# Ground beef jerky doneness



## hondabbq

Ok so I have my first ever 5 lbs of jerky currently in the dehydrator. 
I set it for 5 hours at 160f. 
I read some times of 5 hours to 15 hours, a lot of that depending on several factors. Volume, caliber of dehydrator, moisture content of meat going in. 


My question is, how do you test when it's actually done. 


Sent by me from here.


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## noboundaries

First, you want to make sure the IT is 160F.  Personally, when I smoke GB jerky, I use a slightly higher temp of 175F just for safety, but that could just be me.

I don't use a dehydrator.  I use my smoker.  Once again, doneness is a personal preference.  After I check the temp, I pick up a piece in the middle and see how much it bends.  I like it to be relatively stiff with only a minor sag.  If it bends a lot, I leave it on the smoker.


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## dward51

Oh wait, I almost posted a photo of cut jerky then it hit me GB not whole muscle..... Duh....

The done-ness test is somewhat similar though.  It should bend and not "snap or crack" in half, but just start to tear with an extreme bend.  I usually make my GB jerky into "rounds" instead of strips. I like the rustic chip look.  Here are some jerky rounds I made a while back, but I don't have a "bend test" photo.  These were dehydrator rounds.  As thin as GB jerky is, in any decent dehydrator hitting that safe 152* point (you are using cure #1, right) is not hard and most electric dehydrators will run in the 160*-170* range when maxed out.  I usually run mine similar to the way I would smoke jerky strips (whole meat) in the smoker.  Start at 125* for an hour to set the meat, crank to 140* for a couple of hours and then to 160* to finish.













20160407_171816.jpg



__ dward51
__ Aug 7, 2017


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## tallbm

As mentioned earlier you will want to do a bend test on it.

Everything I read when learning how to do ground jerky states that when it starts to break it is ready.  This doesn't mean snap just that it is showing breakage.

Another tip, the jerky will continue to dry and get more brittle after you pull it out so if you have good breakage signs then when it is rested you will have greater breakage.  SO I learned to pull my ground jerky at the first/minimal signs of obvious breakage during the bend test.  Once it rests for a while you will see that this approach will break on a bend test but will definitely never snap and gives a good consistency between dryness and softness.

Best of luck and welcome to the world of ground jerky!!! :)


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## hondabbq

Thanks for the responses. 

I am using cure as there are too many risks without it. 

Here is a pic of the finished product. 

Tasting comments have been positive on taste and texture. 













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## noboundaries

Looks fantastic!


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## tallbm

Great job, i'll be checking my mail for some :P


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