# First time jerky - Korean BBQ-style (with pictures)



## shyzabrau (May 5, 2017)

Tomorrow is our monthly homebrew club meeting (and "Big Brew", a celebration of the federal decriminalization of homebrewing by Carter). I always like to bring something meaty and/or smoked, so I decided to try jerky for the first time. Rather than keep it simple, I chose to make a Korean BBQ-inspired marinade.

I went with pork loin. For some awful reason, I sliced it first and THEN trimmed off the fat. (I guess I was trying to salvage the dark meat bits - sorry I don't know the name for that part of the loin.) I froze the loin overnight and then sliced it about 1/4" thick. I trimmed the fat and cut it into "bite-sized" pieces. The slices aren't as consistent as I would like because I have a POS slicer...

I ended up with three pounds of meat. I vacuum-sealed and froze the trimmings for sausage next week. Or sooner...













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__ shyzabrau
__ May 5, 2017






I made the marinade as follows:

* 1/2 cup - soy sauce

* 1/2 cup - sweet soy sauce

* 1/4 cup - rice wine vinegar

* 1/4 cup - sesame oil

* 2 TBSP - fish oil

* 2 TBSP - garlic powder

* 2 TBSP - onion powder

* 2 TBSP - black pepper, coarse grind

* 2 tsp - ground ginger

* 2 tsp - gochugaru (Korean pepper flake)

* 25 gram - salt

* 4 gram - cure #1

Note: I weighed the marinade and it was 1 pound. I wanted 1 gram of cure #1 per pound of meat PLUS marinade.

I tossed the meat in the marinade until every piece was well coated.













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__ shyzabrau
__ May 5, 2017






I put the meat and marinade in a gallon zip lock and popped it in the fridge. I will massage and flip every so often.













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__ shyzabrau
__ May 5, 2017






Here are my questions!

(1) Is the cure necessary? Recommended?

(2) Since these are such thin slices, can I get good results with a ten hour marinade or would it be best to go 24? I need to have these finished in about 24 hours, so it will be what it is, but I would like to hear recommendations.

(3) Should I rinse off the marinade or leave it on? If I rinse, should I apply some additional black pepper or gochugaru?

(4) How long should they be smoked and at what temperatures? I have a Bradley electric smoker. I do NOT have a dehydrator.

Any other suggestions or comments?


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## shyzabrau (May 5, 2017)

I decided to do a taste test. Two reasons. First was to see how well it has picked up the marinade. Second to test rinsed versus non rinsed. 













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__ shyzabrau
__ May 5, 2017






Top one is non-rinsed. 

The non-rinsed had more flavor but both were still quite flavorful. 

I would guess, based on the thickness of the meat, that the cure #1 has had plenty of time to permeate the meat. I don't know if the cure is even necessary, though. It will all be consumed tomorrow. 

I'm thinking about starting the smoke soon and letting it go while I go to Virginia Tech to bring home my daughter.


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## shyzabrau (May 5, 2017)

So I decided to go ahead and load the smoker. And NOT rinse the marinade...

Here's a shot of the racks loaded and ready to go in the smoker. 













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__ shyzabrau
__ May 5, 2017


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## crazymoon (May 5, 2017)

S, The cure is used if your meat is in the danger zone of temps between 40-140 for 4 hours or more. It prevents botulism from forming,you never know how long a smoke for sausage or jerky may take and the cure will keep you safe. I never rinse my jerky and let it air dry one hour on the racks at room temp to form  a  pellicle and then smoke at 165-170 with hickory. I always marinade for two days with a couple stirs/shakes  during the marinade on meat that is about 1/4 inch in thickness.It usually takes 6 hours or so depending on the outside temps.


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## shyzabrau (May 5, 2017)

CrazyMoon said:


> S, The cure is used if your meat is in the danger zone of temps between 40-140 for 4 hours or more. It prevents botulism from forming,you never know how long a smoke for sausage or jerky may take and the cure will keep you safe. I never rinse my jerky and let it air dry one hour on the racks at room temp to form  a  pellicle and then smoke at 165-170 with hickory. I always marinade for two days with a couple stirs/shakes  during the marinade on meat that is about 1/4 inch in thickness.It usually takes 6 hours or so depending on the outside temps.



Thanks for the pointers. I'll definitely remember them for next time!

I didn't let them dry at all before I put them in the smoker. I set the smoker at 150. It will be a couple hours before I get home and can turn the trays and/or swap positions. 

Hopefully they will turn out well!


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## Bearcarver (May 5, 2017)

Shyzabrau said:


> Thanks for the pointers. I'll definitely remember them for next time!
> 
> I didn't let them dry at all before I put them in the smoker. I set the smoker at 150. It will be a couple hours before I get home and can turn the trays and/or swap positions.
> 
> Hopefully they will turn out well!


Looks like a Great Start !!
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






I don't know if it will help you any, but here's some Pork Loin Jerky I did with TQ:

Link:

*Pork Loin Jerky*

*Bear*


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## shyzabrau (May 5, 2017)

Bearcarver said:


> Looks like a Great Start !!Thumbs Up
> 
> I don't know if it will help you any, but here's some Pork Loin Jerky I did with TQ:
> 
> ...



You were my inspiration, Bear!


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## Bearcarver (May 5, 2017)

Shyzabrau said:


> You were my inspiration, Bear!


LOL---OK, I didn't know you had been there---You didn't leave any Tracks. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I like your Marinade!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## shyzabrau (May 5, 2017)

Bearcarver said:


> LOL---OK, I didn't know you had been there---You didn't leave any Tracks. :PDT_Armataz_01_12:
> 
> I like your Marinade!:drool
> 
> ...



It's a fantastic marinade. I kept tasting it - up until I added the raw pork...


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## Bearcarver (May 5, 2017)

Shyzabrau said:


> It's a fantastic marinade. I kept tasting it - *up until I added the raw pork...*


Boy am I glad you finished that statement !!! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## crankybuzzard (May 5, 2017)

Looks like a promising mix for sure.  Pork jerky is my favorite type to make.  

Is cure required, no.   Are you being safe by using it, definitely!

Looking forward to the end results!


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## shyzabrau (May 5, 2017)

I hate walking away from my smoker - I'm having issues with the biscuits getting hung up and not advancing. I'd hate to come home and find that it's been burning the same pile of ashes for three hours!


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## Bearcarver (May 5, 2017)

Shyzabrau said:


> I hate walking away from my smoker - I'm having issues with the biscuits getting hung up and not advancing. I'd hate to come home and find that it's been burning the same pile of ashes for three hours!


8 years ago, the first Smoker I looked at was a Biscuit Eater. I didn't get it because of the cost of the Pucks, how many it needed for each Smoke, & I heard about the Jamming.

That plus one of the Veterans here at that time said---Get an MES.

Thank You Paul "Beer-B-Q" !! and R.I.P.

Bear


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## shyzabrau (May 5, 2017)

Bearcarver said:


> 8 years ago, the first Smoker I looked at was a Biscuit Eater. I didn't get it because of the cost of the Pucks, how many it needed for each Smoke, & I heard about the Jamming.
> 
> That plus one of the Veterans here at that time said---Get an MES.
> 
> ...



I just ordered the AMNPS today....


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## crazymoon (May 6, 2017)

Shyzabrau said:


> I just ordered the AMNPS today....


You will love your AMNPS !  Another great product from these folks are the Qmatz to go over your racks for small items like jerky.


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## shyzabrau (May 6, 2017)

CrazyMoon said:


> You will love your AMNPS !  Another great product from these folks are the Qmatz to go over your racks for small items like jerky.



I ordered the Q-matz as well!


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## Bearcarver (May 6, 2017)

Shyzabrau said:


> I just ordered the AMNPS today....


Great !!

Once you get the hang of it, you'll wonder how you did without it.

I honestly believe I'd have quit smoking without my Amazing Army!!

Bear


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## shyzabrau (May 7, 2017)

I thought that the jerky was over smoked as the Korean marinade flavor didn't come through. It was just peppery and smoky. Very good regardless, and people seemed to like it...













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__ shyzabrau
__ May 7, 2017


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## dirtsailor2003 (May 7, 2017)

Looks tasty. How long did you end up marinating the meat? I have found that for the meat to really absorb the flavors (unless you use a vacuum tumbler or vacuum marinate) you need closer to 36-48 hours. When I make my Thai jerky it's 24 hours minimum under vacuum. This is especially true if you are using a method with a lot of liquid. 

As for cure I use it now in all my jerky. I give a lot of it away and I don't want to risk making any of my friends or family sick. 

As a rule the cure will penetrate whole muscle meat at a rate of 1/4" per 24 hours. So if you have 1/4" cut meat and you can assume cure is coming you need to cure for at least 24 hours of the cure is only comin in from one side of the meat. Since you are marinating it's coming in from both sides which would half the time, 1/8" = 12 hour cure. 

Check out the link in the first post of this thread for a good read on Jerky safety.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/261843/good-article-on-jerky-safety#post_1700623


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## shyzabrau (May 7, 2017)

I only marinated about six hours. The fry test had a lot of flavor, so I popped them in the smoker. I'll marinate them much longer next time.


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## Bearcarver (May 7, 2017)

I believe that 1/4" penetration in 24 hours is from both sides, so it would take 12 hours to cure 1/4" thick, and 24 hours to cure 1/2" thick.

Bear


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## dirtsailor2003 (May 7, 2017)

Bearcarver said:


> I believe that 1/4" penetration in 24 hours is from both sides, so it would take 12 hours to cure 1/4" thick, and 24 hours to cure 1/2" thick.
> 
> 
> Bear



Yes that's what I meant.. the 1/8" part is correct...

Editted.


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## motocrash (Sep 19, 2017)

Man,I love gochugaru .Especially the really smoky flavored.Makes a great addition to rubs/sauces.

I too am gonna have to try that marinade,it sounds a lot like one a Korean lady I knew used to make...MMM - steak on a stick and mondu (Korean dumplings).I miss her but not her kimchi,it was waaay to hot for me!

Bill


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