Beef Jerky ~ Foamheart

[foamheart]

Look its me again. I pulled a eye of round out of the freezer and let it start thawing. Still frozen but not rock hard anymore I started diligently slicing at a 45 degree angle to the grain about 1/8" to 1/4" slices. Put 'em in a tupperware bowl adding some spices, cure, brown sugar, soy, and worcester sauce and let them marinate for a couple a days. While stirring 'em every time I was in the reefer till all the fluid was gone.

Into the dehydrator and finished in the smoker with apple wood.









Next batch is cooking now. This is the most mellow I have ever made. Its not salty, sweet, smoky, hot or spicy. Its not juicy or tender either LOL, but its pretty good jerky.

Its dry enough to not need refrigeration (don't have hate when you get some tender juicy jerky and you know it'll mold in in a week). Nut not to dry to be crunchy.
I've done that before too! LOL it kind of tuff to eat with store bought teeth...LOL

Seriously all it takes is beef muscle with no silverskin or fat cut at a 45 to the grain very thin. Throw on a bit of modifiers and marinate. Then dry and smoke.

Someday I am gonna try some of that fish candy all you guys make, I know its gotta be good too!

Thats it, Thanks for looking. I'll cryo-pac 'em tomorrow after they smooth overnite.

 

[tag0401]

Looks like some good jerky, wouldn't last a day in my house

 

[HalfSmoked]

There you go again some more great products.

Warren

 

[smokerjim]

looks excellent!

 

[spudthegreater]

Thats the best looking Jerky I've seen made. I never really liked my own when I make it. usually too salty, to crunchy, too whatever. This stuff looks totally spot on. Need to know exactly what you used and how much...Details please. I want to try it again if I could get those results.

 

[pushok2018]

Nice looking jerky! Yummy-yummy!

 

[foamheart]

Looks like some good jerky, wouldn't last a day in my house

Thanks, ya know it never lasts long anywhere. Its always football or hunting season seems like when I make it. But its easy and pretty cheap considering what it costs if you buy it.

There you go again some more great products.

Warren

Thank you Warren, but I have had my busts. Biggest mistake is thinking you need enough spice for a brisket.

looks excellent!

Thank you

 

[foamheart]

Nice looking jerky! Yummy-yummy!

LOL.... Thank you. You want funny, you should see me trying to gum this stuff to get some juice out....LOL

Thats the best looking Jerky I've seen made. I never really liked my own when I make it. usually too salty, to crunchy, too whatever. This stuff looks totally spot on. Need to know exactly what you used and how much...Details please. I want to try it again if I could get those results.

You have the wrong person for details. LOL.... I own measuring devices but don't know how to use them, except for the cure. I have been messing around learning with stuff for awhile and then one day I just don't try so hard and it all comes together. If you'll search back I did an in depth thingie about some sweet jerky, 5 or 6 years ago. I hated it when I made it, but the longer it sat the better I liked it. Its always that way.

IMHO the very most important thing is the slicing. If you cut cross grain it has no chew. If you cut it with the grain you can chew it for weeks. That 45 degree cross cut is really important. Use just a small amount of spice that you like. Like 1 oz/pound total. You know how to figure cure by now. a little liquid like soy and/or worcestershire (wine, beer, anything) and a little brown sugar to offset the salt in the soy and/or worchester sauce. I just splash some in, maybe a teaspoon per pound. put in the reefer for a couple a days, stirring or working it in the meat a couple a times a day. The juices will become absorbed by the meat and the meat will get dense from the cure and tacky.

If you smoke it or dehydrate it, watch it about hourly (feeling it for dryness. When you think its dry put back in for longer and watch for the spider white strings between the meat cells when you bend it. Remember jerky isn't supposed to be tender or juicy. its supposed to preserve the meat. I like to dehydrate first then smoke at the end because smoke sticks better to dry meat. You can do it all on the smoker but remember the more smoke you add the more you'll have to allow to mellow away before you can package. So save that smoke till the last hour.

Bottom line, It depends upon your slicing ability but, its gonna take 4 to 8 hours at low temp to dehydrate the meat without cooking it, and that's the name of the game.

Its like brisket or a butt, just quit worrying about it. Patience is what it is all about.

 

[SmokinAl]

Looks real god Kevin, as usual!!
Al

 

[foamheart]

Looks real god Kevin, as usual!!
Al

Well I wouldn't quite put it at that level but, Thank you Sir. <Chuckles>

 

[hoity toit]

Looking good. I will have to try your slicing method on my next batch, sounds like a winner way to do it. You should try the fish sauce jerky some time. It tastes really good too. I know I was surprised the first time I used the fish sauce.

HT

 

[NicholasWatson]

Looks great. Bon appetit!

 

[foamheart]

Looking good. I will have to try your slicing method on my next batch, sounds like a winner way to do it. You should try the fish sauce jerky some time. It tastes really good too. I know I was surprised the first time I used the fish sauce.

HT

Thank you. Its really noty that hard, if you justr quit worrying about what you are doing. You don't need confidence, you just need patience and not to really care. LOL The white strings in the cracks of the meat are what i look for in jerky.

I had a fellow near my house (lake Maurepas), I met here (SMF), tell me that he smoked alligator gar and had to hide it or his wife and kids would wipe it all out in a day. That could easily be 100+ lbs. of fish!! We were laughing about tourists trying to clean a gar. Anyway, I know I have got to some day try that. Don't they call it indian candy or something akin to that?

I freeze an eye of round and allow it to start thawing before slicing. Since I don't own a slicer its the only way to get that 45 degree cut. It didn't come form my Pop, came from an old coonass who took me coon hunting as a little bity kid. He was sort of a grandpa, he was smart with common sense in the ways of life. But he love to let you learn the hard way first. Wish I would have talked less and listened more. He loved going out on Friday night with his favorite coondog, we sit on the hood of his car and slisten and he'd tell me the story of what she was doing by her bark.

 

[foamheart]

Looks great. Bon appetit!

Thank you sir.

Once you realize that cavemen did it & it ain't brain surgery. Just takes patience.