Beef Jerky

[Woody13]

Today, I decided to make a big batch of Beef Jerky. I always pick this time of year because I use lean flat cut beef brisket to make the jerky and all the grocery stores have their briskets on sale for Saint Patrick's Day (for corn beef and cabbage). Since the meat is so inexpensive, I bought 25 lbs. (five different 5 lb. slabs of flat cut).

I mix up my marinade on the stove and bring it to a rolling boil to make sure that all ingredients are thoroughly mixed and the flavor is right. I then cover the mix and let it cool down. While it's cooling, I slice the meat.

I semi-freeze the meat to make it easier to slice and then (using a very sharp knife) I slice it with the grain into 3/16" strips and each strip is about 8" to 9" in length. I then trim away all the fat from each strip and drop the strips into a 1 gallon wide mouth glass jar (an old pickle jar). I then poor the marinade over the meat strips, cover the jar with a lid and then refrigerate overnight.

I make several trips to the refrigerator to shake the jar before I go to bed for the evening. After about 20 hours in the refrigerator, I remove the jar and prepare to dry the jerky. I use a Nesco/American Harvest food dehydrator to dry the jerky. A 5 lb. slab of brisket will yield about 30 jerky strips. I place 6 jerky strips on each tray and stack 5 trays on the dehydrator and let it go for about 6 to 8 hours.

At the end of the process, I end up with about 30 jerky strips with a total weight of 1.5 to 2 lbs. The drastic reduction in weight from 5 lbs. of meat to 2 lbs. or less is due to trimming away all the fat and the moisture reduction that takes place in the drying process.

I just finished up the first batch and it's in the dehydrator. Time for me to make a new batch of marinade (you can't use it more than once) and cut up the second slab of brisket.

 

[tigsmom]

I never understood the appeal of jerky. *shudders*

You aren't using beef that is already corned are you? You use the fresh brisket, right? We can only get that here right around Passover, its not a popular cut in the Northeast.

Anyway, hope you enjoy it! :wave:

 

[SpongeScott]

Sounds great, Woody! Wish I could have some. :slurp:

 

[Fantasmic!329]

I never understood the appeal of jerky. *shudders*

Me neither, Mad. :hurl:

 

[dflye]

Mmm, that sounds yummy! :slurp:

So aside from the weight loss, how much shrinkage do the strips encounter?

What kind of marinade works best with the dryer, thick or thin?

Man, I'm dying for a big ol' hunk of jerky now! :lol:

 

[TheOneVader]

If you like homemade beef jerky, you should see the Beef Jerky episode of Good Eats on Food Network... That show is awesome. Alton Brown is awesome, too.

 

[Pongo]

I can only handle beef jerky for about... 5 minutes.

Then I feel like throwing up.

But for that first 4.59:59, I'm loving it.

 

[Woody13]

I never understood the appeal of jerky. *shudders*
You aren't using beef that is already corned are you? You use the fresh brisket, right? We can only get that here right around Passover, its not a popular cut in the Northeast.
Anyway, hope you enjoy it! :wave:

You are correct, in that I use fresh, flat cut brisket.


Beef jerky is a high protein, low fat and low carb. food that requires no refrigeration. I also dehydrate a lot of fruit (apples, bananas, cherries, peaches, pineapples, pears, tomatoes, etc.) as well. With any fruit, you have to soak it in lemon juice first to prevent it from turning brown. As long as you vacuum pack the finished product, the shelf life goes for many years. These are very tasty items to have in storage before the next hurricane season.

Even without vacuum packing, dehydrated foods will last a long time if you put them in an air tight zip lock bag. Dehydrated foods want to reabsorb moisture and if they do, they will quickly spoil and grow molds. If you keep them from the humidity, they last for a long time. Cowboys in the old west would carry jerky with them for many months.

Of course, I find it necessary to once in a while "sample" some of my hurricane cache to insure freshness. Also, I have been known to go into the backcountry for extended periods. Dehydrated foods are very light but provide high nutrition. I'm scheduled to go back to Mississippi next week to help with some hurricane Katrina relief. We never know where we'll end up being sent, so we bring everything we need for survival just to be on the safe side. I bring extra for my coworkers.

Mmm, that sounds yummy! :slurp:
So aside from the weight loss, how much shrinkage do the strips encounter?
What kind of marinade works best with the dryer, thick or thin?
Man, I'm dying for a big ol' hunk of jerky now! :lol:

Good questions! The strips shrink due to dehydration about 15% in both length and thickness. Therefore the 9" strips shrink to about 7 1/2" and the 8" strips shrink to about 6 3/4". Of course, the length of the jerky depends upon the original cut of meat. Some of the briskets that I get are long and rectangular while others are short and square in shape. I mainly look for lean meat. Any fat left on the meat will cause the jerky to spoil more quickly.

The best marinade is thin because its main job is to preserve the meat with salt. You need to make sure the salt permeates every part of the meat (hence the repeated shaking of the jug). It's called "brine curing". It kills any and all bacteria. The second job of the marinade is to impart flavor and I use a variety of spices for that purpose depending upon the taste I want for any particular batch.

Also, it is very important to mix a fresh batch of marinade for each over night curing. You can't use this stuff more than once! Needless to say, but strict sanitary standards must always be practiced. After all, you're not cooking this meat at all, you're just removing the moisture after the chemical brine curing process is complete. It just fascinates me that meat can be preserved for such long periods of time without refrigeration.

 

[darthdarrel]

I never understood the appeal of jerky. *shudders*

You aren't using beef that is already corned are you? You use the fresh brisket, right? We can only get that here right around Passover, its not a popular cut in the Northeast.

Anyway, hope you enjoy it! :wave:

I am with you mad! Never understood the appeal.:shrugs:

 

[unkadug]

...If you keep them from the humidity, they last for a long time. Cowboys in the old west would carry jerky with them for many months...

How did they do this, it's not like they had ziplock baggies, much less saran wrap?

Just curious.

I like jerky, never knew it wasn't cooked !!

 

[Woody13]

How did they do this, it's not like they had ziplock baggies, much less saran wrap?

Just curious.

I like jerky, never knew it wasn't cooked !!

Excellent question!:wave:

Believe it or not, cowboys carried purses! Well, actually they carried leather bags well soaked in animal grease. These bags were air tight, water tight and kept insects away from the food. They kept most of their trail provisions (such as beans, flour, coffee, salt, jerky, hardtack, etc.) in these bags. Any of the aforementioned items get moldy when exposed to moisture and insect infestation is always a problem when food is left exposed to the air for any length of time.

I forgot to add that a lot of commercial jerky is cooked! Authentic production of jerky is a time consuming and labor intensive process. Many commercial outfits don't want to waste the time it takes to slow dry the meat. Also, a lot of commercial jerky is processed meat derived from beef by-products. That stuff is not my cup of tea.