Jerky Anyone??

Making some smoked jerky today. This is an excellent recipe, and you can use about any type of meat, including game.

The recipe is for 4 lbs of meat, you can adjust accordingly. This is a dry rub cure recipe and I make the rub up of the following:

- 2 Tsp of Fiesta brand Jalapeno salt
- 2 Tbsp of Mrs Dash's Spicy Jalapeno seasoning (note - this has garlic and onion powder in it, so you don't need to add those)
- 1 Tsp of finely ground black pepper (Chinese white is also good)
- 3/4 Tsp of pink curing salt

For the meat I typically use beef eye of round, and I cut across the grain into 1/8" slices. I cut the whole round this way, and then slice the pieces usually in half or thirds.

To cure, I mix up the spice and cure mixture thoroughly and I put it in a used seasoned pepper shaker. I then season each piece of meat, flip them and season the other side. Then I load all the meat into gallon sized ziplock bags and stick them in the fridge a minimum of 24 hours (longer is even better).

After a minimum of 24 hours it's off to the smoker. Today, I think I'm going to use the Traeger, but normally I use the Masterbuilt electric smoker (but I just don't feel like hassling with that today). This will be the first time I've used the Traeger to make jerky. Set on the "smoke" setting and just keep an eye on it for doneness...probably about 2 hours plus or minus.

Considering jerky is about $35-50 per pound if you do the math at the store, I can make this jerky for about $8 per pound and it's way better than store bought. And who doesn't love jerky, right?

Now, get out there and whip ya' up some mighty tasty jerky!

I saw the titles of your threads today and when I saw the jerky one, I thought, ‘Oh no, he burned the catfish.’

a reply to: butcherguy

No way, man! That catfish was perfection! I might even do that again tonight.

But this is real jerky. Headed to the smoker at about 3pm today. Jerky by 5 o'clock.

We don't have a smoker. We hang ours off the oven racks using toothpicks. I'd love to have an actual smoker to finish ours off with someday.

a reply to: ketsuko

Oven works. Just hit 'em with some liquid smoke before you put them in. You can get it at the grocery store, it's by the ketchup.

ETA - Smokers are cheap these days. You can pick up a pretty nice smoker for under $200 bucks. Heck, I think you can even get a Little Chief for under $50 bucks. That's what I started with. Matter of fact, some of the best smoked bacon I ever made was with that thing.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Oh, we use liquid smoke, but it's not the same. I've had both types.

a reply to: ketsuko

Do you cure it your jerky, or just go old soy sauce route?

Next time I do some jerky I'm going to do something different.

I'm going to take some cure and mix it up with that Soy Vay - Island Teriyaki sauce. That stuff ROCKS! And make some jerky using that. Finish that off in the smoker and I'll bet it will be GREAT!!

ETA - Man, I might even have to start up a batch of that today, now that I thought of it!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Never tried curing. Most of the recipes you find go with a wet marinade of one sort or another.

I'll stick with the real smoker, that liquid smoke does not taste very good at all. I should make some jerky one of these days, I haven't made it for years. Last time I made it I used beef heart. That was really good, it has a flavor you cannot get in other meats. It all disappeared within a couple of days, it was like candy, nobody could stop eating it.

a reply to: ketsuko

Try some Hi Mountain - Jerky Cure and Seasoning. It's a really good starting point, and it makes delicious jerky! They have all different flavors. You can get it off of Amazon and many sporting goods stores like Cabelas and Bass Pro. I think it's about $10 bucks, but it'll do about 10 pounds or so.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

First of all, I propose that the forum named Food and Cooking be renamed Flyingclaydisk.

I don't think anyone needs to ask why. Keep it up, clay...

On that note, I want to tell you that you are a bad, bad man, and that your posts are making me hungry daily. And especially now, after the recent surgery, I've been watching what I eat and salivating over your posts over all the things I can't enjoy.

I want you to know I enjoy your posts but you are not my best friend right now.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I might have to.

I've been trying to come up with a good combination to go with dark cherries and chipotle for a while, and the soy-based marinades don't do it. I've been wondering if an outdoor smoker might make a difference in that.

I know the combo works in balsamic dressing, but I can't get it to come through in a jerky.

a reply to: ketsuko

Well, the difference with curing is the meat stays moist and soft. It doesn't get dried out like the other methods.

Smoked meat products should really be cured before they're smoked. So, just a smoker alone won't get you all the way there.

Think of it this way, if you took a pork loin and cured it then smoked it you'd have a ham like product (i.e. Canadian Bacon), whereas if you just smoked a pork loin you'd have smoked pork. Curing also retains the original color of the meat, so it has a richer red more translucent look to it, not white like you'd get with just straight cooked pork. Same thing with jerky. For jerky to have the texture that you get from commercial jerky it has to be cured.

In the cooking world, curing is called 'charcuterie' and on the high end you wind up with things like prosciutto ham, pastrami and some of the fine aged sausages. Some of it is smoked, but some of the finest products aren't cooked at all, they're just aged (sometimes for years). And some people think curing is about preventing bacteria, but this isn't entirely accurate. Curing prevents certain kinds of bacteria while allowing others...similar to how fine cheeses work.

Charcuterie is a real art form, one I hope to truly master some day. I've made hams before and Canadian bacon, as well as sausage, but I haven't worked up the guts to try a prosciutto yet. I might try a pastrami soon though...and wouldn't that be awesome smoked??

I think a smoked pastrami sandwich with some Swiss cheese on rye is in my near future.

a reply to: Oraculi

Why thank you! I'm flattered.

I think I like the cooking part of food more than the eating part. I could be perfectly happy making something and not eating it. It's the challenge of creating great flavors, and seeing other people enjoy them.

a reply to: ketsuko

I bet you could work the cherries into this cure kit...

Mandarin- Teriyaki

and cherry would definitely work in this one...

Bourbon-BBQ

You could even go with the Original, and it would work.

1 cup of brown sugar.
1/2 cup each of salt and black pepper.
1/4 cup garlic powder.
2 or 3 tablespoons of Liquid Smoke (I prefer the 'hickory')
Blend well.
Slice a top round, with the grain, into thin strips and rub it down.
Let it sit in the fridge overnight.
Lay them out on baking racks in a pan and put them in the oven at it's lowest setting.
I leave the door cracked a little.
Check it out after about 3 or 4 hours.
Don't forget the toothpicks.

The jerky came out fantastic BTW.

Cook time was just about 2 hours, at about 190F. Wind was blowing a little bit so I had to move between the 180 and 220 settings a couple times.

Sounds really good. I've never smoked jerky before. I've got a food dehydrator and usually just throw the sliced meat in a bowl with Worcestershire, a few drops of liquid smoke, and Tony Chachere's creole seasoning. Hand mix until fully incorporated then put it in a bag and vacuum seal it, let it sit in the fridge for anywhere from 2 hours to overnight. Toss it in the dehydrator and sometime under 4 hours later, better than store bought jerky. Not to mention a helluva lot cheaper.

But I have no doubt it wouldn't hold a candle to what you're doing with the smoker. That sounds awesome.

a reply to: yeahright

I wonder what if you did what you said (season/marinate), but before you put it in the dehydrator you smoked it at a very low temp for a couple hours to give some authentic smoke flavor, then sliced it and put it in the dehydrator?

Just a thought.