# Making jerky with a jerky cannon



## boykjo (Feb 6, 2014)

Was at the foodlion the other day and they had 93/7 bulk ground beef on sale. 3 pkgs were marked down due to expiration the next day so I picked 3 of them up at a good price so I went home with 9 lbs of beef and seasoned/cured it up......

In the past I made jerky strips by hand and it was very time consuming. I had some bass pro gift cards left over from Christmas and ordered a jerky cannon... Its been sitting on my storage shelf so I gave it a go with the 9 lbs and I would like to say I am very impressed with the jerky cannon. It was easy to fill and made strips with ease. I started by forming strips on the dehydrator trays but that wasn't working well so I moved to the counter and laid out some aluminum foil and formed the jerky strips there, cut them then moved them to the dehydrator...

meats ready to go.













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filling up the trays













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laying out the jerky... I like it













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I cut the jerky cross ways to shorten the strips. You need to spray the foil with Pam or the meat will stick to the foil













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loaded up













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almost done













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nice looking jerky strip.....never think it was ground meat.....talk about bind













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This was half of the 9 lbs.. Finishing up the other half today......













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a close up













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So I'm glad I bought the jerky cannon. It worked as it should have. The unit I bought didn't come with the double feed nozzles flat and round. I had to purchase them separately and I'm glad I did..It cut the time down even more........ Now the next thing I would like to have is a larger square dehydrator.... Trying to fit straight strips into a round dehydrator you loose a lot of space

Thanks for looking everyone

Boykjo


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## daveomak (Feb 6, 2014)

Joe, morning.....that's some mighty fine looking jerky....

Sausage Maker D-10 or larger and Todd''s Matz are a great combo....   I just did a load of Garlic in the D-10 using Todd's Matz....  It don't get any easier.......


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## aeroforce100 (Feb 6, 2014)

I will second usingTodd's Matz in a dehydrator  They work great, and cleanup is a breeze, just slide your stuff off the Matz, and wash the Matz. Couldn't be any easier!


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## woodcutter (Feb 6, 2014)

I give you credit for trying to keep your strips straight. I've been lazy and making horse shoe shaped pieces following the round trays around. Your jerky looks perfect!


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## kewl32 (Feb 6, 2014)

I just got a redhead square dehydrator for xmas and used it the first time the other day, I was impressed, no shuffling trays and digital timer and heat settings where a great feature. I always used a round american harvester for years. But it was sure nice to set it and know it would shut it self off at a specific time. And of course with the double nozzle and square trays. it made the process so much faster


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## goliath (Feb 6, 2014)

awesome looking jerky

i have had the cannon for months but have been so busy making sausage and smoking everything under the sun i havent tried it. did you use a commercial seasoning or did you make up your own... YOU KNOW WHATS COMING NEXT  ...  HA HA HA
anyways i have some commercial mix and some say for ground to double the amount you add to the meat over solid sliced jerky meat. just wondering if thats is true.

THANKS FOR ANY ADVICE..

and of course for a recipe   :0)


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## nola saints smoker (Feb 7, 2014)

I have a Jerky Cannon and have only used it for snack sticks. I just can't get passed using g. meat for jerky. Those look really good. Might have to break down and give it a try.

What's the texture like?


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## tr00ter (Feb 7, 2014)

That jerky looks great, I've had a jerky gun for a few years and still haven't used it....I think I need to change that after looking at your results!


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## boykjo (Feb 7, 2014)

Nola Saints Smoker said:


> I have a Jerky Cannon and have only used it for snack sticks. I just can't get passed using g. meat for jerky. Those look really good. Might have to break down and give it a try.
> 
> What's the texture like?


The jerky is just like whole dried meat jerky except its not stringy. The longer you dry it the smaller, tougher and brittle it will become so you have to keep an eye on your drying times. I dried these about 12 hrs. You can tear it and it is chewey


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## dog1234 (Feb 8, 2014)

How long did it take to dehydrate it? O sorry I just saw the answer above


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## jerky nut (Feb 8, 2014)

Boykjo.  Hey I see you are using a dehydrator with the round trays.  I saw a video on you tube and I was quite impressed.  This guy uses a cake decorating stand that rotates like a lazy Susan.  He starts at the out side edge of the tray and instead of using the pistol grip he just pushes on the plunger . the tray spins around and he works toward the middle making one continuous piece of jerky until he reaches the inside edge.  I have to find the video and see if I can post the link here.


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## lpep (Feb 9, 2014)

Going to try my cannon..did u precook the strips to 165 first in the oven like recommended?


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## boykjo (Feb 9, 2014)

No. But i did use cure and my temp of the dehydrator is 155 . I recommend you follow usda recommendations even though i did not


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