppers, paprika, Cajun seasonings.

I soak 12 to 24 hours, strain, then layer the top round strips in my dehydrator. I have been using 1/8 inch strips in my low powered unit but just got a new unit with a thermostat and a fan (Nesco) and will go thicker. The flavor is incredible! A small piece has more complexities than a fine red wine or my favorite single malt Scotch.

I ordered a MES 30 and the cold smoker attachment so will try some smoked jerky soon.

Bernie in the "western" Washington
 
I can't decide what flavor I want for my jerky so I throw everything at it in the marinade. I have a base of:
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup Yoshida Asian sauce from Costco
I cup brown sugar

Other liquids are not measured, but could wostershire sauce, BBQ sauce, honey, liquid smoke, A1, Heinz 57, honey and Siratchi sauce. These other liquids combined are less than a cup.

Spices added frequently include red pepper flakes, cayanne and black pepper, Montreal steak seasoning, garlic (minced, dried), chili powder, dried onion flakes, sliced jalapeño peppers, paprika, Cajun seasonings.

I soak 12 to 24 hours, strain, then layer the top round strips in my dehydrator. I have been using 1/8 inch strips in my low powered unit but just got a new unit with a thermostat and a fan (Nesco) and will go thicker. The flavor is incredible! A small piece has more complexities than a fine red wine or my favorite single malt Scotch.

I ordered a MES 30 and the cold smoker attachment so will try some smoked jerky soon.

Bernie in the "western" Washington

Jerky is all about personal taste. So, mix up the marinade, add an item and taste. Repeat until you're happy with it.

I'd also highly suggest using a cure.
 
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