Jerky: Brine Questions?


 

Shawn W

TVWBB Emerald Member
Got my hands on a Bradley digital electric smoker to try out for a while. I think the first thing I want to make is jerky, want to try it this week.

Found this recipe by David Lohrentz and I think the brine cure with salt and pink salt is the way I want to go.

It states 24-48 hours soak ... seems kinda long for 1/4" sliced meat .... wouldn't 12 hours be plenty?

Which cut of beef to use? ... I've heard everything from rib-eye, flank, about every 'round' there is, sirloin ... trim fat/don't worry about it. I think if I fridge the end product and smoke it at 150ºF some fat might actually be tasty and I'm leaning towards using flank steak cut across the grain.
 
The lengthy time is more for transfer of flavor than curing. You're correct that for curing alone, the time is overkill.

I'm with you on the flank.
 
Shawn, I've used top or bottom round when they were on sale. Had great results. MAke sure you trim them real good of all fat. Slice real thin and let soak for 24 hours in a marinade in the fridge. Lots of recipes over the internet for marinades. Pat dry and smoke. I had a dehydrator so I can't tell you how long to smoke it for. But be prepared for jerky nirvana.
 
Thanks Kevin, ya, I was talking about curing time. My concern was too much curing time ... but I suppose jerky is supposed to be, well, jerky. Tough, hard and chewy.

I decided to go with the cheapest acceptable beef I could find while I'm learning .... tonight that happened to be eye of round.

I used Dave's recipe as a guideline for salt, prague, water, but went my own way on spices.

I did up 10lbs of beef, I'll probably do half at 12hours, the other half at about 30 hours in the solution and see what I think of the difference.

Thanks very much for the help.
 
Shawn, the recipe I used for the marinade used Teriyaki sauce as a base. Had a great taste.
 
I'm pleased with the Bradley smoker and my first Jerky results, here's a couple of pics:

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Break test PASS:




Couple of things: I will cut down salt 30% next time. First batch soaked for 14 hours, went for 22 hours at 150ºF rotating hourly, was a bit overdone. Second batch soaked 66 hours, I flipped hourly one full rotation then left it. Done in 13 hours, still perhaps a bit overdone. Opening the smoker hourly had a profound impact on cook duration.

Noticed improved flavor from longer soak. I want to try some sliced with the grain instead of against. Both batches were smoked only 2 hours with cherry. Strong enough IMO.

Bradley temp control raised an eyebrow. It swung 25ºF either way. Heating element positioned at back causes noticeable uneven heat in cabinet, rotate AND spin racks. I will be honest, I was skeptical Bradley smoke would taste good but that didn't turn out to be the case. I think it's a great unit for stuff like this.

Thanks for your help Paul, Kevin and David
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Stefan B:
Looks good Shawn!

Are you able to find prague locally in Calgary? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Yup, Halford Hide sells it ... one of their lines of business is butcher supply. They are east of deerfoot, north of 32ave IIRC.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Shawn W:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Stefan B:
Looks good Shawn!

Are you able to find prague locally in Calgary? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Yup, Halford Hide sells it ... one of their lines of business is butcher supply. They are east of deerfoot, north of 32ave IIRC. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

FYI - They have closed the CGY location, but still have the Edmonton store.
 

 

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