jerky thickness

1/8 seems pretty thin. I did some at 3/16 and it's good. Some of it dried too much though. I did some at 5/16. Too thick and too tough. 1/4 is about perfect I think.

3/16 - 1/4" is where Iike it.

I always slice around 1/4 inch.  I smoke in my MES with the AMNPS and no heat for the first three hours then crank it up for around one hour.  Then I finish in the dehydrator, this way you can test some samples and take it off when it is too your liking.

Gary

I don't do jerky, but my buddy does & his cutter is set up for 1/4".

I like mine relatively thin, 3/16".

If a batch happens to come out too dry, I place it in a zip bag with half a piece of bread until it softens up a bit.

3/16 - 1/4 seems to be the common consensus. I will try 7/32 next time.

1/4" is where I have always done mine.

Does the butcher cut it cross grain or with the grain?

Cutting With the grain is what many commercial jerky makers do...Gives a Chewy Jerky...Top and Bottom round are good choices...JJ

Quote:

Originally Posted by alelover 

3/16 - 1/4 seems to be the common consensus. I will try 7/32 next time.

LOL!!!!

Agreed with the rest...1/4" is my ideal!  i try to be on the thin side of 1/4"..my butcher often doesn't get that right hence awhile i'm buying my own slicer from Al :)

I do something that may not be agreeable with the purist but I use ground meat.  90/10 beef or ground venison/ game.  I use something called a Jerky gun.  It's like a caulking gun.  Ever wonder how all the bought jerky is uniformed and nice strips.  You simply put the ground meat in the gun, run the strips and put them in the dehydrator.

I've been making jerky for years in a dehydrator and using ground meat is good especially for the older folks that don't have the teeth they used to have.  I go to my local grocery and pick a nice lean round or bottom cut and ask the butcher to trim any fat and grind it for me.  Quite often it is cheaper than buying the "already ground" meat and it is a lot leaner.  Also, most ground meat is ground twice.  You can ask the butcher to only grind it once and to grind it coarse.  It still goes through the jerky gun just fine but it makes for a more chewy jerky since the meat particles are a little longer.