Am I screwed ?

[Guest]

I just found this on http://www.leeners.com/jerkyrecipes.html

"Cutting the Meat Jerky meat needs to be cut with the grain. If you slice the meat across the grain as you would when carving a roast, your jerky will crumble and fall apart when cooked."

My butcher told me that, for jerky, the meat needed to be sliced accross the grain. I said that it did not sound right. He insisted and sliced it for me. Am I screwed? I have 7 pounds of meat sliced and drying in the fridge ???

AAARGH !!!

Marc

 

[Guest]

BTW,

If this guy led me wrong, he's taking his meat back. I guarantee it !!!

M

 

[Guest]

I'm pretty upset right now. Why don't you all stay up all night every night in case I have a question ???

Seems reasonnable to me...

Sorry just venting..........................................

 

[Dave Estrem (Savory Dave)]

Hey Marc:

I'm here for ya bud. Unfortunately, it isn't out of pity - but rather that we have 24 hour customer service here at Weber everyday of the year but Christmas. Call me at (800)446-1071 if you want to verbally throw things.

Weber Dave /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

 

[Kevin Taylor]

Hey Marc!

Not to worry! I have made jerky for 15 years and have had it cut both ways. The secret is to not cook it at a hot temp.

The lower the heat, the better...as long as it is above 150?.

Cutting WITH the grain will give you a "chewyer" cut of jerky. But, some don't like that, so cutting against the grain is in order...a more tender cut.

Once again I say..try some BOTH ways!

Stogie

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the info. Next time I'll know where to call.

Kevin,

Thanks for the reassurance. Do you think the meat will fall off the toothpicks during cooking ?

Marc

 

[Guest]

Marc,

You shouldn't have to worry about the meat falling off the tooth picks. I tried Kevin's jerky recipe a few weeks ago with the meat sliced against the grain 1/4" thk and they stayed on.

My biggest problem was controlling the temperature, trying to keep it around 170 F.

I didn't use the water pan because I thought it would add too much moisture to the process.

I started with around 20 lit briquettes and the temp jumped to 205 deg but quickly dropped to under 150 deg (about 1 hour).

I added more charcoal (20) but it the temp would not stabilize up to 210 and quickly back down.

I was getting impatient as I was trying this in the evening and it was cold and raining out. I lit up a full chimney and threw it in (not a good idea). The temp climbed to over 300. I ended up pulling them off after about 4 hrs. The jerky that was on the outside edges was pretty crispy but the ones on the inside were alright.

Maybe some of the jerky experts could tell me if they use the water pan? With or with out water.

Are there any liquids you can use that would help stabilize temp but not add moisture to the drying process?

 

[Ken Nelson]

Hi, Chuck.

I’m far from an expert but I don’t like to use the water pan when I make jerky. Without the pan, I believe I get a more even heat across the grate and all of the batch will be done at about the same time.

My target temperature at the grate is 160 to 170 degrees and without the water pan I can easily achieve that with just a handful of lump (my fuel of choice) and a hunk of hickory or pecan that I’ve pre-burnt to provide smoke. The jerky is usually done in the neighborhood of four and a half hours, or so.

From your description, it sounds like you started with too many lit briquettes and tried to choke them down with the vents to control the temperature. Each time you lifted the lid to peek inside or opened the access door you allowed more oxygen in for combustion and the temperature roller coaster would start all over again.

Next time, try using fewer briquettes and slowly bring your WSM up to your desired temperature instead of significanlty closing off the vents to bring the temp back down to where you want it.

It sounds like you’ve already learned the importance of patience in this process. Just be a little more proactive than reactive with your temperature control and your jerky should turn out great.

Good luck and have fun.

Ken