jerky ... no end in sight

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Unity

Executive Chef
Joined
Jun 24, 2006
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Location
Virginia near Washington DC
I blame it all on Puff. He gave me a sample of his venison jerky, and Jody and I doled it out slowly, in miserly portions, so it'd last. Really great stuff. But it ran out. :(

Hi Mountain gave me quick service on a Jerky Maker's Variety Pack ("5 Delicious Flavors") and a 13 1/2" square jerky screen. (If you're a whiz at plane geometry, you can calculate the circumference of a WSM, which the screen just fits.) Safeway had a special on 1/4"-thin-sliced round, so I bought 2 packages totaling 2.25 lbs, which I trimmed of fat -- and discovered that I'd inattentively bought both round and chuck, but no matter. (The round is the regular strips, the chuck is the funky-shaped stuff, which I divided into pieces following the connective tissue.) Then I sprinkled both sides of the meat with the combined seasoning and cure (2 1/3 Tbsp total), after which I tumbled it all together in a bowl to help even the distribution. Then it went into a ZipLoc bag for 27 hours or so in the refrigerator.



The screen full of jerky is just coming off the smoker, after ~2 hrs at ~200° with a couple of fistsful of chipped hickory (thanks BchrisL). The last pic is after and before, the same finished jerky on the left and the second batch ready to go on the smoker.



It's really good. I cut two small strips into 8 pieces and Jody took them to our neighbors who were outside grilling something. I think the neighbor lady would follow me anywhere now. :D

--John
(I started with the Original blend seasoning. There's enough left for another 2 lb., but I'll save it for later. The other flavors in the Variety Pack are Mesquite, Hickory, Cracked Pepper 'n Garlic, and Cajun.)
 
Looking good! I have a slab of venison from a deer that Andy shot in the freezer this winter. I think I might just see if I can make some too.

Maybe I might sneak a little sliver one day soon. ;) ;) nudge nudge, Know what I mean, know what I mean?

I have some apple chips I will bring over along with the tools I mentioned in another forum.

I used the chips on the ribs my son in law cooked Saturday, and they sure made a tasty rib.
 
That looks great.
Nice job John. ;)
It's nice getting blamed for something good. :D
 
Diva Q said:
My Dad just asked me to make jerky. I am looking forward to trying it out for the first time.
Although my experience is limited, I'd say with confidence that you can't go wrong with Hi Mountain.

--John
(Jody asked tonight how much seasoning and cure I still have. Enough for 18 lbs, I answered. Good, she said.)
 
Unity said:
Diva Q said:
My Dad just asked me to make jerky. I am looking forward to trying it out for the first time.
Although my experience is limited, I'd say with confidence that you can't go wrong with Hi Mountain.

--John
(Jody asked tonight how much seasoning and cure I still have. Enough for 18 lbs, I answered. Good, she said.)
Hi Mountain is the best I've found. Good luck Diva! ;)
 
John A. said:
You've created a monster John, now you have to keep doing it.
Okay. Here it is 10 days later. The supply is dwindling. :shock:

This time I got 2.8 lbs, all bottom round, which hardly took any trimming. I put it up to a vote and the winning vote (hers) was Cajun. It took a little more counter space to lay it out for sprinkling on the seasoning/cure mixture. (I underestimated the first time and had to tear off another piece of wax paper.)



Bruce, my Ace screen arrived, a day late, actually, because I was already almost through with the second round of smoking on my one screen. (The square screen came off shortly after I took the pic.) I wish I had ordered two; one on the bottom rack and one on the top with my square screen would have done the whole 2 1/2 lb batch.



--John
(I wonder what flavor she'll want next week. BTW, the Cajun is not rip-snorting spicy, just a nice flavor with a bit of linger.)
 
They are great extra grates whenever you want to do a jerky session or maybe a whole bunch of chicken.
 
Looks awesome so much so that n Friday i am going to get Vlad to stop by our Bass Pro Shop and pick up some seasoning. MMMM jerky.

I am not quite sure what to do about the mesh screening but I am sure I can figure it out this weekend.

Looking forward to it.
 

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