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Need help with some ground venison jerky I am making.
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Its a little easier to control temps as I have a GMG - but I feel the same way when im running my weber.
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4-6 hours depending on humidity outside. (no joke!)
This last one took about 5 hours to dry to where I like it. Turned out pretty good. I have another one on this morning as well.
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I have a wife and two kiddos at home that gobble it up - to the point where half the batch is hot peppered so that only me and my son eat it since we can ration a bit better. I have thought about getting the 10 tray system from LEM (Pays to work in the corp office for a retailer that sells it) but havent pulled the trigger as I like my jerky smoked.
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That's pretty awesome - big batches. I do make my own slew and rubs. I'm working on it to hit the sweet spot for my wife (that didn't come out right); she's more particular than I am regarding taste. So I would say that although I'm satisfied with the rub, it's still a work in progress and I'll eventually have to change things up for different meats.
I use an indoor counter-top unit that's ~ 16" round with I think 7 height-adjustable shelves. I put it in almost straight from the fridge, but dried first. I'll make one shelf peppered from a grinder filled with mixed-color peppercorns for me and am careful not to toss one of those to the dog.
3 lbs lasts 2 weeks, for two of us. 2 days if I'm fishing.
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Yes- I use pink salt, im not terribly worried about preservatives and its cheap enough to not matter. The rest of my reply is below.
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so started running huge batches - 30-40 lbs worth at a time. I let the ground jerky sit with the mix in overnight to distribute the salt - then I load it up in a custom system i built for my GMG. I actually do what commercial jerky outfits do - Heat it past 140 by running my GMG at 325 - then bring the temp down to 150 and let it dry until ive got a nice mahogany color and some bend - but the fibers are dry. I used to do it in my oven this same way with 5-10lbs. Then its in 1 lb packages - vacuum sealed - and stored in the freezer. It tends to last my family about 3 months if I ration it. 1 month otherwise. Currently I use Hi-country seasonings as they are made about 60 miles from my house, but would eventually like to start making my own.
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I get flavor from curing in a marinating before drying longer than you would think you should, and flip it a lot.
I've had to add binders to get that classic 'jerky' feel with ground game, and I put the strips (not tubers like Slim Jim or like making Goose jerky) between parchment paper and hammer to the thickness (or really, the thinness) I want with a standard meat-tenderizing hammer.
So yes and no - mixing with your hands is fine and enough, but it's the curing and the prep before dehydrating that delivers what I'm looking for. I think that once the dehydration reduces the mix to jerky, you can't tell about the distribution at all, the reduction takes care of that.
How long are you drying? I typically go 14 hours on full electric power with 'cold' mix from the fridge before I get what I want.
Are you using a nitrite enhanced salt for preservation? I don't, and realize that my jerky is only good for < 2 weeks. I'm not sure if a curing salt changes the chemistry of the process.
I can make my dog do anything once I have jerky, so it never has to last longer than two weeks anyway. I make ~ 3 lbs a month from varying sources.
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Need help with some ground venison jerky I am making.
So - I need help with this.
I added in all the ingredients - mixed lightly to distribute and ran it through my grinder for a second pass.
Im worried it isn't mixed enough. Everything looks uniform but when you are messing with cure things get a bit more serious.
Do you think lightly mixing with my hands and running through the grinder is enough to distribute?
Just need reassurance I guess.. This isn't my first time - but the first set was under flavoured and so this one i added a bit more spice and just want to make sure im doing ok?Tags: None
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