Another Jerky Question

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xjcamaro

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Mar 16, 2009
313
13
Western PA
I have done alot of jerky in a dehydrator, but would like to try some in my smoker. I have read alot and seems like there is a million different ways to sunday that people cure, marinate, dehydrate, smoke their meat. i just have a couple straight forward questions. i have a marinade recipe that i like and i have TQ. Now to cure properly do i add the 1/2 oz of TQ per lb of meat into the wet marinade? Or what would the process be if i wanted to use my marinade and cure it? Then when it comes to smoking (i want to do the whole process in the smoker) ive read that a smoker temp around 140-150 is good and then do the bend test. Or is there a good way to check the temp of the thin peices of meat?

Thanks guys
 
Last edited:
That's good question. I'm not sure how to answer it as I've never used TQ for jerky. One thing I'd be cautious of is if your marinade doesn't normally have TQ in it then adding a 1/2 oz of TQ to it may very well make your meat too salty.
 
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Now I have used cure on my jerky before and I (and you should) think that you should go with the instrutions on the package. You should be really careful too. now I would start your jerky at about 100 for the first hour or so to let it dry out. Then put the smoke to it and raise the temp maybe 20° or so. Then when it is dried out to your liking (I like it alittle chewy) then take it out an leave it hanging for aout a hour or so. Then enjoy. Now there are several moments in there that is a great time to take some Q-view to.
 
You mean go by the instructions on the TQ package? Cause it says to put the cure on and leave on for 4-5 hours (it goes something like that) But what about all the rest of the regular ingredients that you would normally use? The soy sauce, the worch. sauce? Do you not use that anymore when you smoke your own, do you just cure it then smoke it?
 
This one looks & sounds good:
[h3]Preparing The Venison[/h3]
First off, get the venison ready for the marinade. Trim off any fat, sinews, and silver skin, and rinse off any remaining hairs and dirt that may be still sticking to the deer meat.

For the most tender jerky, try to slice the venison across the grain. You may not be able to do this if the piece is small or narrow...that's ok. Just slice what you can across the grain.

Cut the venison about 1/4 inch thick, trying to keep the slices as uniform as possible. Doing this will help the venison jerky smoke evenly, and finish up at close to the same time.

After you've prepped the meat, mix up the marinade. Here's the recipe:
[h3]Venison Jerky Marinade[/h3]
(for 5 pounds of meat)​
Mix together one half cup each of water and soy sauce. To this, add one tablespoon of Morton's[emoji]174[/emoji] Tender-Quick[emoji]174[/emoji]. (This is a curing mixture that will inhibit bacteria growth.) Next, add one-quarter cup of brown sugar, one and one-half teaspoons of Cajun spice mix, one tablespoon of black pepper, one teaspoon of cayenne pepper, one tablespoon ofgarlic powder, and one teaspoon of celery salt. Mix thoroughly, making sure that the sugar and Tender-Quick[emoji]174[/emoji] is dissolved.
Add half of the marinade to the venison and gently stir until the marinade is absorbed. Add the rest of the marinade, stirring again, and let the whole shebang soak for at least an hour. 

Link for rest of instructions:

http://www.smoker-cooking.com/venisonjerkyrecipe.html

Bear
 
Thank you! That is what i was looking for, when, where, and how to use the TQ in the jerky recipe. This recipe should also be good on beef too, i dont see why not. I think for each section on this board there should be a sticky for a basic smoke/recipe/method for the most common foods in that section. I know they are out there somewhere on this board, but sometimes are hard to find. This would then give people a starting point right off the bat for simple preperations. Just my thoughts.
 
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