Jerkey tips?

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clay

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Anyone have any good tipsl or secrets for making good deer jerkey. I have a dehydrater ive never used.
 
I've made a couple hundred pounds of jerky in my life, but never used a dehydrator. In my younger days, a friend and I once purchased and jerked an entire billy goat. A person was selling this large and evil tempered goat cheap, and we were crazy. It actually was very good. There must me some recipes somewhere for your dehydrator. Once of my favorite is that High Mountain Jerky Cure and then smoke it..
 
This is not top secret but here is how I make it. I usually make a large batch so I just mix the ingredients without measuring them. I buy them in bulk at GFS.

Soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce (about half of soy sauce)
Garlic salt
Hickory smoke salt
MSG
Morton's Curing salt
Medium Grind Pepper

I make the mix and cover the meat in a plastic container. It is then drained and put on the dryer rack. I additionally season the whole thing again, with the above dry ingredients, while on the rack just before dehydration.
 
One of my favorites:

1 cup Soy Sauce
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
1/2 cup red wine

This is a great starting point,you can add or subtract to the ingredients for personal taste.Let the meat soak in the mixture (in the fridge) for at least 24 hours,48 is even better.My dehydrator takes about 8 hours or so for approx. 3 lbs.of jerky.Hope this helps :D ---------------- Rich
 
I've made a lot of jerky in a dehydrator. Most all recipes work well. It's a matter of your taste preference. On word of advise. Check your jerky from time to time. When it looks and feels like it is almost done, it is. If you wait until it looks all done it will be too dry and become brittle in no time.
 
RAF .. that's good to know. I had some at a friends house once out of a dehydrator and it was all brittle and dry. It was good mind you, but I like the smoke house manner better. I have a dehydrator but have never used it out them to do some apples, and banana's once.. They were good too.
 
What works better? Cutting up steaks or using ground meat?
 
clay said:
What works better? Cutting up steaks or using ground meat?

It's all personal preferance. Myself, I prefer ground jerky. It's much easier to chew and bite off a hunk compared to whole muscle jerky. With a Jerky Cannon, the strips are even and uniform. I use the oven to do my jerky as opposed to the dehydrator.
 
I prefer to cut the jerky strips out of the roasts i.e. (bottom round, top round roasts, etc.). I also like making my jerky in the oven. It's alot quicker. Cut the strips 1/8" and set your oven temp at 150 degrees. In about 4 hours you will be enjoying the fruits of your labor! Be careful not to over cook. As the guys stated before the jerky will come out too brittle. I highly recommend using Morton's Tender Quick.
 
I am not an expert but I have made a lot of jerky and the dry cure (like high mountain) gets the best reviews. One change I make is to let the cure work for 2 days rather than the recipe suggested 1 day.
 
swmichigandeerhunter said:
I am not an expert but I have made a lot of jerky and the dry cure (like high mountain) gets the best reviews. One change I make is to let the cure work for 2 days rather than the recipe suggested 1 day.

:D :D I did the same thing... more by accident. I made up a batch and put it in the back refrigerator to cure for the recommended 24 hours, then because of things could not get to it for two maybe even three days... But I fired up the smoke house finally and smoked it all, and it had to be the best original recipe jerky I ever had. The problem was the brother and his kids stopped by, tasted it and them little walking food pits ate two bags of it off me before I could hide the rest..
 
Venison Jerky (ground)

2 lbs Venison ground
? cup Pure Sorghum
tblspn Red Pepper Flakes
1/8 cup of soy sauce
1 teaspn of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspn of Tender Quick
1/4 teaspn black pepper
1/4 teaspn garlic powder
1/4 teaspn onion powder
1/4 teaspn seasoned salt
1 tblspns of brown sugar
1 tblspns of liquid smoke
Combine worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, sorghum & liquid smoke together. Add all the remaining powdered ingredients, making sure that you stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Combine the marinade/seasoned venison, and refrigerate overnight. I use a jerky shooter. Load jerky shooter and start extrude the jerky meat mixture onto the dehydrator trays. Continue to do this until all the jerky meat mixture is gone. Stack trays, set your dehydrator at 155 degrees. Drying time can be reduced to how heavy the dryer is loaded. More jerky you load on the racks the long the drying time is. Dry time is anywhere from 4 to 11 hours.
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Venison & Wild Hog Slim Jim's

1 lb Ground Wild Hog
2 lbs Ground Venison
? cap Of Liquid Smoke
3 tblspn Paprika
1 teaspn Cayenne Pepper
? teaspn Coriander
2 teaspn Sugar
3 teaspn Course Ground Black Pepper
3 tblspn Curing Salt
3 oz Water

Combine all ingredients above in to bowl, mix thoroughly.
Meat Grinder/Stuffer with small plate (1/8th inch) and small tube (breakfast Sausage tube) begin adding meat mixture to stuffer. (2 people works best for this, one feeds meat mixture, other receives mixture form tube). Make these about 8 inch long. Place on dehydrate trays as they come out of stuffer. Continue this until meat mixture is gone. Stack the racks and turn dehydrator on 155 degree?s Cook or dehydrate for 5 1/2 hrs, depending on moistness of meat and thickness.
100_1271-1.jpg
 
I made both ground and whole meat and they're both good. It's a matter of what you have. I usually save the hind legs for whole meat jerky and the trim gets ground up and is used for sausage or ground jerky. I now have a bradley smoker and make my jerky in it. Don't have to add liquid smoke anymore. As a matter of fact and a batch in the smoker right now.
 
I just made up eight pounds this morning. I borrowed my brother-in-laws Cabelas Jerky Blaster and Jery Racks. It worked great. I used ground deer with a tad bit of ground beef. Can't remember the brand of the jerky season and cure, I mixed it last night and threw the package away. The worst part is that my kids love it and I don't know if I will have any leftover for next weeks muzzleloader hunt! I've made jerky on the dehydrator but if your are not careful, it will get too dry. Made my batch this morning in the oven and it is just right.
 
No jerky shooter? Try this...

Everyone's recipes have my mouth watering as I type. If you don't have a jerky shooter or haven't mastered the technique of using the breakfast sausage sized tube on your grinder to make snack stick style jerky; try this.

When your ground meat jerky mixture is ready for the smoker or dehydrator, lay out a sheet of wax paper on your cutting board. Put a reasonable amount (experiment here) of mixture on the wax paper and cover it with another sheet of wax paper of equal size. Next, use a rolling pin to carefully spread out the mixture into a sheet of jerky 1/4" thick or so. When you finish rolling it out, use a knife dipped in water or a pizza cutter (my favorite) to slice the jerky into strips. If you don't go at it too heavy handed, you can carry the slices to the smoker/dehydrator on the bottom sheet and just flip it over onto the tray. Works great and you have the stuff at home already.
 
LEM Backwoods Hickory or Misquite is excellent. I use 3lbs of whole muscle meat instead of 5lbs like the package says for full flavor. I dry mine in the dehydrator for 5 to 5 1/2hrs. I do not want it as hard as my dogs rawhide bone! I use the hind quarters for my jerky.
 
I have done both ways but lately use ground burger. If you get the jerky a little to done, put it in a ziplock bag and refrigerate for a few days and it seems to moisten up a little.
 
rlp10ml said:
One of my favorites:

1 cup Soy Sauce
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
1/2 cup red wine

This is a great starting point,you can add or subtract to the ingredients for personal taste.Let the meat soak in the mixture (in the fridge) for at least 24 hours,48 is even better.My dehydrator takes about 8 hours or so for approx. 3 lbs.of jerky.Hope this helps :D ---------------- Rich

Any ideas for a substitute for the Soy Sauce? I am allergic/reactive to it but the rest of it sounds pretty darned yummy.
 
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