# Jerky for Deercamp! (Heavy Qview)



## humdinger (Nov 6, 2015)

I made some Jerky two years ago (venison & Beef) and it was off the hook. Family and friends loved it and of course soon after I was "gifted" plenty of venison steaks and roasts to convert into dried meat-gold! However life happens (kids, work, etc..) and the meat sat in my deep freezer...until last week!

When doing venison jerky, I always like to use teriyaki because I feel it cuts the gamey flavor of the meat all while adding a salty flavor that venison usually lacks (compared to beef). Here you see my slicer, cutting board, scale, disposable gloves, and seasonings. I used Sweet and Spicy seasoning for the beef. Pink salt was my cure. 1tsp/5lb.













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






Weighing it out and prepping to mix in 5lb batches. I had 15lbs of venison total, and I've found that 5 pound batches works best not just for curing, but a gallon ziplock bag holds 5lbs nicely allowing for a little room to mix and squish while curing. Plus I find it's the maximum amount I can mix by hand before it gets to be too much. This picture below is of the venison steaks. They were still slightly frozen together making slicing easy, but broke up into smaller pieces as they thawed for easier blending/seasoning.













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






I sliced it a little thinner this time, (last time was about 1/4in). This time most pieces were around 1/8, but some sliced up thicker by accident, and they turned out better in the end, so I think go back to that next time. Also I slice across the grain for a easier bite/chew.













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






Here is the seasoning and blending. I usually sprinkle and toss the jerky in three stages (sprinkle-toss-sprinkle-toss-sprinkle-toss) to ensure optimum curing and seasoning.













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






Bagged with the air squeezed out. I also added a tablespoon of cracked black pepper to the seasoning blend for a little heat.













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






After a few days resting in the fridge, it's time to smoke/dry. A few years ago I had the idea to buy 1/8in food grade stainless steel rods and cut them to fit on my smoker rack. It works great. I skewer the meat onto the rod using my bench vice, then into the smoker!













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






Each rod holds a pound of meat, which helps planning. Here is what it looks like. Beef on top, venison on bottom. It looks like the meat is touching, which is a jerky drying no-no, but I was careful to make sure they weren't.













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






Got some bourbon oak pellets smoking in the A-MAZE-N smoker. I did this batch on Halloween. Took about 6 hours. Started at 120 degrees and worked up to 160/165.













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






It went a little long, but the temp never got higher than 170, so it's just tougher jerky, which is the whole point I guess.













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






My son after a long night (20 minutes) of tough trick-or-treating! He was grunting like a cave man at the meat. My in-laws got a kick out of it!













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






"Let me give you a hand with that dad, this skewer looks a little overloaded."













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






Close up of some of the Black pepper teriyaki venison.













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






After resting in a ziplock bag overnight, I wrap in a paper bag to improve tenderness. Thanks to @nepas via @smokinghusker for this little tip.













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






These were pieces too small to fit on the skewer. Qmatz worked awesome, thanks @TJohnson













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






This batch went in Nov 2nd. All venison, but some with black pepper, some with red pepper flakes. Also, I used pitmasters blend pellets this round.













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






Some of the finished red pepper teriyaki venison.This batch was by far the best!













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






Close up!













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__ humdinger
__ Nov 6, 2015






The best part is the guys who gave me the meat do not know it's done yet! They're in for a nice surprise when I get to deer camp next week! Thanks for looking.


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## bmaddox (Nov 6, 2015)

That looks great. We had a bunch of different jerky at deer camp last week and now I am craving more.


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## twoalpha (Nov 7, 2015)

Awesome looking jerky


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## dirtsailor2003 (Nov 7, 2015)

Great looking jerky! 

POINTS!


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## GaryHibbert (Nov 7, 2015)

Now that's GOOD looking jerky.  I figure to turn most of my hopefully "soon to be got" deer into jerky and snack sticks this year.







Gary


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## crazymoon (Nov 8, 2015)

HD, great looking jerky and I love your vise /skewer approach !


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## b-one (Nov 8, 2015)

Nice looking jerky! Good luck at beer I mean deer camp!


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## driedstick (Nov 8, 2015)

Dang it man that looks good,,, Wish I was in deer camp with that 

point for the full smoker 

DS


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## humdinger (Nov 9, 2015)

bmaddox said:


> That looks great. We had a bunch of different jerky at deer camp last week and now I am craving more.


Thanks bmaddox. What kind of jerky did you guys have? Elk is the best I've ever had, followed closely by buffalo. I've heard moose is the holy grail, but have yet to try it myself.


twoalpha said:


> Awesome looking jerky


Thanks for the points! I know they don't really mean anything to the forum, but it's nice to see after a few days of hard work!


dirtsailor2003 said:


> Great looking jerky!
> 
> POINTS!


Thanks Case. I did do the sausage last month too, but haven't posted the pics yet. Appreciate you looking!


GaryHibbert said:


> Now that's GOOD looking jerky.  I figure to turn most of my hopefully "soon to be got" deer into jerky and snack sticks this year.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for the points Gary and good luck to you. I've find there are very few venison steak lovers, but venison jerky lovers are like weeds.... you break out the jerky and.they pop up everywhere!


CrazyMoon said:


> HD, great looking jerky and I love your vise /skewer approach !


Thanks. After I created the skewers a few years ago, they worked great but it took a long time to skewer all the meat with only two hands, and was a lot of up and down on a cookie sheet. That's when I thought "...a table clamp would help, hey wait, I have a vice!"


b-one said:


> Nice looking jerky! Good luck at beer I mean deer camp!


Sounds like you do the same thing we do; lotsa drinking with a little hunting sprinkled in! Funny thing is when I started this tradition about 6 years ago, it was just 4 or 5 buddy's who were serious hunters. Now it's 24 guys, 6 of whom are hunters! LOL


driedstick said:


> Dang it man that looks good,,, Wish I was in deer camp with that
> 
> point for the full smoker
> 
> DS


Thanks. I love making jerky. It's a lot of work to do as much as I do at once, but so rewarding when you start handing it out! Thanks for the points.


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## humdinger (Nov 13, 2015)

Thanks for the point @TromaRon  !


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## humdinger (Nov 17, 2015)

Thanks for the thumbs up @Tr00ter


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## westby (Nov 18, 2015)

Great minds think alike.  I've been using 1/8" rod for about 3-4 years now.  The pic below has about 30 lbs of jerky (pre-cooked weight) in it.













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__ westby
__ Nov 22, 2014


















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__ westby
__ Nov 22, 2014


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## dukeburger (Nov 18, 2015)

Nice treat for camp.

I bet it added some extra motivation to get out there extra-early!


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## humdinger (Nov 24, 2015)

westby said:


> Great minds think alike.  I've been using 1/8" rod for about 3-4 years now.  The pic below has about 30 lbs of jerky (pre-cooked weight) in it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hey hey! Look at that @westby  I guess I'm not so crazy after all! I love it. It's a great system for optimizing the cubic space in your smoker. (I work in shipping and logistics, so my mnd is _always_ thinking about that)

Is that beef? What flavors did you give it?


DukeBurger said:


> Nice treat for camp.
> 
> I bet it added some extra motivation to get out there extra-early!


Honestly, since jerky is so much time and work, I didn't tell them I was bringing it.  The reason is, for most of my friends deer camp is less about hunting and more about getting away from the wives and any other reminders of civilization, and when that happens they forget their manners (in other words, they'll wolf it down!). I waited until the time was right then passed the bag around the fire. It was a hit! Thanks for the points!


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## westby (Nov 24, 2015)

That is all venison Humdinger.  Used all the roasts I could get from my deer (except back loin) and had some meat from two other buddies as well.  I have been a huge fan of Hi Mountain for years.  I use the regular blend and add some course black pepper and a little garlic to it.  Started out around 30 lbs and cooked down to just under 15 lbs.


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## smokindeer (Dec 8, 2015)

2 questions...

Where did you get the 1/8" rods?

How do you store your jerky and for how long?


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## westby (Dec 9, 2015)

I just Googled it.  I don't remember the site I got if from, but it was something like this.  http://www.speedymetals.com/pc-2612-8271-18-rd-316-stainless-steel-cold-finished-annealed.aspx

As far as storage goes, I just vac seal and freeze.


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