More Jerky, but with FoodPorn.....

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Max1

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Joined
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Location
Detroit, Michigan
As alot of you know I have been making jerky for years now, and started smoking it about 2 years ago.

Like BW I am passionate about it LOL!!! The way I make my jerky is with a marinade. I find a choice cut of meat normally Eye of the Round. You really want a very lean piece of meat for this.

I cut into strips, and then about 3/16 of an inch thick, this thickness is so that the jerky does not completely dry out. Any thinner tends to dry out alot.

As for the marinade, I guess I can hook people up with it... This is a sweet marinade almost Teriyaki.


Recipe:

2/3 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Water
4 TBSP. Garlic Powder
4 TBSP. Minced Garlic
2 TBSP. Kosher Salt
2 TBSP. Neutral Oil (Canola Oil)
1 TBSP. Minced Ginger (2 tsp. if Ginger Powder is used)
2 TBSP. Red Pepper Flakes (optional for heat)


Directions:

Mix all ingredients together, put liquid into zip lock bag. Place meat strips into liquid, place in refrigerator for up to 48 hours.

After meat has marinated drain, meat place on tray or cutting board, and press out excess liquid from meat strips. This is important, you want them to be as dry as possible. This will also reduce the time in the smoker.

After the pressing, you can place back in refrigerator for up to another 24 hours if needed.

1.Now place all jerky on hooks and get them ready to place in the smoker.
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2. You want to make sure that you keep an eye on this, checking every hour or so. (hour one)
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3. Hour Two
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4. Hour Three
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5. Constantly monitor your temperatures, I stick around 125° until the last hour. then push it up to between 275°, and 300°.
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6. Five Hours in, not quite there.
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7. And done, after only eight hours.
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I make Jerky when ever I can, wanted to post this months ago, forgot I had the pictures.....

LoL, It's all good.
 
Dude, your mom is going to be so pissed when she sees you making jerky on her favorite dress.
 
I keep getting reports on some jerky that is sold in a locker plant in Post, TX that is supposed to be the best there is. Its cut in thick plugs and encrusted with coarse grind black pepper. Its obviously cured as can be seen from the red interior. Leaning toward the theory the stuff is smoke cooked as opposed to dehydrated because it dont look very dried out or shriveled up. I am trying to figure out how to clone it at home. Struggling right now trying to decide if they use a dry cure..brine or a marinade. Any input appreciated.
 

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Just by looking at it, it looks to be smoked, and cured, not marinated. When marinated the meat will take the color of the marinade. And unless this marinade is bright red, which I doubt, it will be cured.

Have you tasted any of this? That can give some clues too...
 
Good point. I was thinking of replacing the salt ration in the marinate with TQ and see what happened..but think your right come to think on it. Making that stuff could be like making a phoney smoke ring for a brisket. Sprinkle heavy with TQ let is set 20 mins and wash it off with a garden hose. That can make the top inch of brisket light pink. Course a curing brine would get more flavor in it. Any flavor in the brine is going to wind up all the way through. Be very similar to the way folks make corned beef..ham..bacon etc. Could also explain how the meat retains so much resemblance to its former self. You just a smarty pants. I am going to work on a flavorful curing jerky brine as we speak. Any suggestions? Maybe need some TQ on this deal.
 
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Personally B Dub, I dont not use curing salt, pink salt, or any of that. In the end if you use too much of it, it can be harmful to the recipient.

With my jerky I really only stick to a couple types too, what I like. If someone wants something different when I make it, if they pay me for it I will make it for them. However the type you have pictured here is kinda different and if you want, I will try a couple of different methods and see what the out come will be.
 
Thanks sounds good. I havent used any nitrates on jerky previously either..but did buy a bag of TQ to use on this project. The general theory as espoused by Joe Ames is if you can get enough nitrates into a hunk of meat that is capable of being harmful to health..it would be too salty to eat. Mixing the stuff with salt is a safeguard to protect from using too much.
 
Well I hate to go around talking to myself as usual..but..I did find out TQ in standard old timey marinade does just fine to make it red in the middle. Just replaced the standard Salt ration with an equal amount of TQ. Not exactly food porn but am real proud that a nice cop is letting me put up a jerky display in his beer joint pool hall..another old pal gave me the rack. My normal size bag is three oz..but the boss wanted some smaller sizes so made him up 8 three oz bags 4 one oz bags. Supposed to take it over there tomorrow. Yall did not realize I was such an industrious entrepreneur huh? Let us pray for the health goons to stay away and folks to buy it. Thanks.
 

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Nice display. Tell me , you didn't have to vacuum seal your package? What's your shelf life of your jerky. Thanks in advance
 
Hell I was still chewing on mine 4 months after I smoked mine.... Never vacuumed packed it either, just threw it in a zip lock bag.
 
Nice display. Tell me , you didn't have to vacuum seal your package? What's your shelf life of your jerky. Thanks in advance

Have considered vacuum packing which is surely an option but the bags are crazy expensive..so after spending a lot of time on the phone with some packaging experts..started adding a little dessicant pouch to each bag and attempting to get it a little dryer before going in the bag. Mold is the big issue and can either be handled by shutting off the air (vacuum packing) or the moisture. I decided to approach the moisture aspect. It will last two weeks easy..maybe 3 weeks..in the cello bags..or forever is you want to store it in a brown paper sack. Just gets a little dryer each day but does not mold.
 
Hell I was still chewing on mine 4 months after I smoked mine.... Never vacuumed packed it either, just threw it in a zip lock bag.

When I first started clowning around with the hobby back in the 70's I stored it in a gallon glass jug with a lid on it and a paper towel in the bottom. Misplaced a batch and found it a year later and it was still edible..just pretty dry. Guess the paper towel kept the moisture levels down and prevented it from molding.
 
As long as you take the temp up too over 190° for at least 10 min in the end to kill anything off, you should not have any issue's with longevity of the jerky. This is because you are curing it.

If you are still concerned and questioning self life, you can use pink salt (curing agent), which is a preservative, and curing agent. I do not use it because, I do not care for the taste of it. And yes I can taste the difference. But if you heat whatever you are curing in the end of the process to 185° for at least 5 minutes it will kill the bacteria that is responsible for food born botulism.
 
Thanks Max. I dont have much high heat capacity on the jerky making smoker so I bring it in the house..load in foil half pans with a foil top and stick in the oven at 275 until the goods hit 160. That takes anywhere from an hour to 2.5 hours and seems to be dependent on the moisture content of the jerky. That is high enough to kill e coli and listeria etc. Botulism seems to be best handled by using Nitrates/Nitrites on the front end. Dont think we could get it hot enough on the back end to influence it much. Fairly informative read here.
Curing and Smoking Meats for Home Food Preservation
 
My little smoker that I use, I can never get it over 250° for any sustained time. It just does not work. But the only thing I use this smoker for is jerky. I have learned that I can keep it at around 150° fro about 7 hours, then boost the temp to around 250° for about 30-45 minutes. Thats with my 1/4 inch cut meat. Well when the meat is cut anyway, mine shrinks when I marinate, think it is because of the salt.

I have used this one for about 3 years now. I take it with us camping, and use it for jerky is all. When I make jerky I only use get this 4 pieces of unlit charcoal, one piece of lit charcoal, and a 2 ounce chunk of wood every hour. Yeah I know it's almost nothing, but it works for me. I can smoke up to 30 skewers(8 pounds) of jerky in an 8 hour period.

This is what I am using. Of course mine is modded alittle. Will have to get a few pictures of it on here.
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