# Ground Beef Jerky Failure



## tdiowa (Jan 25, 2021)

Ok, I'm about to give up on this experiment.

I have a homemade ground beef jerky recipe that really has a great taste to it. My problem is that when after dehydrating the meat it falls apart. In the two batches I have made I have cooked it to long and not long enough. What I am left with are crumbs that would make a average sloppy joe.

I have watched all the You Tube videos and tried to pick up where I am going wrong. All that I have watched shows ground beef jerky that comes out consistent, firm and pliable. How do you get that consistency? One thing I have noticed on You Tube is they can pick up the pieces and flip them. No way with mine. It just falls apart

I use a 93% ground beef

Mix it longer? Maybe to a puree consistency?
Use a binder?
I use Tender Quick should I use Prague #1
Am I cooking at the wrong temperature? I have cooked at 150 degrees and at 135 degrees. No noticeable difference
Do I add more liquid or am I using to much?
I use the LEM Jerky gun. Should I just use a rolling pin?

Any suggestions would be welcomed.


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## smokerjim (Jan 25, 2021)

maybe if you post your recipe we can figure your problem out


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## bregent (Jan 25, 2021)

tdiowa said:


> Do I add more liquid or am I using to much?



I don't recall adding any water. How much are you adding? You might want to try a mix from Nesco or LEM just to see it work out. Then you can try your own recipes based on similar quantities and flavors.


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## tx smoker (Jan 25, 2021)

I had the same issue about 30 years ago when I first tried making jerky. Gave up on the ground meat and started using eye of round roast....and never looked back. I've made  hundreds of pounds using it and not a single issue. If you don't have a slicer I'd imagine the butcher at the grocery store would slice it for you.

Robert


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## JC in GB (Jan 25, 2021)

How much salt do you use in your recipe?  If you don't mix sufficiently, you can get crumbly sausage.  Adequate mixing and a bit of water would likely help.

Do you mix by hand or use a mixer?  If you are mixing by hand, try it with a mixer if possible.  You get much smoother texture if you use a mixer.

JC


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## tallbm (Jan 25, 2021)

tdiowa said:


> Ok, I'm about to give up on this experiment.
> 
> I have a homemade ground beef jerky recipe that really has a great taste to it. My problem is that when after dehydrating the meat it falls apart. In the two batches I have made I have cooked it to long and not long enough. What I am left with are crumbs that would make a average sloppy joe.
> 
> ...



Hi there and welcome!

I make ground jerky from basically fat free ground venison and have made it form 88/12 ground beef.  The leaner the meat the better.

***I have a feeling you may need to mix more.  Mix until it gets tacky and very mashed together.

Just for a test get a pack of LEM jerky seasoning for like 5 pounds of jerky and and mix according to the instructions.  I personally dont care for their current "Original" flavor so you may wanna do a pepper or spicy or some other flavor.

I've smoked at temps from 170-200F smoker temp but I have settled on 200F these days.

If you mix more (cant really over mix) and you smoke at 170F then that's a good starting point.
Feel free to use your jerky gun, I have a Lem jerky cannon and the device is not the issue.

***Next key.  Smoke to where the jerky bends and starts to break but does NOT break badly and definitely does not break apart.
You may have to rotate your jerky to different shelf levels depending on how fast one level is dehydrating vs another.  ALSO, the jerky around the edges of the rack dries faster so you will likely have to remove it before you remove other jerky, no big deal.

Give that a shot with 5pounds and let us know if this helped :)

Here's a post on my 1st ground jerky attempt:





						1st Ground Meat Jerky in MES Experiment, Lessons Were Learned
					

Well I did my ground meat venison jerky in the MES for the first time and learned some things.  This was an experimental run so I wasn't too worried if the jerky came out sub par... which it did but that's ok I am 100% sure I can fix all the issues and make perfect jerky on my next/real run :)...




					www.smokingmeatforums.com
				




Here's pics of my last batch trying a new approach:


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## Winterrider (Jan 25, 2021)

Need a binder, 93% is to dry to stick together. I also kind of prefer the whole meat to ground. Personal preference...


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## Winterrider (Jan 25, 2021)

tallbm
  nice looking jerky. I have found that the leaner for me does tend to fall apart more. Maybe "I'm" not mixing long enough. Will try that for the next ground batch. Thanks!


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## tallbm (Jan 25, 2021)

Winterrider said:


> tallbm
> nice looking jerky. I have found that the leaner for me does tend to fall apart more. Maybe "I'm" not mixing long enough. Will try that for the next ground batch. Thanks!



You may be right on the money with a binder.  I have only used Jerky mixes instead of trying my own.  I still have like 4-5 different LEM's jerky mixes (5lbs each) from variety pack christmas gifts I've gotten over the years hahaha.  
Even when I do my Italian Cacciatore jerky I use LEM's original snackstick mix as the base which has binders in it for sure.

This is why I suggested going with a jerky mix pack to try and ensure some success with mix ingredients.  Once process is perfected then mix seasonings can be worked on knowing if any issues come up its due to something in the mix and not the process :)


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## tdiowa (Jan 25, 2021)

This is my recipe

Ingredients:
5# 93% Hamburger
1 cup Brown Sugar
6 oz Frank's Hot Sauce
1/2 cup Soy Concentrate
6 oz Worchester
6 oz Teriyaki
1/4 cup Liquid Smoke
1 tbsp Chili Powder
2 tbsp Ground Pepper
1 tbsp Onion Powder
1 tbsp Celery Salt
1 tbsp Paparika
1 tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tbsp Chopped Onion
7 tsp Morton Tender Quick
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Dry Mustard
1 tsp Dill Flakes
1 tsp Accent
1 tsp Sage
1 tsp Ginger


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## tallbm (Jan 25, 2021)

tdiowa said:


> This is my recipe
> 
> Ingredients:
> 5# 93% Hamburger
> ...



I would give a guess that the vinegar in Franks Hot Sauce could be having unintended consequences.  Not positive but it seems the acid in vinegar causes bind and texture issues in sausage holding together.


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## chopsaw (Jan 25, 2021)

That seems like a lot of dry ingredients too . I agree on the vinegar. Might need some moisture ?


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## tdiowa (Jan 25, 2021)

Good idea about Frank's I'll replace it with Chili Powder


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## noboundaries (Jan 25, 2021)

Use a fattier meat. I've used 93% lean, 85%, 80%, and now 73%. The leaner meats had a powdery texture that diminished as I increased the fat. I've also mixed in ground dark meat turkey or ground pork butt, both fattier.

All those dry ingredients suck up available liquids, too. Try adding some ice water.

Just an idea.


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## tdiowa (Jan 26, 2021)

Checked  Worchester ingredients. It also has vinegar. Will delete it.


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## tdiowa (Jan 26, 2021)

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Going to give it another try and let you know my results


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## chopsaw (Jan 26, 2021)

If you get it mixed up , and it won't come together , add some water a little at a time .


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## tallbm (Jan 26, 2021)

tdiowa said:


> Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Going to give it another try and let you know my results



Also feel free to omit every seasoning AFTER the Tenderquick on your list.
That recipe is a few spices short of using ever seasoning the grocery store sells hahaha


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## tdiowa (Jan 30, 2021)

So first of all thank you to all with your suggestions. Made another round and it came out great. I think the secret was to mix and mix and mix some more. When I was done it was the consistency of paste. In addition I left out Frank's Hot Sauce and Worchester which both had vinegar.

My batch is really what I had been wanting all along. It really looks like jerky without the tough chew. My batch was basic seasoning so there is room for experimenting to dial in my taste.

If I  could pick your collective brains one more time I would be grateful for any suggestions. I used a dehydrator on high heat. When it got to the degree of doneness I shut the dehydrator off. My only problem was getting the jerky off the trays. It was stuck like glue to the trays.  Would spraying it with Non Stick spray help with that problem? 

Thanks again for the suggestions. I owe all who helped some jerky and a beer.


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## noboundaries (Jan 30, 2021)

tdiowa said:


> Would spraying it with Non Stick spray help with that problem?



Yep. I've forgotten one time. Not only the sticking but a pain to clean.


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## chopsaw (Jan 30, 2021)

noboundaries  has you covered , but I was wondering if you flip it during the drying ? 



tdiowa said:


> I owe all who helped some jerky and a beer.


How 'bout a picture ?


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## tallbm (Jan 30, 2021)

tdiowa said:


> So first of all thank you to all with your suggestions. Made another round and it came out great. I think the secret was to mix and mix and mix some more. When I was done it was the consistency of paste. In addition I left out Frank's Hot Sauce and Worchester which both had vinegar.
> 
> My batch is really what I had been wanting all along. It really looks like jerky without the tough chew. My batch was basic seasoning so there is room for experimenting to dial in my taste.
> 
> ...



This is awesome to hear!!!
I was pretty confident you just had to simplify and apply some tried and true best practices and it would come out well.  I'm glad to hear it did! :)

I would assume some oil rubbed on the racks would work and is about as cheap of a solution as u get.  At some point you can just adjust the meat and maybe that does the job but not sure.  I use silicon qmats on my smoker racks and the jerky comes right off so I cant offer much advice haha :)


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## mike k. (Jan 31, 2021)

tdiowa said:


> Ok, I'm about to give up on this experiment.
> 
> I have a homemade ground beef jerky recipe that really has a great taste to it. My problem is that when after dehydrating the meat it falls apart. In the two batches I have made I have cooked it to long and not long enough. What I am left with are crumbs that would make a average sloppy joe.
> 
> ...


Few things to consider.  Best results, fresh not frozen meat.  Water % is not an issue unless you have it so thin that during drying it will pull apart in places. Vinegar is not an issue. Here is the bottom line.  Lean ground meat is the first issue.  If you just have protien and no fat, meat has a bit of trouble binding protien fibers to protien fibers.   Fat even as little as 10% during the mixing process  acts as a molecular binder. Under mixing meat and spices will cause most of the "powdering".   Temp. during mixing should be 42 degrees or colder.   This will give you a fuller final texture and  body.   The meat and spices need to be mixed until you see a sheen on the mixture and a good general stickiness develops.   Sticky  so that if you grab a handful it doesn't drop from your hand when released.   As for a cure just buy online sodium nitrate, not sodium nitrite.  It's cheap and the same as Prague #1.    Mix in at a rate of 4oz.  per 100lbs of meat .   Cooking temps are critical for food safety only.  You can dry it without cooking at all if so desired.  Strange things end up  in ground meat which can kill you.  So use the cure or cook it, one or the other or both.  
Now here is your easy answer to your "falling apart" issue.  (4% of the total weight add powdered milk or whey powder. )  Add it in your recipe with all ingredients and all your problems are gone.  Whey or powdered milk  are complex protiens and simulate fat and bind the protiens of the mixture to the spices and ground meat pieces.   Add water  (ice water) if the mix gets to thick to stir.  People that post Youtube videos hold back info. for reasons I can't figure out.   I am Smokin Mike, doing this for 45 years professionally and am happy  to help you,  Peace to you.  Michael


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## tdiowa (Jan 31, 2021)

> How 'bout a picture ?



I've made a serious dent in my inventory


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## chopsaw (Jan 31, 2021)

Looks good .


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## tallbm (Jan 31, 2021)

I just scored 6 pounds of 93/7 beef for 50% off at the store.
It is surely going to become jerky but I had to vac seal and freeze it until I can get to it. Mabye in a couple of weekends.

I'm out of jerky so this markdown was a nice find :)

I also got about 9 pounds of 80/20 at 50% off but that is going to go for burgers and other ground meat dishes.  80/20 is waaaaaaay too fatty for jerky.  It would be leaking grease the whole time so best used for other dishes :)


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## tdiowa (Feb 1, 2021)

mike k. said:


> Few things to consider.  Best results, fresh not frozen meat.  Water % is not an issue unless you have it so thin that during drying it will pull apart in places. Vinegar is not an issue. Here is the bottom line.  Lean ground meat is the first issue.  If you just have protien and no fat, meat has a bit of trouble binding protien fibers to protien fibers.   Fat even as little as 10% during the mixing process  acts as a molecular binder. Under mixing meat and spices will cause most of the "powdering".   Temp. during mixing should be 42 degrees or colder.   This will give you a fuller final texture and  body.   The meat and spices need to be mixed until you see a sheen on the mixture and a good general stickiness develops.   Sticky  so that if you grab a handful it doesn't drop from your hand when released.   As for a cure just buy online sodium nitrate, not sodium nitrite.  It's cheap and the same as Prague #1.    Mix in at a rate of 4oz.  per 100lbs of meat .   Cooking temps are critical for food safety only.  You can dry it without cooking at all if so desired.  Strange things end up  in ground meat which can kill you.  So use the cure or cook it, one or the other or both.
> Now here is your easy answer to your "falling apart" issue.  (4% of the total weight add powdered milk or whey powder. )  Add it in your recipe with all ingredients and all your problems are gone.  Whey or powdered milk  are complex protiens and simulate fat and bind the protiens of the mixture to the spices and ground meat pieces.   Add water  (ice water) if the mix gets to thick to stir.  People that post Youtube videos hold back info. for reasons I can't figure out.   I am Smokin Mike, doing this for 45 years professionally and am happy  to help you,  Peace to you.  Michael



Thanks Mike. A lot of good tips in there and a awesome first post!


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## archeryrob (Dec 1, 2021)

Did you update this recipe? My daughter sent a buck to the butcher to get it caped and came back with 30# of ground from one deer. Way too much with the other deer I have to kill for bologna and snack sticks this year.


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## tdiowa (Dec 16, 2021)

No I did not. I found that mixing it to a paste consistency will get the jerky staying together and not crumbling


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