Low sugar Jerky

[Brian Trommater]

I trying to find a good low sugar jerky recipe that taste good. I tried one last week that used franks hot sauce and it was terrible. I like it spicy.

When using sugar do you think that much of it actually gets in the meat?

 

[Paul K]

It depends on how much sugar you use in your marinade (assuming you are marinating). I made a real good batch of jerky earlier this month using a brisket flat. What I put in it was low sodium soy sauce, worcestershire sauce and a little bit of steak sauce. The steak sauce had some sugar in it but not much. I didn't measure anything, but from most to least was the soy, worcesty, steak sauce. You don't need any sugar. The salt is used as a cure and seasoning; but really the lack of moisture is the real preservative.

Paul

 

[Brian Trommater]

I will play around some more. If it turns out bad at least it makes good dog treats. The recipe I tried used a lot of franks hot sauce and it just did not work with the jerky.

 

[Paul K]

Some of the recipes I've read go overboard with ingredients. I may grind black pepper on the meat right before putting it on the smoker, but generally try to keep things simple. I did use apple wood on that last batch. I made a second batch about 1 week ago following the same recipe but it wasn't nearly as good. I used bottom round instead of brisket and I think my temps got too high which resulted in closer to a cooked product as opposed to a dehydrated one.