# Better late than never...My first batches of jerky, w/Q-view



## jp61 (Apr 18, 2012)

I decided awhile ago to start making my own jerky, but first I wanted to have some decent equipment to work with. Now that I'm fortunate enough to have them, it's jerky time. I have 10lbs of beef "eye of round" sliced and cut into strips (sliced with the grain and cut into strips against the grain). Recipes I'm using are from Mr. Kutas' book "Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing" 4th Edition. His recipes are for 3lbs of meat but I'm making 5lbs batches, so I just pretty much doubled everything with the exception of the 1tsp. of Insta Cure[emoji]8482[/emoji] No.1. I'm making what he calls "our basic jerky" and Teriyaki. 

Using the Globe-500 for the first time. I like it...








All sliced 3/16" thick and cut into strips 







First batch of Teriyaki going in the fridge for 24hrs (second batch looks just like this one 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





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The 160L Dehydrator on standby...







Hopefully tomorrow afternoon sometime, I'll have a finished product that's edible


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## terry colwell (Apr 18, 2012)

That Dehydrator is a killer. What in the world do you dehydrate to get one that size? Does it work as a wine rack after your done??/ lol


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## jp61 (Apr 18, 2012)

Terry Colwell said:


> That Dehydrator is a killer. What in the world do you dehydrate to get one that size? Does it work as a wine rack after your done??/ lol




Tomorrow will be the first time that I'll be using it. Was planning on doing big batches (didn't want to go through the same process 3-4 times when I could do it in one) of jerky and numerous types of fruits for starters. After that, who knows.... but one thing is for sure, if my clothes dryer ever breaks, I'll still have clean and dry skivvies. lol


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## smokinhusker (Apr 18, 2012)

Looks great so far! Nice looking dehydrator and it's big enough I'll be you could dry clothes in it! Since I got my MES 40, I haven't done any jerky in the dehydrator, it all goes on there and is fantastic. Since October I've done about 150-200 lbs of venison, elk, antelope, and beef. 

Keep us updated with the q view and results!


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## jp61 (Apr 18, 2012)

SmokinHusker said:


> Looks great so far! Nice looking dehydrator and it's big enough I'll be you could dry clothes in it! Since I got my MES 40, I haven't done any jerky in the dehydrator, it all goes on there and is fantastic. Since October I've done about 150-200 lbs of venison, elk, antelope, and beef.
> 
> Keep us updated with the q view and results!


Thanks SH. Sounds like you've been pretty busy. Is there a specific reason why now you favor the MES over the dehydrator for making jerky? What do you use for smoke and what flavor?


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## ritamcd (Apr 18, 2012)

Looks Great!! AND WOW!! That thing is like 3x the size of mine 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   I don't think I could have much bigger .. I like to do batches of different things all the time and well I may just go poor


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## jp61 (Apr 18, 2012)

RitaMcD said:


> Looks Great!! AND WOW!! That thing is like 3x the size of mine
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Thanks Rita! Yeah it is big, probably too big for my little kitchen but I caught it on a really good sale plus I had a $75 gift certificate, so I went for it. The question is, how well does it work? I'll find out soon enough.....it's going on 12:30am here and I just gave the batches one last mixing before I hit the sack. I am hoping to have both batches in the dehydrator by 10am the latest. As I was putting them back in the fridge I found this little piggy hiding in the corner. PP this weekend...:-))


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## ritamcd (Apr 18, 2012)

I suppose one good thing about a taller one is it will save your back 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   you should have some good stuff in a few about 7ish hours ..

YUM I am still feasting on PP .. great for a lazy dinner outta the freezer


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## smokinhusker (Apr 19, 2012)

JP61 said:


> Thanks SH. Sounds like you've been pretty busy. Is there a specific reason why now you favor the MES over the dehydrator for making jerky? What do you use for smoke and what flavor?


Wow I just noticed you are from Cleveland! I grew up way south of you near Marietta, small world indeed. Anyway, I used to make my jerky on a dehydrator and the first plus of the smoker is the smoke! Can't get that in a dehydrator unless you either add liquid smoke to the meat (did this in the past) or throw it on the smoker for a while. I figure if I'm going to the trouble of hanging it in the smoker, then I might as well do the whole process in the smoker. Given the size of yours, you could easily hang it in the smoker for that smoke flavor and then transfer it to hang in the dehydrator. Mine wasn't that large and would have required laying the pieces and then turning them over. 

I use pellets (Smokehouse brand, I believe) in my smoker and in the homemade smoking pan for lower temps. And I've used hickory/cherry, mesquite/cherry, oak/cherry for the red meats and change the cherry to apple for duck and goose jerky. We hunt every fall and I got a muley buck and a cow elk this past fall plus my BF spends 2-3 weeks waterfowl hunting. I did an antelope and a deer for a friend all into jerky, my buck and all the waterfowl we had as well as what 3 other friends had. I'm trying to convince my BF to buy another smoker just for jerky!

Here's some elk jerky I did a while back

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/117191/sweet-and-spicy-elk-jerky-in-the-mes

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/118853/elk-jerky-for-easter-lol


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## jp61 (Apr 19, 2012)

SmokinHusker said:


> Wow I just noticed you are from Cleveland! I grew up way south of you near Marietta, small world indeed. Anyway, I used to make my jerky on a dehydrator and the first plus of the smoker is the smoke! Can't get that in a dehydrator unless you either add liquid smoke to the meat (did this in the past) or throw it on the smoker for a while. I figure if I'm going to the trouble of hanging it in the smoker, then I might as well do the whole process in the smoker. Given the size of yours, you could easily hang it in the smoker for that smoke flavor and then transfer it to hang in the dehydrator. Mine wasn't that large and would have required laying the pieces and then turning them over.
> 
> I use pellets (Smokehouse brand, I believe) in my smoker and in the homemade smoking pan for lower temps. And I've used hickory/cherry, mesquite/cherry, oak/cherry for the red meats and change the cherry to apple for duck and goose jerky. We hunt every fall and I got a muley buck and a cow elk this past fall plus my BF spends 2-3 weeks waterfowl hunting. I did an antelope and a deer for a friend all into jerky, my buck and all the waterfowl we had as well as what 3 other friends had. I'm trying to convince my BF to buy another smoker just for jerky!
> 
> ...


Yeah...... I'm a Browns fan......maybe this year, if not, there's always next year, lol. Thanks for the links....they look really nice!! I hope mine will turn out good also. Will see how this jerky thing goes.... you never know, soon I may have both the 160L and the MES40 loaded. IMO $300 for the MES is money well spent...it's not the greatest thing in the world, but it's a nice little smoker. I really like mine so far.


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## jp61 (Apr 19, 2012)

Here We Go.......Game On! I mean beef on! 

Laid out on paper towels to soak up some of the marinade













Right on schedule :-)







Eight racks loaded (10lbs) out of 24







Set the temp. at 140° F... took about 35min. to get there. 







The whole house is smelling pretty good right now







Put some foil on the bottom to make clean-up easier.

Now it's just wait, check, maybe rotate racks, check again...... and hope for the best. Gotta cut the grass now.... I just love mowing the lawn! I'll be back later with more pics...


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## bluebombersfan (Apr 19, 2012)

looking good!  Love that dehydrator!!!


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## jp61 (Apr 19, 2012)

BlueBombersfan said:


> looking good!  Love that dehydrator!!!


Thank you BBf! 

ha.... it's been on for about two hours+ now. I decided to have another cup of coffee (grass is still waiting). Turn on the coffee maker (Keurig), it starts heating the water then all of a sudden, silence. Tripped the 20 amp breaker....then it came to me, that when I went over the owners manual I think it said to use on a dedicated circuit. It was only off for a minute, temp was still 137° when I turned it back on. Another little project... guess I'll have to run a circuit for the BEAST...lol  BTW, if any of you have the Keurig coffee maker and haven't tried the Folgers K-cups, they are really good imo.


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## jp61 (Apr 19, 2012)

Rookie mistake, even though I know better! I did make a dry run with the dehydrator prior to today, but I didn't check the accuracy of the temp sensor in the dehydrator. It's hard to tell now with a load on it. At first I set the temp. at 140° and started drying. Well it turns out that I should have set it at 160° (highest setting) and adjust from there. Jerky has been in there for four hours now. Earlier I bumped up the set temp to 160° because at 140° I was 10° lower than where I wanted to be. Right now my ET-732 is reading 149° and slowly climbing ( I didn't have this in to start with). There are many factors at play, including amount of meat loaded and it's temp., ambient/outside air temp and humidity, etc. It's 65° F outside with 50% humidity. Haven't taken a temp read in the kitchen. With experience I will get a feel for this unit and will worked it like a rented mule. This is crazy....haven't even finished drying my first batches and I'm already getting a text request to do some venison. Can't wait to see how these turn out....


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## jp61 (Apr 19, 2012)

..."is it done yet, is it done yet, huh, is it done yet???"..... hahaha. He's growing a gray beard like his owner.


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## ritamcd (Apr 19, 2012)

He looks like "go ahead open that door" lol
Looks great so far! That waiting game can be frustrating .. but so worth it when its done ..
I also foil the bottom .. I spray it with store brand pam and it kinda sticks better haha but it sure saves a lot of elbow grease later on ..


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## jp61 (Apr 19, 2012)

RitaMcD said:


> He looks like "go ahead open that door" lol
> Looks great so far! That waiting game can be frustrating .. but so worth it when its done ..
> I also foil the bottom .. I spray it with store brand pam and it kinda sticks better haha but it sure saves a lot of elbow grease later on ..


Getting close, I think..... this will probably be the hardest part for me. Knowing when to pull them. Have not rotated at all, did try a couple small pieces earlier for taste.... didn't even let them cool. I'll take out a couple more bigger pieces let them cool then go from there. It's been 6+ hrs.


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## smokinhusker (Apr 19, 2012)

Looking good so far and of course you'll have to get the hang of it just like we did with the MES. Anyway, do the bend test to see if it's done. Bend a piece and if you see white fibers then it's done.

Can't wait to see the final pics!!!


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## ritamcd (Apr 19, 2012)

I do the bend test and also hold it up to the light .. if you can see light through it with no dark spots its done ... Lookin close tho


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## jp61 (Apr 19, 2012)

All done.... Well worth the investment and effort IMO. I like both flavors and I am pretty sure they were pulled on time... texture is good. Not even going to bother with the vacuum seal, they won't last long even if I had to eat it all by myself. Nothing to clean other than the racks.Thanks for looking, commenting and thanks ladies for your help! I'm a happy man! Now, I'd better go cut the grass.


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## ritamcd (Apr 19, 2012)

Looks Great!! Good work ..


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## jp61 (Apr 19, 2012)

RitaMcD said:


> Looks Great!! Good work ..


Thanks Rita! I enjoyed making it and looking forward to making more. Chances are good I'll be making new friends....lol


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## ritamcd (Apr 19, 2012)

LOL I have been sending mine out for 10 years now .. just about every state 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 and get messages .. when are you making jerky again 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 so I don't post when I do anymore .. the price of beef is ridiculous .. tho bottom round is on sale this week 1.99 which isn't bad .. I just have no freezer space left .. so I will be living out of the freezer till I have more room .. then restock on beef when its on sale again ..

Sent some up with my husband for game night and had one guy want me to make him some .. well its not just the meat its the time and ingredients too ..
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   I don't know if that's rude or not ? but I don't see running a few racks in the dehydrator ..


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## jp61 (Apr 20, 2012)

RitaMcD said:


> LOL I have been sending mine out for 10 years now .. just about every state
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I hear ya Rita, even making it yourself, when you add it all up it's not cheap. Obviously I haven't made any yet for someone, but, I have had coworkers/friends ask "if I give you some venison or water buffalo, etc., will you make me some jerky?" That idea doesn't sit well with me. Not the idea of being nice and making it for them, but rather, the idea of not knowing the quality of the meat. Meaning, how that meat was handled from the time the animal was shot, until it would be in my possession. This kind of thinking may just be from inexperience, but, I don't like the idea of gambling with peoples health and feel that's what I would be doing. And no, to me it doesn't make much sense to run just a couple racks in a bigger dehydrator. That's kind of like toasting a bagel in the oven


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## ritamcd (Apr 20, 2012)

Yes I would be nervous about it especially .. if it were game meat .. quality of the meat itself is up to the the hunk they hand over to you .. I know most people will use less desirable pieces of meat to make jerky ... IDK I think the only way I would do a game meat for them is if I was to pick it up from the butcher ..  and or slice it then freeze it to kill any bacteria ..


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## trizzuth (Apr 20, 2012)

Woooow, that is one nice stack of home-made beef jerky!  Reminds me of a time I used to head out to western mass and found a liquor store that was selling someone's home made jerky by the name of "Byron's Beef Jerky" man it was fantastic!  We went back years later and couldn't find anymore and the guy who owned the liquor store said that Byron stopped making it.  Sad day that was...


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## jp61 (Apr 20, 2012)

RitaMcD said:


> Yes I would be nervous about it especially .. if it were game meat .. quality of the meat itself is up to the the hunk they hand over to you .. I know most people will use less desirable pieces of meat to make jerky ... IDK I think the only way I would do a game meat for them is if I was to pick it up from the butcher ..  and or slice it then freeze it to kill any bacteria ..


Yeah, I'm not gonna go down that road.


trizzuth said:


> Woooow, that is one nice stack of home-made beef jerky!  Reminds me of a time I used to head out to western mass and found a liquor store that was selling someone's home made jerky by the name of "Byron's Beef Jerky" man it was fantastic!  We went back years later and couldn't find anymore and the guy who owned the liquor store said that Byron stopped making it.  Sad day that was...


Thank you trizzuth! If you remember what flavor it was I'm sure you could come close to it if not better by making it yourself.


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## smokinhusker (Apr 23, 2012)

That's some great looking jerky!!!! Enjoy!


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## jp61 (Apr 23, 2012)

SmokinHusker said:


> That's some great looking jerky!!!! Enjoy!


Thank you.


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## jp61 (Apr 24, 2012)

Uh-oh..... trouble at the jerky factory?







Not sure what's happening with my jerky. After I took them out of the dehydrator I let them cool off on paper towels before putting them in ziplock bags. I must have not allowed them to completely cool down because I noticed condensation starting to form on the inside of the bags. I then took the jerky out and let them sit out for awhile before putting them back into new ziplock bags. I've been keeping them at room temp on my kitchen table until a couple of days ago when I put them in a cupboard with most of the air squeezed out of the bags. The last two days I noticed a very thin white coating on some of the pieces in both bags and today it's a bit more noticeable and on more pieces. They smell and taste just fine, however it has me wondering what's going on and what the substance is. Is that salt and/or cure showing up or is that mold of some type? The recipe that I used was for 3lbs of meat but I made 5lb batches and doubled everything but the Instacure#1 which was 1tsp. Any experienced input would be greatly appreciated.


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## jkc64 (Apr 24, 2012)

I would be interested in the answer also, I put a paper towel in the bag with my jerky to absorb moisture ans I too started to get the white on mine as I finished eating all of this batch. No evidence!!


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## jp61 (Apr 24, 2012)

jkc64 said:


> I would be interested in the answer also, I put a paper towel in the bag with my jerky to absorb moisture ans I too started to get the white on mine as I finished eating all of this batch. *No evidence!!*


lol.....


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## smokinhusker (Apr 24, 2012)

JP61 said:


> Uh-oh..... trouble at the jerky factory?
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jkc64 said:


> I would be interested in the answer also, I put a paper towel in the bag with my jerky to absorb moisture ans I too started to get the white on mine as I finished eating all of this batch. No evidence!!


If it's white, it's the cure/salt leaching out. I take mine off the smoker and right into a resealable bag but I don't seal it and leave the it sit out so the moisture redistributes throughout the jerky overnight. Then I seal it up but occasionally I have had the leaching. Mold will be green and smelly. I also keep mine in the fridge for longer storage.


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## jp61 (Apr 24, 2012)

SmokinHusker said:


> If it's white, it's the cure/salt leaching out. I take mine off the smoker and right into a resealable bag but I don't seal it and leave the it sit out so the moisture redistributes throughout the jerky overnight. Then I seal it up but occasionally I have had the leaching. Mold will be green and smelly. I also keep mine in the fridge for longer storage.


Thanks Alesia! That's what I figured, but being a rookie at making jerky I wasn't sure what it is or why it's there.


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## jp61 (Apr 24, 2012)

So is that maybe a sign that I used too much salt? Or is this normal? It doesn't taste too salty IMO.


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