# Im confused



## OldFartFarmer (Dec 11, 2018)

ive been doing searches, and reading here, so don't beat me up too roughly,
the more i read the more i get confused,

this is for a charcoal smoker (not dehydrator trays or oven)

1- what temps are you starting out with and finishing with on your jerky ?

2- pink cure#1 --1tsp per 5 pounds of meat ? then i read 1tsp per 5 pounds of meat and water?- (im assuming water means anything liquid?)
hence my confusion,
with a wet mix do i weigh the bowl of wet add the weight of meat and then add cure?
or
do i cut up 5 pounds of meat, add 1tsp of cure into my bowl and add wet and dry ingredients ?

3- do i use my apple chips to smoke first or smoke last?

sorry for being a pest,
im just trying to wrap my head around this without killing myself or my friends

thanks
John


----------



## daveomak (Dec 11, 2018)

Morning..  Ppm nitrite is based on weight...  so, 1 tsp cure#1 per 5 pounds of stuff gives you ~156 Ppm...   The "stuff" could be all meat, meat and water etc...  It's the Ppm that's important....   If you are making sausage, as an example, and add water to make the mix easier to squeeze through the stuffer, you do not need to add the weight of the water...  It is assumed the water will evaporate and not "rinse out"  any added ingredients...
EDIT....  The weight of the water is used when doing a brine cure...  equilibrium cure...  There are so many variables when curing, it's hard to remember them all when posting rules...


----------



## 6GRILLZNTN (Dec 11, 2018)

What Dave said!

Another Dave.


----------



## OldFartFarmer (Dec 11, 2018)

so when i mix all my liquid and dry "stuff" in the bowl to make my  teriyaki jerky
I weigh all the stuff and then weigh the meat, add the two,
 then figure out how much cure to put in my mix
before it goes into the fridge for 2 days

right?


----------



## daveomak (Dec 11, 2018)

Yep....   That's the correct method...


----------



## GaryHibbert (Dec 11, 2018)

When I make jerky, I start out at 100 degrees for 1 hour (no smoke) to start the meat drying.  Then I start the smoke rolling and keep it going until the jerky is done.  I bump the temp up 10 degrees every hour, with the final temp being 160 for 1 hour.  I do this whether I'm making beef or pork jerky.  This method I originally got from Bearcarver's Step by Steps, and it makes great jerky.
Gary


----------



## OldFartFarmer (Dec 11, 2018)

THANK YOU ALL very very much
im now unconfunded
just got back from the store with 5 pounds of BEEF, and charcoal, 

cheers
John


----------



## OldFartFarmer (Dec 11, 2018)

Holly 2015
you gave me this recipe that im going to use,
but in it you say 1/4 tsp per pound of meat,
so now i get two different responses on meat + ingrediants= cure
 or meat= cure like your doing it,
does it really matter in the long run??












1 eye of round trimmed of fat and silver skin and cut into strips. I prefer them to be no thicker than 1/4 inch and no wider than 1 inch.
1 bottle of Soy Vey Veri Teriyaki sauce 

1/4 tsp cure #1 per pound of meat.


After the meat is trimmed of fat cut it in 1/2 and weight the meat. 
Cut the meats into strips
Strain the Veri Terayaki into a non-reactive bowl large enough to hold it and the meats + some work space
Now measure out the cure to go with the weight of the meat. 
Mix cure and marinade together with a whisk until thoroughly incorporated
Take a handful of meat strips and drop them in the liquid and mix them around until thoroughly coated in marinade. Repeat until all meat strips are mixed into the marinade.
Make sure meats are covered with marinade (you might have to put a plate on top ot keep the meats submerged and place in refrigerator  

Let marinate 12 to 24 hours then dehydrate mixing the meats at least once 1/2 way through the marinating process
After the meats are done curing/marinating dump them into a colander over the sink to drain off excess liquid. You can also pat the meats with paper towels to help get rid of excess liquid. 
Load the smoker/dehydrator with the meats and heat them at 160 degrees for 2 hours
After 2 hours back the heat down to 120/130 degrees and let it there until the meat are dried to you satisfaction. 8 to 12 hours depending on the appliance, amount of air flow and how wet the meats were when you loaded them.
Once 80 or 90% of the meats are dried to your liking pull from the appliance and let them get to room temperature. Then put them in a paper bag and fold the top over for 24 hours to let the meats equalize. Since all the meats will not be uniform some will over dry other will be a bit moist. Resting in a bag solves this and makes them all the same.


----------



## daveomak (Dec 11, 2018)

The recipe Holly gave you is correct....  Heat the meat to 160 while it is still wet to kill pathogens that are not affected by cure... then turn it down to dry it out....


----------



## OldFartFarmer (Dec 11, 2018)

thank you, now i get it,,,took long enough but i get it now


----------



## SonnyE (Dec 11, 2018)

I use a dehydrator, much easier all the way around.
If I want smoked, I do that beforehand. Then do my curing, and drying.


----------



## OldFartFarmer (Dec 11, 2018)

I don't have a dehydrator, my BBQ is charcoal (22inch webber) and i have an outdoor fireplace
with the old swinging hook-rod, for my cast iron pots
I cook outside a lot, nice and slow, I like the work/fussing around that goes into it,
when we loose power, and we do, my neighbors all come around with there beer/and offerings, and we do a neighborhood feast
this new cheap-smoker is just the ticket for me,


----------



## OldFartFarmer (Dec 11, 2018)

sonnyE i like yr disclaimer


----------



## daveomak (Dec 11, 2018)

FWIW, through lab testing, it has been found, in slowly dried meats the pathogens can enter a "suspended animation" type state because they are _SLOWLY_ dehydrated...  Then a high temperature, that would normally kill them, DOES NOT kill them...   They get reactivated in a warm moist environment like your gut when you consume them and you get what ever it is they do to you....   Smart little buggers...   survival of the microbe...  should be a movie....


----------



## daveomak (Dec 11, 2018)

FWIW, here's an FSIS explanation about jerky....

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/porta...at-preparation/jerky-and-food-safety/ct_index


----------



## 6GRILLZNTN (Dec 11, 2018)

Thanks for the link dave.


----------



## SonnyE (Dec 11, 2018)

OldFartFarmer said:


> sonnyE i like yr disclaimer



;)
Some people are so thin skinned you can see they have no guts at all. 
So I had to clarify...

If you ever think you might, I use a Presto Dehydro I was given for Christmas last year in our Family lottery. (We draw names and shop for two.)
Makes some amazingly good Jerky. It's a set it, and forget it operation. My little dog makes sure I know when it is done.
I run the dehydro in the garage because the fan noise is annoying. But he can smell the Jerky workin, then he comes and gets me and leads me to the garage door and woofs at it. He knows when it is done, and wants some fresh warm jerky.

If you think you might like more recipes to try, I recommend JerkyHolics web site.
Beef is too expensive, and I'm not supposed to eat it. So I use Pork Loin.
Cheap, and it makes great jerky.
I use the recipes, but substitute Pork Loin as the meat. ;)

I set my Dehydro at 165° (It hits 173°), for 4 hours usually. I use to make shoe leather jerky. But anymore I keeps some of the moisture in for a more pliable shoe leather.
And I tend to make mine a tad hotter. More pepper, or add some red pepper flakes to the marinade. Slaps the tongue, and leaves a nice after-burn in the throat.
Hitting the 165° mark kills any germs, and finishes off the Prague Powder (Optional, but I use it)

So tell me, how do you market the Farts you farm?


----------



## OldFartFarmer (Dec 11, 2018)

thanks Dave, so if i start at 160-170 and ramp down ill kill the little buggers?
and no more breeding in anyones gut?

love the farts in a can sonnyE
my G?F's little mutt did a drag ass in front of the smoker this morning,
and picked up a piece of charcoal, made a nice line on the paving blocks,,
we were bent over crying/laughing


----------



## SonnyE (Dec 11, 2018)

I have a sense of humor, much to somes dismay...


----------



## pa42phigh (Dec 21, 2018)

I’m like farmer the more I read the more confused I get.. why would you count the liquids in jerky but not sausage?  Doesn’t it evaporates from both?


daveomak said:


> Morning..  Ppm nitrite is based on weight...  so, 1 tsp cure#1 per 5 pounds of stuff gives you ~156 Ppm...   The "stuff" could be all meat, meat and water etc...  It's the Ppm that's important....   If you are making sausage, as an example, and add water to make the mix easier to squeeze through the stuffer, you do not need to add the weight of the water...  It is assumed the water will evaporate and not "rinse out"  any added ingredients...
> EDIT....  The weight of the water is used when doing a brine cure...  equilibrium cure...  There are so many variables when curing, it's hard to remember them all when posting rules...


----------



## daveomak (Dec 21, 2018)

You dump the liquid when making jerky so any chemicals in the liquid are thrown out.....
In sausage, the liquid evaporates leaving behind any chemicals in the meat...


----------



## pa42phigh (Dec 21, 2018)

daveomak said:


> You dump the liquid when making jerky so any chemicals in the liquid are thrown out.....
> In sausage, the liquid evaporates leaving behind any chemicals in the meat...


Makes sense I didn’t think of that thx


----------



## SonnyE (Dec 21, 2018)

Perfect explanation Dave! 
A real Gold Nugget!


----------



## OldFartFarmer (Dec 21, 2018)

Dave,
you got a great way of lighting up the old lightbulb, when you flip the answer switch,
Thanks
John


----------



## Rings Я Us (Dec 21, 2018)

Holly2015 said:


> Temps 160 degrees for 2 hours then lower it to 120/130 degrees until dried to you liking. The trick to jerky is lots of warm dry air flowing at a high rate over the meats to whisk moisture. If there was a breeze blowing it Death Valley in the dead of summer it'd be the perfect natural environment to make jerky by simply hanging meats outside to dry.
> 
> Problem with lots of smokers is to keep the temperatures down you need to choke back the air flow. Now you have a low temp but because of diminished airflow have trouble removing the moisture from the interior of the smoker. To exacerbate the issue one of the byproducts of combustion is water. So when using a heat source with a flame you are adding the very thing you are trying to remove.
> 
> With the above said I am not saying you cannot make great jerky on a smoker. It just takes longer (cure is especially important if longer drying time are needed) and texturally it may also be a little different.





I use a Smoker for jerky and go at 160° for only 5-6 hours.  I make 5-10 lbs at a time in my smoker.  Dehydrator takes longer and most all never reach 160° IT. Dehydrator will cost you big bucks on electric if your running a larger one. 1200-1600 watt.


----------



## daveomak (Dec 21, 2018)

SonnyE said:


> Perfect explanation Dave!
> A real Gold Nugget!





OldFartFarmer said:


> Dave,
> you got a great way of lighting up the old lightbulb, when you flip the answer switch,
> Thanks
> John



Sometimes I know what it takes for me to understand stuff...  And I can only hope we are on the same wavelength trying to understand this conundrum called "curing meats".....


----------



## Rings Я Us (Dec 21, 2018)

Holly2015 said:


> So if I have an appliance that uses 1600 watts and runs continuous for  24 hours and I pay 7-1/2 ( I think I pay in the 6 cent range) cents per kilowatt hour in 24 hours I'll use $2.90 in electric. Since jerky takes substantially less and time to dry (about 8 hours) and heating element isn't at full capacity the entire time I'd be surprised if I use $1.00 worth of electricity dehydrating a 5 to 7lb run of jerky.
> 
> 1600 x 24 = 38,400 kw per day
> 
> ...



No. Your bill goes up $20 or more if you run the dehydrator 2-3 times a week. Just the same as me using my smoker 1650 watt twice a week. The monthly bill goes up $40.00. Here.  I know.. I pay the bill and it increased a bunch when using the smoker for jerky. It's not $1.99 or $2.99 per use.


----------



## Bearcarver (Feb 28, 2019)

Holly2015 said:


> The average kilowatt per hour in the USA is $0.12
> 
> 1600watt x 24 hours = 38,400 watts or 38.4 kilowatt.
> 
> ...




That's more like it.
And an MES 40 is only 1200 Watts, and cycles on & off a lot.
Only time it runs full blast for any amount of time is the 20 minutes or so it takes to get to set Temp.

Bear


----------

