# OFG Jerky



## disco

I love jerky. It is so handy to have around for golf games, road trips or just snacking. I have been working on my jerky making and have tried several different methods and seasonings. I have finally settled on my go to base recipe and this is it. So, I have dubbed it OFG Jerky!

I start with eye of the round roast. You can use any lean cut like sirloin tip or outside round but you are looking for lean meat with no fat. I find the eye of the round has little fat and it is easy to trim any fat off.

Trim any fat or silverskin coating off the beef. I find it easier to cut in slices if I cut the roast in half lengthwise.

Weigh the meat after trimming as the amount of spices will vary based on the amount of meat you use.

There are arguments about whether to slice against or with the grain. Against is a little less chewy but I like both. I cut across the grain for the wider part of the roast and with the grain for the narrower end.

You'll also note I use cure in my jerky. I like the cured taste and colour.

Slice the meat with a sharp slicing knife to just less than 1/4 inch slices. You can put the meat in the freezer for an hour or so but I don’t have any problem with sharp knife.

Lay the meat out in one layer on trays.








I mixed up my seasoning blend. Put the following into an empty spice bottle, for each kilogram of beef:


15 ml kosher salt
10 ml garlic powder
10 ml onion powder
10 ml ground dried chipotle
5 ml coarse pepper
10 ml sugar
5 ml ground coriander
3 grams (2.2 ml) Prague powder #1
If you are still in the dark ages or one of my American neighbours, for each pound of beef:


1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon ground dried chipotle
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/5 teaspoon (0.048 oz) Prague powder #1
Sprinkle 1/2 the spice mixture over the beef. Turn the beef and sprinkle the remaining spice mixture over the meat. Put the meat in a nonreactive container and scrape any spice mix from the trays into the meat.

Toss the meat to even out the coating. Cover and refrigerate between 24 and 48 hours, tossing the meat three or four times.







Preheat your smoker to 200 F.

To get more meat in my pellet smoker, I thread a bamboo skewer through the end of 8 pieces of meat. I lower a strip between the racks of my upper shelf so they hang down between the racks.







I smoke for about 2 hours. I check to make sure the meat cracks when bent. You can use an instant read thermometer to make sure the internal temperature is over 155 F.

Let it cool and freeze any that won’t be used in a week.



















The Verdict

The reason this has become my go to method is the jerky has a better texture than drying it at lower temperatures in a smoker or dehydrator. It has a nice chew but isn’t leathery.

The taste is just what I wanted. A nice cured saltiness with some follow up heat that doesn’t burn your mouth but gives a nice warmth. The onion and garlic flavours aren’t pronounced, they just add a lot of flavour to the beef. The kiss of smoke makes it perfect!

If you are a jerky fan, give this a try!

Disco


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## smokerjim

looks great disco and thanks for thinking of us guys still living in the dark ages, might have to give this a shot.


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## disco

smokerjim said:


> looks great disco and thanks for thinking of us guys still living in the dark ages, might have to give this a shot.


Thanks. Some day you will join the rest of the world!


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## smokerjim

disco said:


> Thanks. Some day you will join the rest of the world!


I doubt it, I'm  just happy I remember to tie my shoes in the morning. I think the world will have to join me.


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## sandyut

looks great!  Roughly how many pounds of meat did you use with that amount of rub?  I need to try this out!  I love jerky!!!  Last batch I used 4LB of eye of the round and it lasted about a week.  I may have a problem...


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## disco

smokerjim said:


> I doubt it, I'm  just happy I remember to tie my shoes in the morning. I think the world will have to join me.


I am OK with the shoes but it is embarrassing the number of times the fly doesn't make it up.


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## disco

sandyut said:


> looks great!  Roughly how many pounds of meat did you use with that amount of rub?  I need to try this out!  I love jerky!!!  Last batch I used 4LB of eye of the round and it lasted about a week.  I may have a problem...


Thanks. the metric measures are for 1 kilogram of meat. The US measures are for 1 pound of meat.


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## smokerjim

do you think this will work with deer meat, or do you think it will dry out to much, by the way congrats on your new book


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## Winterrider

Looks great Disco, will definitely give this a whirl.  Thanks...
Like


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## Winterrider

I see the sugar didn't make the " dark age version"


disco said:


> Thanks. the metric measures are for 1 kilogram of meat. The US measures are for 1 pound of meat.


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## drunkenmeatfist

Since we are so close to the 4th of July I am very offended that you insinuated that the great USA is in the dark ages when it comes to measurements. As far as I am concerned America invented measurements sometime around 1776. These hippie "metric" measurements should be abolished by the UN. 

I do like the jerky though. I make the more brittle stuff and it hurts me teef sometimes.


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## gmc2003

Dark ages guy here, what does OFG stand for?

The Jerky looks really good, and I'm fairly certain I could maintain 200* in my WSM. Thanks for posting.

Point for sure
Chris


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## sandyut

disco said:


> Thanks. the metric measures are for 1 kilogram of meat. The US measures are for 1 pound of meat.


Sorry, I see that was in the original post now.


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## kit s

disco said:


> Thanks. the metric measures are for 1 kilogram of meat. The US measures are for 1 pound of meat.


The hardest for me is converting to metric from measurement of say one teaspoon this that in recipes.
Haven't found an easy way yet. So if you have any shortcuts please share.


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## Winterrider

gmc2003 said:


> Dark ages guy here, what does OFG stand for?


Old Fat Guy


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## disco

sandyut said:


> Sorry, I see that was in the original post now.



Been there done that!



drunkenmeatfist said:


> Since we are so close to the 4th of July I am very offended that you insinuated that the great USA is in the dark ages when it comes to measurements. As far as I am concerned America invented measurements sometime around 1776. These hippie "metric" measurements should be abolished by the UN.
> 
> I do like the jerky though. I make the more brittle stuff and it hurts me teef sometimes.



Har! Any measurement system that has ounces that are weights and volumes has problems! I learned with standard and then moved on to metric. I am bimeasurmented!



gmc2003 said:


> Dark ages guy here, what does OFG stand for?
> 
> The Jerky looks really good, and I'm fairly certain I could maintain 200* in my WSM. Thanks for posting.
> 
> Point for sure
> Chris



OFG is old fat guy, my truth in advertising attempt! Thanks, Chris!


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## disco

kit s said:


> The hardest for me is converting to metric from measurement of say one teaspoon this that in recipes.
> Haven't found an easy way yet. So if you have any shortcuts please share.


Easy peasy. 
1 teaspoon is 5 ml
1 tablespoon is 15 ml
1/4 cup is 50 ml
1/3 cup is 75 ml
1/2 cup is 125 ml
1 cup is 250 ml

The problem is that these are just close so, if your doing anything that requires great accuracy, use a calculator that has conversions.


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## gmc2003

disco said:


> OFG is old fat guy, my truth in advertising attempt! Thanks, Chris!




Staring me right in front of my face. I told you I'm from the dark ages. 

Thanks 
Chris


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## kit s

Thanks Disco this will help a lot


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## sandyut

got 5lb of eye o da round last night.  firing up a batch this weekend! WOO Jerky!


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## disco

sandyut said:


> got 5lb of eye o da round last night.  firing up a batch this weekend! WOO Jerky!



Enjoy! Jerky is a treat!


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## disco

kit s said:


> Thanks Disco this will help a lot


No problem! Us Canadians have a foot in both worlds.


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## crazymoon

D, Good looking jerky sir !!!!


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## sandyut

made a batch of the OFG.  Damn good recipe!  thank you!


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## disco

sandyut said:


> made a batch of the OFG.  Damn good recipe!  thank you!



Thanks so much! I am glad you like it. I know it disappears around my friends.



crazymoon said:


> D, Good looking jerky sir !!!!


 Thanks, CM!


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## Bearcarver

Excellent !!
Awesome Recipe, and Fantastic Step by Step Thread!!!
And this All from a Movie Star!!!
I think you're trying to make me look bad.
Or maybe not even trying!
Nice Job!
Like.

Bear


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## disco

Bearcarver said:


> Excellent !!
> Awesome Recipe, and Fantastic Step by Step Thread!!!
> And this All from a Movie Star!!!
> I think you're trying to make me look bad.
> Or maybe not even trying!
> Nice Job!
> Like.
> 
> Bear


Har! Pretenders like me will come and go but no one will ever replace or even approach the great Bearcarver!


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## gdp

Quick question, I made several batches with eye of round and most pieces of jerky, after chewing and getting the good stuff, I wound up with a wad of tough unchewable to swallow or spit out.  This happened with most pieces of jerky.  I do trim the roast before cutting.  Same thing with eye of round from 2 different stores.  Does this happen to you? I switched to top round and found very little of the tough stuff.
Thanks for posting the recipe. I'll definitely try it as I have one that's good but think it could be better!


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## disco

There are 3 places you can run into toughness with eye of the round. The surface fat layer, the silverskin on the surface and there may be a line of fat/gristle that runs through the centre. Slice the meat to the desired thickness and spread it on the trays for spicing. Look at the slices carefully. If there is a fat/gristle line through the middle, cut it out of that slice. 

However, if you find you don't get it with top round, definitely go that way!

I have even made jerky with bottom round but you have to be very thorough in your trimming and look for gristle lines in each slice. I only use it because it goes on sale for a really good price.

The only way to get no tough pieces is to be fastidious in trimming the slices regardless of the cut.


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## gdp

Ah Ha! I got 2 of the 3 places but wasn't aware of the line thru the center.  I'm going to get some eye of round and try again with your recipe!  Thanks!!


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## disco

I have tried this with less salt and believe it to be superior so I edited the original recipe today.


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## cooker613

disco said:


> I am OK with the shoes but it is embarrassing the number of times the fly doesn't make it up.



It’s not the zipping up, it’s the remembering to zip down that’s embarrassing!


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## sandyut

disco said:


> I have tried this with less salt and believe it to be superior so I edited the original recipe today.



Oh my better!!!  cant wait to make another big batch!  thanks for sharing and refining


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## disco

cooker613 said:


> It’s not the zipping up, it’s the remembering to zip down that’s embarrassing!


Har! I guess I'm not as bad as I thought.


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## disco

sandyut said:


> Oh my better!!!  cant wait to make another big batch!  thanks for sharing and refining


Sadly, I am always refining!


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## sandyut

My wife gets all frustrated with me when she loves a cook i made and I say "I can do better next time".  I believe there is always room for improvements, even if just slight.


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## dirtsailor2003

Looks Tasty Disco. 

Some of us in the Pacific Northwest have switched to the dark side and use the metric system too. It makes math a lot easier. 

With that said, back to designing beams using feet and inches...


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## disco

sandyut said:


> My wife gets all frustrated with me when she loves a cook i made and I say "I can do better next time".  I believe there is always room for improvements, even if just slight.


She must be related to She Who Must Be Obeyed!


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## disco

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Looks Tasty Disco.
> 
> Some of us in the Pacific Northwest have switched to the dark side and use the metric system too. It makes math a lot easier.
> 
> With that said, back to designing beams using feet and inches...


Welcome to the dark side. Your membership entitles you to drink beer and Canadian whisky.


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## sandyut

I know this is a simple excel file, but just in case it helps someone.  I made a spice calculator for this recipe.  one page has 3-10 lbs at the read and the other you can enter you lbs and get the values.  same calc two ways.  Enjoy


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## disco

sandyut said:


> I know this is a simple excel file, but just in case it helps someone.  I made a spice calculator for this recipe.  one page has 3-10 lbs at the read and the other you can enter you lbs and get the values.  same calc two ways.  Enjoy


Way cool! Thanks!


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## S-met

disco said:


> 15 ml kosher salt
> 10 ml garlic powder
> 10 ml onion powder
> 10 ml ground dried chipotle
> 5 ml coarse pepper
> 10 ml sugar
> 5 ml ground coriander
> 3 grams (2.2 ml) Prague powder #1


Asking a clarifier: 

Do you mean mg instead of ml?  mg is usually used with weight and ml usually refers to volume? Or are you using metric measuring spoons? The 3gram/2.2ml PP#1 makes me think the latter.


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## disco

S-met said:


> Asking a clarifier:
> 
> Do you mean mg instead of ml?  mg is usually used with weight and ml usually refers to volume? Or are you using metric measuring spoons? The 3gram/2.2ml PP#1 makes me think the latter.


No, ml means mililitres, a metric volume measure. 5 ml is the equivalent of a teaspoon. 15 ml is the equilavent of a tablespoon.


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## Againes85

Disco, 
I have to ask have you ever made this with ground venison? Since it is ground could I mix all of the ingredients together and mix in with the ground venison?


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## disco

Againes85 said:


> Disco,
> I have to ask have you ever made this with ground venison? Since it is ground could I mix all of the ingredients together and mix in with the ground venison?


I have not made it with ground meat. I suspect you would need to cut back a bit (about 10 %) on the seasonings as you will get total penetration of the seasonings. Also, you will definitely have to cut back about 10 % on the Prague Powder #1. The USDA and Health Canada let you use up to 200 ppm nitrites if you are surface dry curing or brine curing ham or bacon (3 grams per kilogram is pretty close to 200 ppm). This is because you don't get total penetration. However, if you are making sausage (which would be the equivalent of using ground meat) they only allow 156 ppm so you would need to reduce the Prague Powder by about 20 to 25%.

If it were me, I would try it with a small 1 kilogram (2 pounds) batch so you can adjust the amounts to your tastes for future recipes.


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## Winterrider

Going to give this recipe a go with 2 1/2# venison backstrap.

The one thing that confuses me about these metric measures is 


disco said:


> Easy peasy.
> 1 teaspoon is 5 ml
> 1 tablespoon is 15 ml
> 1/4 cup is 50 ml
> 1/3 cup is 75 ml
> 1/2 cup is 125 ml
> 1 cup is 250 ml



If the 1/4 cup is 50ml, why isn't 1/2 cup 100 ml ?
The 1/2 cup 125 ml, is doubled to equal the 1 cup 250 ml,


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## disco

Winterrider said:


> Going to give this recipe a go with 2 1/2# venison backstrap.
> 
> The one thing that confuses me about these metric measures is
> 
> 
> If the 1/4 cup is 50ml, why isn't 1/2 cup 100 ml ?
> The 1/2 cup 125 ml, is doubled to equal the 1 cup 250 ml,


1/4 cup is actually 59 ml. 1/2 cup is actually 118 ml. The 50 m and 125 ml are just rounding to a nearest round number. If I said 50 ml is 0.21 cups, you'd think I was nuts so it is rounded to 1/4 cup.

The conversions are close but not exact.

The small differences are not critical to the recipe except in the Prague powder #1 where I recommend you use weight measures.


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## Winterrider

Thanks Disco, I did use actual weight measurements for the cure #1. Got it fermenting as we speak, will mix it up a couple times.  May have to wait another day, well below zero again tonight. My little MES 40 doesn't like those temps and  I  haven't used the new Stampede enough yet to know the sweet spots.


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## Winterrider

Just pulled the jerky out after cooling.   All I can say Disco is  •WOW•
That is absolutely fantastic jerky.  It does have a bit of heat to it, but I love it !
I should have stuck to your 2 hr Mark ( went 2 1/2 )  as it felt a bit moist yet.  My lower rack got dried out a  little more than I prefer, but is still good.
Will definitely do again and again. . .  Thank you !


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## disco

Winterrider said:


> Just pulled the jerky out after cooling.   All I can say Disco is  •WOW•
> That is absolutely fantastic jerky.  It does have a bit of heat to it, but I love it !
> I should have stuck to your 2 hr Mark ( went 2 1/2 )  as it felt a bit moist yet.  My lower rack got dried out a  little more than I prefer, but is still good.
> Will definitely do again and again. . .  Thank you !
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 424486
> View attachment 424485


You are very kind! Thanks for the kind words!


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## BurntWeenie

__





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Or enter the word "calculator" in google search to get to the calculator


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## sandyut

BurntWeenie
  the excel i made is at the bottom of page two of this thread.

all you need to do is enter the pounds of beef and it calculates all the rest.


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## clifish

Any preference for type of wood/pellets to use for the smoke?


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## sandyut

I use lumerjack comp blend for everything


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