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I think I need to start making more jerky. I've got some beef in the freezer still, and plan on killing some deer this season.

My experience with jerky making so far has been cutting/slicing deer meat into chunks, marinating for a day or so, then dehydrating in my oven at 150-200 on drying racks. I only have two small racks however.

I'm thinking at the least I need to buy a dehydrator, looks like Amazon has decent ones for around $150?

What does everyone think about the need for a grinder and one of those jerky guns? Would certainly drive up the cost a bit, but would it be worth it?

Dear Mr. TheCat,

I would like to sample your primitive campfire jerky this week.

Sincerely,
Corky

Yup mine was about $150 and works great.

I did not get a jerky gun because it didn't make sense to me. Jerky should be as lean as possible, not mixed from ground beef with fat in it. It might be slightly cheaper to do that, but generally lean cuts are pretty cheap. Also, because USDA grades are done by marbling (fat content) you can intentionally buy a "lower quality" grade which actually will yield a better jerky product.  You don't want prime cuts, too much fat

First batch is on

Bought 5lbs of skirt steak today. Low fat from a discount store. Will make a few damn good slabs of jerky. I need to get a good marinate for them. Till now they sit in the fridge for the next day or so.

I'll need a larger tripod. It's too close to the heat source.

There is a good chance that I will be making jerky and biltong this weekend

It was okay. To describe in one word, inconsistent.

Edible certainly but some parts were burnt and others were not dry enough. Looks good though.

Taste was good, that Dales is a banger

Who doesn't love a jerky thread? I've been making it for years.  I started out using most any lean cuts and dried them in the oven on low. That actually works really well but now I use a 9 tray Excalibur dehydrator and use eye of round almost exclusively unless it is venison.  I've always used whole muscle meat instead of ground though I've had some ground versions that were pretty good too. Jerky is proof that God loves us! This has been an entertaining thread OP!

And so in old school arfcom dinner pic style I present one of mine.

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Just finished with what started off with 7 ish lbs of beef.

What’s the thickest biltong possible. Is it possible to do a whole beef eye of round? Massive tenderloin? What’s possible here?

Full roast. Or bone out leg shank?

Almost 7 pounds of proto jerky and biltong.

Bonus pastrami (just put on to smoke)



ETA my jerky is going to be spicy.

Bummed I missed out on the Mr the cat fire jerky but hope all the cola bros enjoyed what I brought

Tonight I drank bourbon, cut up lean beef, and threw together a marinade without measuring anything.  Tomorrow, I dehydrate!!

That's how you do it.

I'm not shitposting, that's how you do it. Any man or woman worth their salt doesn't measure anything. I have a new eye of round I got from the decentralized beef project I'm going to do this week.

I just finished purging the meat smell from my garage jerky making facility -  now I’m contemplating my next batch.

Wife and kids prefer the biltong, I prefer the jerky.

My wife might kill me in my sleep after all, but she’ll probably be chewing biltong at the funeral.

Yeah I like shoe leather tier jerky myself

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Not bad, not great.  Needs more of everything.    

London broil is the way to go.  I like it better than the bottom round I've used in the past.

London Broil is made up of either Top or Bottom round. Depending on what you get

Okay let's go

Never forget the government literally wants you to eat trash. Whether it is strange oils or additives, or take your 87 servings of grain.

The truth is that meat is awesome, red meat is the most awesome.

I'm not going to eat the bugs, I'm going to eat red meat as a snack on top of my regular red meat. I will then crack eggs and cook and serve them on top of other meats. The best tip you can ever get with food is to compound meats on meats.

The only concern you should have in your life is which cut of red meat sustains you before you eat red meat again.

"Whiskers, the government is terrible and inflation is crushing me". Me too bro. Go to the store, get the cheapest red meat you can find, and start cooking. It will satiate you much better than trash.

Cut with the grain

Source: trust me

I should have followed my own advice, the government and every retard says cut against the grain.

You get the tougher nice cuts if you cut with the grain

THIS ISN'T A STEAK WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE SHOE LEATHER

Jerky is a snack not a meal, we're looking to make beef last longer and you to put more effort into eating it. Ideally you grab a couple chunks from your bag to fool your mind into the fact you actually have food.

Can you make a meal out of jerky? Yes. Is it pleasant for others in the aftermath? No.

Can you post the recipe you use for biltong?

About to slice up a 10pt buck and get it soaking

@tcfla

Sorry, just saw this.  Note that I’m no biltong expert, I just screwed around with it until I found a recipe I liked.

What makes biltong interesting to me is the combination of vinegar, salt, and the naturally antimicrobial properties of coriander seed.

The rub: equal parts-
Black pepper
Kosher salt
Dark brown sugar (I’ve done it with and without this)
Coriander seeds
(Note, if you cut your biltong thin, or really thin like American jerky, this might be too salty… my family and I disagree on this… I think it’s too salty, they don’t. You can cut the salt by 1/4 if you like. This is less of a factor if you cut it thick. My family likes it not too “wet”.)

Toast the coriander seeds in a pan, then grind (doesn’t have to be super fine, some bigger pieces are ok. Grind with your peppercorns is fine.  Mix all the ingredients together. This is your rub for the cure.

Cut your meat however you want, sprinkle with the rub and rub thoroughly.  Sprinkle the meat with malt vinegar, seal in an airtight container, and cure for 24-48 hours in the fridge. (ETA, knead, flip, or toss the meat a few times while it cures) Keep the leftover rub, you might use it to sprinkle on the meat when you hang it.

(Optional): whether you rinse the cure off or not is optional.  You can just hang it at this point. If you cut it thin, it might be too salty if you hang it now. If you do want to rinse, give it a quick rinse and pat dry.  If you rinse/dry, lightly sprinkle a little leftover rub on the meat.

Hang it where there is good circulation. You don’t want air directly blowing on it or the outside will just harden quickly and the inside won’t dry properly. Even if a “wet” biltong is what you want, you won’t get the right consistency if the outside hardens quickly.  If you like, give it a light spritz with malt vinegar (light- you don’t want to drown it… I skip this step, but some folks think it’s very important- if you didn’t rinse it you definitely can skip spritzing here, since the meat has vinegar on it from the cure).

Let it hang until it makes biltong. This will be at least a couple days or more depending on how thick you cut your meat.  Check it daily- if you see spots or white mold, wipe them off with a paper towel and spritz with malt vinegar. If you get black mold, I’m told you should trash the batch (I’ve never had any mold issues of any kind, but I live where it’s really dry).

Experiment with it until you get what you like. For me, it’s odd that my family likes it saltier than I do.

Notes: some folks like it really wet and gummy inside. I tried it and it wasn’t for me. Your taste may vary. My personal favorite is to reduce the salt, cut it thinner, and dry it almost as much as jerky (but not quite).


Another thing- there are some African peppers I’m told that have a really unique flavor and add some hotness to the rub. I’ve never tried this, but adding some heat might be interesting.  Not sure what peppers would be a substitute… again, I haven’t tried this before.

@TxRabbitBane  Thanks!

One more thing (I’ll edit my post) knead or turn the meat a couple of times while curing.

First round of 4-5 going in dehydrator. Will probably take me a week to get it all done cause I'll be in the woods

Damn that's a lot lol

Meh. It’s an ok start.

This quote should be tacked to the start of every thread.
Even in the Haberdashery forum.

I got 3.5lbs of eye of round marinating

Whats your marinade of choice WTC?

I've been experimenting with different mixtures and such, but can't find anything I really like.

I'm still experimenting myself, and I don't use exact measurements.

I can say my first mistake was too much Worcestershire, second was marinating too long (gets too salty)

I also prefer the Dale's over soy sauce

Eye of round marinating in a mixture of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and a sort of random mixture of spices. Will put in the dehydrator in the morning.

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YES

We will never stop drying meat

We will never eat the bugs

We will win

Mmmmmm good stuff.

Should it be stored in the refrigerator?

Probably make it a little spicier next time. And make an effort to slice the meat a bit thinner. Attached File

It just sits on a plate in my kitchen

Right? I've only turned two big deer into jerky so far this season but I have another in the freezer and rifle season starts this weekend

Happy to say this thread has cost me over $400. And gladly fookin the dot gov into believing that we need to dry our meat at their recommended temperatures.

WTC has shown us the way! Lest us follow.

Noooooooo humanity has survived thousands of years just putting in the sun or in the smoke of a campfire, you better cook it to 200° you bigot nooooooooo