natural jerky?
- Thread starter G Rose
- Start date
John Heutz
TVWBB Fan
I make my own on occasion. I take 4-5 lbs of bottom round and slice it 1/8-1/4 in thick. Cut off all the fat I can.
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup pineapple juice
garlic powder to taste
cayanne pepper for heat
marinate for 2 days and dehydrate 8 hours or so. No complaints from family or friends.
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup pineapple juice
garlic powder to taste
cayanne pepper for heat
marinate for 2 days and dehydrate 8 hours or so. No complaints from family or friends.
Gary R Miller
TVWBB Super Fan
I would freeze what you cannot eat in a week maybe 2. Must keep refridgerated also. I have made some this way from a home recipe I made but I also had a cure in it. Not sure I want to be responsible for someones food poison. Thats just me though. I stopped useing my smoker for jerky and went to a dehydrater. A little smoke then into dehyhdrater. I felt I can control the the dryness better.
G,
I have made jerky without preservatives. As a matter of fact, i've never made jerky with preservatives.
I've done it twice...both times I used "london broil" cuts and sliced them 1/4" across the grain. Then marinated in red wine/garlic/onion/, then either 1)dehydrated it in food dehydrator, or 2)hung it in a screened thingy a friend of mine has that you sit outside. You can only do the outside thing if it is hot and dry in your area (don't think mass has too many days like that) or the jerky won't dry right. I'm sure it could be done in the oven though. HOWEVER...after gaining a little more food knowledge, I don't think i'd do it again without sodium nitrate or nitrite. It's not safe.
I have made jerky without preservatives. As a matter of fact, i've never made jerky with preservatives.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by tjkoko:
Could the prepared meat be placed inside of an unlit WSM and covered? To be heated by direct sunlight during an afternoon or so? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I could be wrong here, but I don't think it would work well. I would guess that the humidity inside the wsm would be about the same as outside, and it still wouldn't dry right. The screen thing that my friend has is made with screens to let wind and sunlight in...but keep flies out. I'm guessing both of those things are critical to making jerky. And again...I really don't think it's safe without preservatives. Then again, the guy I know who does it and gave me the recipe is 70 and has been doing it since he was in his teens with venison and has never gotten sick, so maybe it is safe.
Could the prepared meat be placed inside of an unlit WSM and covered? To be heated by direct sunlight during an afternoon or so? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I could be wrong here, but I don't think it would work well. I would guess that the humidity inside the wsm would be about the same as outside, and it still wouldn't dry right. The screen thing that my friend has is made with screens to let wind and sunlight in...but keep flies out. I'm guessing both of those things are critical to making jerky. And again...I really don't think it's safe without preservatives. Then again, the guy I know who does it and gave me the recipe is 70 and has been doing it since he was in his teens with venison and has never gotten sick, so maybe it is safe.
I've made jerky many times and have never used a cure or preservative. Part of the reason is I know its not going to last that long
. A few weeks ago, I made about 4 lbs in my WSM for the first time. It dried out very fast; kept the temps right around 170. I thought that batch turned out very well. Easy on the wood though, those thin strips really absorb the smoke, so a little goes a long way. TJKoko, I wouldn't advise using an unlit WSM for making jerky. You either need a low heat source or a lot of air circulation to dry your meat. I believe the key to safe jerky is eliminating as much moisture as possible; that is one of the reasons most marinades use salt. Without moisture, bacteria has a hard time getting a foothold. The salt will leach out water and I believe rupture most of the cells that hold water (I may be wrong on this point...someone chime in if I'm giving bad info
)
Paul
Paul
Rich G
TVWBB Honor Circle
I just did a batch of jerky. Used eye of round as it was on sale. Sliced it uniformly WITH the grain, then marinated for a couple days (search for River City Jerky on biggreenegg.com for the recipe.) I then got my grill to about 180 and on it went for 5-6 hours or so with a good amount of hickory smoke. It is VERY tasty, and no preservatives.
I used my ceramic grill for this one, but if I was to use the WSM, I'd go with no water in the pan (sand maybe), and just a few lit briquettes to ensure that you have the utmost control as you creep up on 180.
Good luck!
Rich
I used my ceramic grill for this one, but if I was to use the WSM, I'd go with no water in the pan (sand maybe), and just a few lit briquettes to ensure that you have the utmost control as you creep up on 180.
Good luck!
Rich