Anyone making Jerky?

[KiwiCharlie]

G'day Guys,

Does anyone here make their own jerky?  Im always on the lookout for some new 'Grandmas recipes' , and tips or secrets learnt etc.  Im talking the real deal here, ie smoked in a smokehouse (such as an old fridge), not just painted with liquid smoke and done in the oven! ;) :D
Does anyone cold-smoke? ???  Thats something I would like to try.
I would think amongst the hunters here, there must be a fair amount of meat to deal with.
Cheers
Charlie.

[Ron Scott]

I just did some venison jerky yesterday, but the quick way with liguid smoke and in the oven. I do have a small Lil Jim Smoker, but just haven't taken the time lately.

I merinade with seasoning and liquid smoke for a day or so before cooking though. Still tastes pretty good.

[Haytrader]

Kiwi,

I have a frig smoker, my original. It is like George Washingtons ax, 5 new handles and 3 new heads. I am on the third ice box and fourth or fifth electric hot plate.......lol
I have done two whole hogs at once but that was to much. The one I have now will do 4 turkeys at once with plenty of room. I have to tell a funny on myself when I was first learning to smoke, I cut up some longhorn cheese and placed it on the racks to smoke. When I opened the door there was my cheese, on the burner. What a way to learn.....ha...Now i put the cheese chunks in a throw away pie pan and only for 15 or 20 minutes.
Through the years we have smoked about everything. One of my favorites is marinated fish fillets.
I am always popular during the holidays as everyone wants to know "Would you have room for one more turkey?"

[Jeff]

Our recipe uses whatsthatthere sauce, liquid smoke. soy sauce and seasoning. We don't use the oven. We use our Ronco food dehydrator. Ron, have you ever had any of Richie's goose jerky? Tastes about like venison.

[Tom]

I cold smoke but not in a great while. I like smoked fish too.  It was  staple when I was growing up in S. Fla.  

It's best with  an oily fish.  Mullet is goot and common.

I put salt on filets that still have skin.  overnite in the frig.  rinse salt off the next day and pat the filet dry.  put a dash of cayenne pepper on the fish and some paprika and put in a smoker not allowing the heat to rise above 110.  depending on the thickness of the filet it will take 48 to 72 hours.  Test tasting is the best way to tell if it is ready. :P

Dad smoked large fish for as long as a week.

[KiwiCharlie]

G'day Guys,

Jeff, is that whatsthatthere sauce Worstisure (sp?) or any sauce thats close at hand?!  :D
Tom, we smoke a lot of fish here at work.  Lots of mullet, and other species Im sure youve never heard of.  They do a house pretty quick, about 2 hours and therefore pretty hot.  It cooks over tea-tree (a good flavouring/hot burning wood) fires, and then they dump a generous amount of shavings on the fires, and shut the doors up tight to really give the smoke flavour, and to colour the fish a bit more. Yum, hot straight out of the house! ;D  Ooooh, smoke fish pie too!!
I have a book on building houses, some very flash, cold smoking, the whole range.  Im thinking about cutting up a rump, and smoking it over 2 days, in one of the houses at work.  Anyone got a fav marinade?
I would have to say venison is my favourite meat.
Cheers
Charlie.

[Jeff]

I spell it that way and I say it that way and I end up being closer then most people. I say my spelling is a lot closer then yours. :D  Come to think of it mine is right!
Say it out loud you will see I am right.

[DanG]

KC, I knew there was something that made me like you Kiwis. Smoked Mullet is about as good as it gets! I like'em right off the smoker, too.
It's about to get cool enough to enjoy  fresh oysters, around here. I'm gonna try smoking some over some cherry chips, soon. That oughta really knock yer socks off! 8)

[smwwoody]

I just finished a lumber order for a friend of mine to build a smoke house out of.  It was a good deal   I give him free lumber and he does all my smoking for  free.

[L. Wakefield]

   Mike does jerky by the multiple pounds- beef, deer, moose, and recently, caribou.. Uses the meat grinder to make burger, then adds seasonings, puts it through a little jerky making machine (goes for the flat ribbony shape and exrudes them directly ontot he pans of one or more food dehydrators). It works great! He's still coming up with the best seaconing. 'Uncle Abe's' jerky seasoning with added black pepper works well. He still stores it in the freezer on the long term and gets out 1-2 bags at a time. We'd like to be able to do a good teriyaki variety but haven't got it down yet.   lw

   (Oh btw, my server went belly-up at least for e-mail. If anyone should need to e-mail me it's currently wakefield0ground@sacoriver.net . The '0' is the number and not a capital 'o'. Problem with that server is it's slow as death, so as long as I can squeeze the service out of LOA, I am connecting to them for surfing. But their website is down, they don't answer the phone, the e-mail stopped working 2 1/2 weeks ago (ah, all that spam floating around unclaimed in the ether- does my heart good to think about it..)- and there is talk of bankruptcy. Oh well.)     lw

[Jeff]

L, I sent you an email to that. Let me know if you dont get it.

[SawBilly]

I tried an experiment with Tabasco's extra spicy Bloody Mary mix...

nada, nothing, kaplut, bang the Gong and get them off the show...(anybody remember that show??)

sounded like a good idea, soaked the deer meet 24 hours covered in the Tabasco's but it just didn't have any taste at all, tasted like dried deer meet....not to bad by itself...bu tno spice flavor at all.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

 I used to make jerkey with a dehydrater, worked great. This year I got a smoker and have been smoking ribs, chicken and deer meat.

 I am going to try and make jerkey on the smoker. Does anyone have any advice?

[SawBilly]

Weekend_Sawyer,
Send me a couple pounds of it when it is dried, and I will give you my Opinion........ ;D

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Heay SawBilly I'll Email you some ;)

 I have been surfin the net on making Jerkey on the smoker. One thing I found was to use curing salts in your seasoning.
Apparently it is pretty important as it helps kill bacteria that the low smoking temps do not. Salmonella and Botulism where mentioned. Mabe I will send SawBilly some...

[Texas Ranger]

Jeff B, is that the same stuff we call Roostersauce?

thanks for posting the picture.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Made some beer jerky last night.
 I modified my Brinkman smoker to breathe better. Drilled vent holes in the top and in the fire pan. Now when I use it on the deck I place it in a large pan of sand. I also drilled 2 holes in the side so I could stick thermometers in it to monitor the temprature. It almost works too well, had to take the top off a couple of times to cool it down. I bought a nice looking 3lb roast, leanest one I could find, cut it ¼" thick, trimmed out all fat and marinated it overnight. Here's the mix. All measurements are approximate.

3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp curing salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp cayenne pepper
2 pinches garlic powder

Stick a tooth pick between 2 pieces and hang it over the grill grate. You get a lot more on the grill that way.
It took about 5 hours on the smoker at 150 deg.
I'm sittin here chewin on a piece now. Not bad, needs more pepper and a shot of whatsataresauce.

Next week I hope to be smoking some deer jerky.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Ah spell that first line in my last post "Beef" I was drinking beer while making it. Guess I'm just a little cornfused this morning.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

 I made about 10 lbs of deer jerky over the last 3 days.
I started out with about 10 lbs, don't know how much is left but a LOT gets consumed durnig the makin process.

Current ingrediants per 5lb bag
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp wostershire sauce
4 tbsp brown shugar
1 tbsp curing salt
1/2 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tbsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp cayanne pepper

I had it on the smoker for 4.5 hours at around 150 deg
and the thin stuff finished fine, refrigerated the rest and finished in my stove at home the next evening

MMMMM good

[johncinquo]

I was checking my recipe to see what I had different, and they are pretty close.  The one thing I do have that is different is that I add fruit fresh, about a table spoon, to the mix.  My amounts are larger than yours, so that may be too much fo rsomeone else.  I think that is supposed to keep it from turning so dark brown after some time, and keeps bacteria down as well.  You may have the same with that salt.  It is some kind of acid. Course if you eat it fast enough, that is not a worry!  I have that indian chief smoker and use some cherry and apple.  Most of the time I just throw it in the oven though.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Johncinquo,

 This batch came out mild, it is also almost gone! Next batch I am going to turn it up some.

 I like using my cheap little brinkman. It takes a lot of tending but I am getting real good results. I use oak because we have alot of it.

[Ron Scott]

I make quite a bit of it with venison and vary the ingredients a bit for variety to try something new. It all tastes good especially if not overcooked.

[timberjack20]

Ok I made a good batch of jerkey just the other day, I didnt smoke it or anything, but it turned out pretty good.  I made a mixture of the folling ingredients in a bowl and put it in the fridge overnight.  Water, Worchestershire sauce-just a little, Soy Sauce-even less than with the worchestershire, salt, pepper, chilli powder-6-7 shakes, All-purpose seasoning-5 shakes, tenderizer-sprinle lightly, spicy montreal steak seasoning-4 shakes, cayenne pepper-2 shakes, crushed red pepper-4 shakes, onion salt-2 shakes, garlic salt-2 shakes, and last but not least a couple trips of hot sause.  Now I know they arent the best measurments for ingredients but hey it works.  After marienating overnight i lay them out in the de-hydrater and sprinkle lightly with a little more salt and pepper.  And cook them untill done.  Good luck hope it tastes as good for you as it did for me.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Thought I would bump this one up again

 I'v made 2 batches of Deer Jerky recently tweeking my earlier mentioned recipe and using the smoker, takes about 4 to 5 hours for it to get done. My little smoker can only make about 5 lbs at a time, that's pre smoked weight. I added a tablespoon of crushed red pepper to the mix. Adds a little more zing to it and man does it dissapear quick!

[Weekend_Sawyer]

 Made a new smoker following directions on this website.

http://www.randyq.addr.com/friends/mikey/magnum_force.htm

I used up last years deer. Yield  was about 2 gallon baggies full, one of which is GONE.

This unit is going to deer camp with me next week!

[Timber_Framer]

This one is for Turkey Jerky, but works great for venison also. I like to add additional cracked fresh black pepper to the meat just before it goes in the oven.

1 1/2 to 2 lbs turkey breast, sliced about 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch thick and cut into strips
4 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari soy sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1.Combine marinade ingredients in a plastic zipper bag or large mixing bowl.
2.Add turkey slices and coat thoroughly with marinade, refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. I sugest closer to four hours or you may not be able to taste any turky
4. Set your oven to the lowest temp, mine goes down to 170 degrees F.
5. Cover oven rack with aluminum foil place marinated turkey breast strips on baking racks and place racks in the oven.
6. Prop open oven door slightly with an oven mitt or pot holder to allow humidity to escape.
7. Check turkey after about 4 hours.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Let's bump this one up again.

I have 6 lbs jerky in the smoker as we speak. I am still very happy with my 55 gal smoker rig.

for this batch I used:
3 tbsp morton tender quick
4 tbsp brown shugar
4 tbsp worstishire (sp) sauce
3 tbsp teriaki sauce
2 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp crushed red pepper
some garlic powder
some italian seasoning

I spent 3 hours last night cutting up deer and will spend 5 hours today running the smoker
it took about an hour to get the meat strung on stickers and hung on the racks.

WAAHOO
Jon

[farmerdoug]

Guys,

I have to warn you that if you do not use curing salt in your recipe DO NOT LEAVE THE JERKY UNREFRIGERATED!!

I would hate to see anybody with food poisoning.  I process about 50 lbs of venison into jerky every year plus meat from other game that people bring me.  I use an Excaliber dehydrator and it does a batch overnight.  I jerky I do can sit in the cupboard for up to 9 monthes in an sealed container.  I trim out all of the fat and do not use burger in a press.  It is all hand cut pieces.

Make sure that you use a cure for your jerky to be safe.

Farmerdoug

[Don_Papenburg]

What is the differance between table salt and cureing salt ?
Who makes the cureing salt? Name names

[Tom]

Curing salt is just regular salt.  It doesn't contain Iodine, but it does include other curing agents like sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, sugar and other things, like coloring, for identification and texture.

[farmerdoug]

I get my curing salt from The Sausage Maker catalog.  You can do a search for them on the net.  I think it is also called "Instacure".

Farmerdoug

[scgargoyle]

It's WORCESTERSHIRE sauce- don't any of you guys ever look at the DanG bottle?! You can get worcestershire powder from Zach's- great for getting the same flavor in a dry rub.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Farmerdoug is right on the money, Mortons Tender Quick is a curing salt.
That's why you mix your meat in the ingredients and let it sit overnight to cure.
it was mentioned in this thread a couple of years ago ;)

By the way, my batch came out great, it has a nice spicy flavor with a bit of a bite!

Jon

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Bump.

I have a 5 lb batch in the fridge curing. I am going to fire up the smoker saturday morning while I rake leaves. I am clearing out the last of last years deer in preparation for this years deer.

Jon

[Jeff]

It's WORCESTERSHIRE sauce- don't any of you guys ever look at the DanG bottle?!

No its not. Its whatsthatthere sauce.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Mmmmmmmm jerky! 8)
This batch came out DARN good. In the past I have over dried it and it came out like tree bark. this time I stopped feeding the smoker after 4 hours and at 5 hours opened it up and let it cool and sit for a couple of more hours. A buddy stopped by and we found ourselvs leaning on the barrel eating jerky and BSing. We had a great visit. My yeld was two 1 gallon baggies full, one is gone and the other is soon to follow.

Jon

[Weekend_Sawyer]

When I make Jerky I look up this thread to remind myself of my recipe.
Sure I could write it down but it's more fun reading my jerky evolution.

I didn't harvest enough deer to make jerky this year so I just cut up a 5lb top round beef roast. I had to trim about a half lb of fat out of it. Hope I cleaned it up enough. Beef fat turns bad when you cold smoke it.

I'll let you know How it comes out tomorrow.  ;D

[justallan1]

I usually use up any of last years deer and elk meet for jerky, especially the burger. I just use the dehydrator and a few spices and sometimes even use the store bought packs. I only started using burger last year and think I like it better. This year I bought a cheapo jerky gun and from now on that's all that I'll use. I leave the jerky a little soft knowing that it's getting eaten in short order.

 

[JuniperBoss]

Never made jerky myself but LOVE to eat the deer/elk gramps makes into jerky. If I ever kill a deer It's going to be all jerky ;D.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

I smoked mine on my ugly drum smoker yesterday. It came out pretty good but never as good as venison jerky.

[Norm]

Looks good justallan1, I've never tried to make any!

You've got a UDS? Jon you never cease to amaze me. 

[Ron Scott]

I just made another batch of venison jerky. It's a great snack when in the woods and and when downhill skiing. I also use cuts of last years meat and from hamburger with the jerky gun. 

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Thanks Norm,  I like to make things. When I first got into smoking I started with a little El Cheapo Brinkman but it wasn't big enough so I built a drum smoker. It works pretty good for ribs and chicken but now that I have my BGE the drum is used only for making jerky.

I am gnawing on a chunk now and it is pretty good. :D

Jon