# Honey sriracha beef jerky. First attempt. (Critiques/tips are welcome)



## mdbannister (Dec 15, 2017)

First time making beef jerky, so please offer critiques/tips if you see I'm missing something or could improve on this somehow (I'm sure there's lots of ways I could improve, so please share).

First, here's what I'm working with. It's thin-sliced eye of round.








I cut it into strips from there







I set aside a few pieces that I'm planning to just salt and pepper for my kids, and the rest is getting marinated in a honey sriracha marinade. I recently tried @waterinholebrew's recipe for honey sriracha bacon jerky, and while my bacon wasn't near the quality his was, my family loved it, so that inspired me to try making a marinade recipe with beef jerky based on that same flavor combo. Here's the marinade recipe that I'm using:

6 tablespoons honey
6 tablespoons sriracha
3-5 tablespoons red wine vinegar (roughly estimated...sorta... :cool: I basically added this to make the marinade a bit more viscous and for a tad more volume to fully cover the meat) 







Added meat and marinade to a Ziploc bag and have it marinating for about 18 hours before smoking it in my MES.













The plan is to smoke at around 170° with the meat hanging from toothpicks in the smoker.

Thoughts?


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## tallbm (Dec 15, 2017)

Looks good!

Did you use any cure #1 in the marinade?

Some will say it is needed, some say it is not.  Some say it depends on the process, etc.

In the paste I've made sliced jerky without cure using a dehydrator.
For jerky in the oven I added the cure that came with the seasoning pack.

In the future I will be adding some cure for safety sake.

I guess I don't really have recommendation and I am just basically raising some questions on the jerky process itself lol.

In any case it may be something you want answered and I would think that at the very least you smoke hot enough to hit 160F IT on the thin strips of meat to kill any bacteria and then lower the temp or vise versa.

Best of luck! :)


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## ironhorse07 (Dec 15, 2017)

I like the idea, but I question whether the marinade is acidic enough to not use cure.


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## mdbannister (Dec 15, 2017)

tallbm said:


> Looks good!
> 
> Did you use any cure #1 in the marinade?
> 
> ...


Thanks! I didn't use any cure...mostly bc I didn't know about needing it. I did read up on it a bit last night, and I think I'll use it in the future just to be safe, but I am thinking this batch without it should be fine since the meat is sliced so thin, I'm smoking at 170 (as opposed to cooler temps), and the spices in the marinade are pretty salty (and peppery) anyway. If I'm wrong on that, definitely let me know...I'd rather marinate for an additional time after adding cure than do something stupid. Haha!


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## mdbannister (Dec 15, 2017)

ironhorse07 said:


> I like the idea, but I question whether the marinade is acidic enough to not use cure.


If I add cure now, how long would I need to leave the meat marinating after that?


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## ironhorse07 (Dec 15, 2017)

With strips that size, overnight to 24 hours with the cure. However, with strips that thin and smoking at 170 I think you will get through the danger zone just fine without the cure.


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## tallbm (Dec 15, 2017)

I honestly think you would be fine without it.  I think the temp of the meat will exceed 140F within 4 hours keeping you out of the danger zone.

If you added cure now I would think that 12-24 hours would be well enough time for it to completely penetrate.
I've read it stated on here that cure reportedly travels at 1/4 inch every 24 hours under normal conditions (not too near freezing).  So trusting that info, cure on both sides of your thinly sliced meat should have no problem penetrating completely within 12-24 hours.

Let us know what you decide :)


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## daricksta (Dec 15, 2017)

tallbm said:


> Looks good!
> 
> Did you use any cure #1 in the marinade?
> 
> ...



I've made about 3 batches of beef jerky but have never used any cure. I did buy some pink curing salt (I think it's #1, not sure because I haven't used it yet). What would be a good reason to cure the beef before smoking it? I never worry about the Danger Zone because of the temp I smoke beef jerky at, which is usually 160°F or so, so it's up to a safe temp pretty quickly. I store the finished product in a vacuum sealed bag in the fridge when not munching heartily on it.


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## tallbm (Dec 15, 2017)

daricksta said:


> What would be a good reason to cure the beef before smoking it?



Cure is only needed when smoking items at a temp so low they end up in the danger zone past the safety rules.
For beef I would think beef sausage, maybe pastrami I'm not sure what temps it is smoked at but it is a cured product anyhow, and any kind of dried/chipped beef product I think would also use cure.

That's about all I can think of.  I know sausage for sure you would want cure because of the thickness of the sausage, the low smoking tmep, and the time it takes to cook.


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## crazymoon (Dec 16, 2017)

MDB, Looks like a fine start,IMHO I would purchase some cure #1 and use it in future jerky adventures. Please tell us how it turns out !


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## mdbannister (Dec 18, 2017)

Jerky is in the smoker.













A couple of things I think I'd do differently next round. 1) I'll be using cure on future batches just to be safe and 2) I think adding the wine vinegar to the marinade may have been a mistake. In the future, I may double down on the honey and sriracha if more volume is needed. I also might try reducing the marinade in the future in a sauce pan before marinating. Thoughts on that?

Right now I'm also debating making a honey sriracha glaze to hit these with in a couple of hours or so...


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## tallbm (Dec 18, 2017)

mdbannister said:


> Jerky is in the smoker.
> 
> A couple of things I think I'd do differently next round. 1) I'll be using cure on future batches just to be safe and 2) I think adding the wine vinegar to the marinade may have been a mistake. In the future, I may double down on the honey and sriracha if more volume is needed. I also might try reducing the marinade in the future in a sauce pan before marinating. Thoughts on that?
> 
> Right now I'm also debating making a honey sriracha glaze to hit these with in a couple of hours or so...



If you use cure in the future add it after you cook down your marinade.  As DaveOmak would likely point out, cure will break down easily at temps you use to reduce your marinade so add the cure after the marinade has cooled down and just stir it in.

Other than that note I think you are right on with your future plans.  
Another thing to try would be to do a base jerky seasoning and then brush on your honey siracha flavor towards the end and see if that approach gives you just as good jerky with less hassle.  Much like how people doing Ham's just brush all the glaze on at the end rather than trying to incorporate the flavor and glaze the whole way through.

Best of luck!


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## mdbannister (Dec 18, 2017)

tallbm said:


> If you use cure in the future add it after you cook down your marinade.  As DaveOmak would likely point out, cure will break down easily at temps you use to reduce your marinade so add the cure after the marinade has cooled down and just stir it in.
> 
> Other than that note I think you are right on with your future plans.
> Another thing to try would be to do a base jerky seasoning and then brush on your honey siracha flavor towards the end and see if that approach gives you just as good jerky with less hassle.  Much like how people doing Ham's just brush all the glaze on at the end rather than trying to incorporate the flavor and glaze the whole way through.
> ...


Thanks! Those are definitely helpful tips!


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## mdbannister (Dec 18, 2017)

Here it is. Just about done I think


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## mdbannister (Dec 18, 2017)

Finished product.







It's alright, but the marinade definitely needs work...it lacks salt for sure. However, I am pleased that the honey and sriracha flavors are both well noted in the jerky. The salt and pepper (and cilantro) jerky was initially better received by my "critics" (my family), but they like both and neither was bad. Just needs some additional work.


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## tallbm (Dec 19, 2017)

Hey sounds like a good iteration.  The best part is that you get to enjoy eating the results while you plan for success on the next attempt :)


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## SonnyE (Dec 21, 2017)

Wow! Makes me hungary!
How much salt do you think? Maybe just a shake from a shaker? Or more?
I received a bottle of Sriracha sauce the other day. The wife came home with a two-pack of it, and I was shocked.
She whines if I put black pepper on stuff. :confused: But one of the bottles is a gift, so the other got gifted to me. :)
So, I'm really glad to see this post. It sounds good to me. Honey is a secret weapon in my BBQing.
I might 1/2 the sauce for some of it. I don't like burnin my tongue, or needing a 12 pack to eat a little jerky. LOL.


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## daricksta (Dec 23, 2017)

tallbm said:


> Cure is only needed when smoking items at a temp so low they end up in the danger zone past the safety rules.
> For beef I would think beef sausage, maybe pastrami I'm not sure what temps it is smoked at but it is a cured product anyhow, and any kind of dried/chipped beef product I think would also use cure.
> 
> That's about all I can think of.  I know sausage for sure you would want cure because of the thickness of the sausage, the low smoking tmep, and the time it takes to cook.


Thanks for the info. And you know, after 3 tries I'm still working on perfecting my beef jerky. But you mentioned pastrami. I got a food slicer for my birthday so now pastrami is next on my to-do list for smoking. It also means I can slice my own top round for jerky instead of having a butcher do it.


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## tallbm (Dec 24, 2017)

daricksta said:


> Thanks for the info. And you know, after 3 tries I'm still working on perfecting my beef jerky. But you mentioned pastrami. I got a food slicer for my birthday so now pastrami is next on my to-do list for smoking. It also means I can slice my own top round for jerky instead of having a butcher do it.



Pastrami is good stuff, and having a good slicer is awesome :)


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## Rings Я Us (Dec 24, 2017)

Nice! :)

I see some sprinkles of stuff on the jerky. What did you put on?


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## Rings Я Us (Dec 24, 2017)

Oh.. I see.. it's cilantro. Ok. Different.


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## mdbannister (Dec 25, 2017)

SonnyE said:


> Wow! Makes me hungary!
> How much salt do you think? Maybe just a shake from a shaker? Or more?
> I received a bottle of Sriracha sauce the other day. The wife came home with a two-pack of it, and I was shocked.
> She whines if I put black pepper on stuff. :confused: But one of the bottles is a gift, so the other got gifted to me. :)
> ...


I'll actually be trying a honey sriracha seasoning I found by McCormick. I'm planning to add it after marinating right before it goes in the smoker.


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## Rings Я Us (Dec 25, 2017)

Might be an overkill with the seasoning.. 
Have to try and see.


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## SonnyE (Dec 26, 2017)

That's me to a 'T'... overkill. :rolleyes:
I actually got adventurous and mixed a little of the sauce with about equal of honey.
Then painted some on my Blah hamburger jerky.
Livened it right up!

I got a tiny bottle smoked paprika to try. Pow!
Makes me wag my tongue.

All this stuff is one continuous experiment to me.


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## wrestler75 (Dec 26, 2017)

I think that sounds awesome.  I love the garlic siracha seasoning they make..


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## mdbannister (Dec 28, 2017)

Round 2 is in the smoker.


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## redheelerdog (Dec 28, 2017)

mdbannister said:


> Round 2 is in the smoker.



Let us know how it turns out. 

I like the Sriracha and honey combo, to add a salt/savory flavor try adding some soy sauce. I have made many a killer jerky batch with soy sauce alone.

Looks like your having fun!


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## Rings Я Us (Jan 16, 2018)

Soy and Worcestershire do good. Onion and garlic powder perhaps. I'm going to try this siracha&honey but I like the Hi Mountain blends in kits also.


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## Bearcarver (Jan 16, 2018)

mdbannister said:


> Finished product.
> 
> It's alright, but the marinade definitely needs work...it lacks salt for sure. However, I am pleased that the honey and sriracha flavors are both well noted in the jerky. The salt and pepper (and cilantro) jerky was initially better received by my "critics" (my family), but they like both and neither was bad. Just needs some additional work.




Looks Good, MDB !!:)
I think you'll find that Cure isn't just for safety.
It will also add a better appearance & more flavor. IMO
Like.

Bear


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