So I finally dialed in my jerky recipe except for one area... consistency. I don't have a problem with the spices or salt, but the heat is random. I've tried slicing, blending, and either of the former in addition to reducing my marinade... but the kick is intermittent. The only other thing I can think to do is trim the fat off whatever cut and inject my blend to slice and marinade later? My most recent batch has roughly 1 habanero per lb of beef (current batch is 7 peppers to 4ish lbs of meat sliced), most pieces have good heat, but not every bite.
The weird thing is I thought it was seed distribution, so this last batch I diced semi fine and tried to get seed spread across every piece, but some of the pieces without any seeds or flesh are just as spicy and some aren't. When I first started testing this recipe I used jalapeno and the result was not as spicy obviously, but much more consistent.
The recipe I'm using is currently (very loosely) per 4lb
2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp ground pepper
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1/2 cup Worcestershire
1 tbsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. paprika
Salt to taste before adding meat.
(the above or a bottle of Dale's which is similar, but sometimes more expensive)
1 12oz bottle of beer (IPA has brought out the most spice, but the funk carries over. Most tasters have preferred cheap lager so far)
6 cloves garlic minced
X number of peppers (I couldn't taste the peppers when I blended, I prefer slicing and/or dicing)
Depending on thickness of slices, marinate 12-30 hours massaging and flipping at least 2 times. If marinating longer than 12 hours you might want to add a bit more beer or some other liquid to reduce saltiness.
(pan fry 1 piece before smoking to see if more salt is needed)
Smoke at 170ish for 4-6 hours depending on thickness
The weird thing is I thought it was seed distribution, so this last batch I diced semi fine and tried to get seed spread across every piece, but some of the pieces without any seeds or flesh are just as spicy and some aren't. When I first started testing this recipe I used jalapeno and the result was not as spicy obviously, but much more consistent.
The recipe I'm using is currently (very loosely) per 4lb
2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp ground pepper
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1/2 cup Worcestershire
1 tbsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. paprika
Salt to taste before adding meat.
(the above or a bottle of Dale's which is similar, but sometimes more expensive)
1 12oz bottle of beer (IPA has brought out the most spice, but the funk carries over. Most tasters have preferred cheap lager so far)
6 cloves garlic minced
X number of peppers (I couldn't taste the peppers when I blended, I prefer slicing and/or dicing)
Depending on thickness of slices, marinate 12-30 hours massaging and flipping at least 2 times. If marinating longer than 12 hours you might want to add a bit more beer or some other liquid to reduce saltiness.
(pan fry 1 piece before smoking to see if more salt is needed)
Smoke at 170ish for 4-6 hours depending on thickness
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