Tomorrow is our monthly homebrew club meeting (and "Big Brew", a celebration of the federal decriminalization of homebrewing by Carter). I always like to bring something meaty and/or smoked, so I decided to try jerky for the first time. Rather than keep it simple, I chose to make a Korean BBQ-inspired marinade.
I went with pork loin. For some awful reason, I sliced it first and THEN trimmed off the fat. (I guess I was trying to salvage the dark meat bits - sorry I don't know the name for that part of the loin.) I froze the loin overnight and then sliced it about 1/4" thick. I trimmed the fat and cut it into "bite-sized" pieces. The slices aren't as consistent as I would like because I have a POS slicer...
I ended up with three pounds of meat. I vacuum-sealed and froze the trimmings for sausage next week. Or sooner...
I made the marinade as follows:
* 1/2 cup - soy sauce
* 1/2 cup - sweet soy sauce
* 1/4 cup - rice wine vinegar
* 1/4 cup - sesame oil
* 2 TBSP - fish oil
* 2 TBSP - garlic powder
* 2 TBSP - onion powder
* 2 TBSP - black pepper, coarse grind
* 2 tsp - ground ginger
* 2 tsp - gochugaru (Korean pepper flake)
* 25 gram - salt
* 4 gram - cure #1
Note: I weighed the marinade and it was 1 pound. I wanted 1 gram of cure #1 per pound of meat PLUS marinade.
I tossed the meat in the marinade until every piece was well coated.
I put the meat and marinade in a gallon zip lock and popped it in the fridge. I will massage and flip every so often.
Here are my questions!
(1) Is the cure necessary? Recommended?
(2) Since these are such thin slices, can I get good results with a ten hour marinade or would it be best to go 24? I need to have these finished in about 24 hours, so it will be what it is, but I would like to hear recommendations.
(3) Should I rinse off the marinade or leave it on? If I rinse, should I apply some additional black pepper or gochugaru?
(4) How long should they be smoked and at what temperatures? I have a Bradley electric smoker. I do NOT have a dehydrator.
Any other suggestions or comments?
I went with pork loin. For some awful reason, I sliced it first and THEN trimmed off the fat. (I guess I was trying to salvage the dark meat bits - sorry I don't know the name for that part of the loin.) I froze the loin overnight and then sliced it about 1/4" thick. I trimmed the fat and cut it into "bite-sized" pieces. The slices aren't as consistent as I would like because I have a POS slicer...
I ended up with three pounds of meat. I vacuum-sealed and froze the trimmings for sausage next week. Or sooner...
I made the marinade as follows:
* 1/2 cup - soy sauce
* 1/2 cup - sweet soy sauce
* 1/4 cup - rice wine vinegar
* 1/4 cup - sesame oil
* 2 TBSP - fish oil
* 2 TBSP - garlic powder
* 2 TBSP - onion powder
* 2 TBSP - black pepper, coarse grind
* 2 tsp - ground ginger
* 2 tsp - gochugaru (Korean pepper flake)
* 25 gram - salt
* 4 gram - cure #1
Note: I weighed the marinade and it was 1 pound. I wanted 1 gram of cure #1 per pound of meat PLUS marinade.
I tossed the meat in the marinade until every piece was well coated.
I put the meat and marinade in a gallon zip lock and popped it in the fridge. I will massage and flip every so often.
Here are my questions!
(1) Is the cure necessary? Recommended?
(2) Since these are such thin slices, can I get good results with a ten hour marinade or would it be best to go 24? I need to have these finished in about 24 hours, so it will be what it is, but I would like to hear recommendations.
(3) Should I rinse off the marinade or leave it on? If I rinse, should I apply some additional black pepper or gochugaru?
(4) How long should they be smoked and at what temperatures? I have a Bradley electric smoker. I do NOT have a dehydrator.
Any other suggestions or comments?