Preserving jerky

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this is a good question.....
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most time's i make jerky between the folk's
on the block smelling it and knowing whats up , and sudden rise in house guest's shortly after seems i aint got much left that needs any sorta special care..lol sorry i cant help ya on that one
 
I use the hi-mountain jerky seasoning also. You mix the seasoning and cure together then sprinkle it on the meat, in my case deer meat. I'm not too sold on their original variety but I really like their peppered variety.

P.S. - your jerky must suck! If mine didn't mold within 1 day then there would be no way to tell if it molded because it would be gone, eaten, etc.
 
Richtee If you are going to respond to my question get the FACTS strait. I dont know what you think you have to gain by leaving a post that makes it sound like I have read or know nothing on the subject. You have made it pretty clear to all your peers here at SMF, that know better, what you know about it. I dont doubt that there are people that would have offered information if they dident feel like another member was going to belittle them also.

Everyone else that responded in a poitive way. Thank you for your input.
 
Hey I mean no belittlement..just trying to help you and your friends/family. From your post, or how I interpeted it- you are not doing jerky in a safe manner. I cannot with a clear conscious neglect to inform you in firm terms of this fact.

Several sources of greater knowledge than BOTH of us have espoused the informaton I have repeated.

Take heed or not.
 
been smoking for about 2 months now i have done picnic hams, briskets, turkey legs, chickens, and jerky.

my question is if i smoke my jerky in my small brinkmann electric smoker for 2 hrs and then dry it in my confection oven am i safe with no cure?
im only doing a small amount at a shot and its eat in in a week.
i have not had any sickness except the fact that i made a really spicy batch and it burned my taste bud's out!
 
Most likely, yes. Assuming the meat is clean and you refridgerate the jerky, and you keep it under 4 hours... MOST LIKELY. All I can say according to the rules.

Why NOT cure, tho?
 
i have never used a cure with jerky........i normally dry it in a dehydrator.......this last time, tho, i started in my verticle gasser smoker......smoked couple hours.........then finished up in the dehydrator.......only reason i can think mold would be happening, it wasn't thoroughly dried enuff......specially if it was a thicker cut of meat.....i slice mine 1/4 inch thick......mine tho never lasts long enuff to worry bout using a cure.........
 
i cant find any types of cures in our supermarkets here in south jersey.
strage i know i even went to the infermation desk in the super marker and the typed all the names of it in and nothing is listed in there stores as far as acme, shoprite, and superfresh???
 
It's the slow smoking with low heat that increased the posibilities for bacteria to grow. Not how long before you eat it.
Grandpa used a brine with everything he smoked. Most don't do this anymore which created the need for cure.

Great discussion either way.

Smoking
 
I'm going to publish my personal manifesto on jerky making in a few days, but in the meantime I've got to wade in on this, and ask that some of the hotter tempers out there just relax a bit. No one is ever 100% right when it comes to this hobby, there are several ways to skin (or smoke) a cat....yech!

I started making jerky when I was a kid, way-way too many years ago and back then everyone used the Lhuer Jensen Little Chief to do it, this was only because it was the only tool available on the market back then. I did this soma many times I have Lhuer Jensen's "Deluxe Recipe for Beef or Venison Jerky" burned into my synapses.

I made hundreds of batches of this in my youth I had 6 Little Chiefs at one time, and it makes great tasting jerky. Not to say there aren't plenty of different ways to do it that may be just as good but this one has stood many of us well for years and I'll bet you have all this stuff in your kitchen right now.

(Note: The published recipe DOES NOT HAVE ANY CURE IN IT!)

Honestly you can make jerky just fine with just the sodium chloride (salt) in the recipe, especially if it is almost fully dried. Personally I prefer to use a cure in my procedure and I do so today, but millions of people have eaten jerky made with out cure or an expensive package of prepared mix from Hi Mountain or Cabala's without dieing, I'm one of them.
It won't matter anyway because your jerky will all be eaten up before it has time to rot anyway.

Nuff Said, this is how the Lhuer Jensen Book tell you how to make it:

2 cups Soy Sauce
1 cup Red Wine
1 cup Water, (But I prefer to use Apple Juice instead of the water)
1/4 cup NON IODIZED Salt
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
2 Tsp Black Pepper
2 Tsp Onion Powder
2 Tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Tabasco Sauce.

Slice mussel meat into 1" X 6-8" strips between 1/8 to 1/4" thick.
Soak (Wet Brine) 12-24 hours and drain. Do not wash the brine off!

I liked to sprinkle the strips with a dusting of the same three powdered spices used in the wet brine for added bite.

Lay on the rack in the Little Chief and smoke with 3 pans of chips until it is dry to your liking. (6-20 hours in Oregon depending on outside temp and age of the Little Chief)

Stand by for my long version, but I used the above recipe for years and it's a great one for those just starting out., (what I use now is different, but this works great)
 
Thank you Jim. It's not temper I display, it's concern. Yes, jerky CAN be made without cure. It just requires more attention and an educated touch. It's a dangerous alley with an end to it.

I like the idea that my jerky does not require cooling, and is absolutely safe no matter how bad I botch the temps/time after curing.

Drying does impart a level of immunity to trouble, but it's the period between raw/wet and dry where trouble can creep in.

Thanks again, and look forward to the book :{)
 
Add me to the list of folks that have never used a cure to make jerky. lol
I do use soy sauce in my brine though.
smile.gif
 
Sure it does Ken Salt itself is a curative agent. And not only is the liquid half soy sauce there is also that 1/4 cup of non-iodized salt added to it. Anything would have to be hearty to live in such a brine.
Jimbo
 
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