finally did jerky in my MES 30 (Qview)

Looks EXCELLENT!!!

Looks OUTSTANDING! 

Your Jerky looks like it came out very well...But...Your coming to the conclusion that less Cure will adjust the Saltiness is somewhat flawed. Yes the cure contains some salt but compared to the amount in the seasoning packet is quite small. If you wish to reduce the Salt use less Seasoning Packet mix, not less cure. I don't know which kit you used, however, there is little there that can't be easily replaced. Try 1-2Tbs less Seasoning packet and replace it with a small amount of any additional spices that are dominant, Garlic, Onion or whatever. You will reduce the salt and still have the temperature/time wiggle room the Cure affords you. If salt is a major issue, I would suggest searching out a recipe that sounds good, there are thousands, and try it. For one thing there are additives in kits that many would choose not eat anyway and when it come to making money, the Companies making kits load them up with Cheap Salt rather than high Quality, Fresh and still Flavorful, Herbs and Spices. You have no idea when the stuff in the kit was packaged, the quality of the ingredients and how many months or years it sat in a warehouse or on the store shelf before you got it. Remember to make the Best, buy the Best... Good Luck in your quest and think of the satisfaction and accolades that will come from creating a Jerky that is uniquely yours and perfectly delicious...JJ

Looks good!
I've never used mixes, but I've heard complaints from friends that the Hi-Mountain mixes and cure are salty, the cure is used at a rate of, I think, 2 tsp. per pound of meat so it's obviously not Cure#1 and, unfortunately, loaded with salt.
For best results work on some scratch recipes with Cure #1, that way you can adjust everything exactly to your liking.

~Martin

You may want to double check the weight of your meat after you get it cut up ( if there are some trimmings from it that you aren't making into jerky ) and then doublecheck your amounts of the 2 packets . I know I did make a batch once that was a little salty and I don't remember now what I did wrong measuring from the spice and cure packets , I might have gotten the 2 packets mixed up . Isn't it something like 2 teaspoons cure and 1 1/2 teaspoon seasoning per pound of meat ??? I may have reversed those 2 , I don't remember now but that might have been my problem . Another time I put too much smoke to it and that kind of gave it a little bit of a salty , bitter taste . For the most part though I've made a lot of batches with the hi mountain kits and only twice did it not come out to my liking and they were both my fault . Just about everyone that has had my jerky says the same thing " you should sell this stuff " and it's not that I'm a master jerky maker , it's just the results you get with the kits . I too use top round  . Most of the time I don't even put any smoke to it . If I'm using my mes I get some smoke flavoring because my unit is well seasoned but a lot of times I just use my countertop convection oven . I like that because the fan in it provides a nice air flow . That's the one thing I don't like about using the mes for jerky . I keep on thinking of mounting a computer type fan on the opening for the chip loader and run it at a low voltage so it just provides a little bit of additional airflow , but it's just easier for me to use the countertop oven . One last to mention , as someone else noted Don't use less cure to alter the saltiness , use less of the spice packet , but I would doublecheck amounts and weights . It's pretty easy to get things mixed up ( at least for me it is ).

I agree with Dig

Hi Mountain Cures are just too salty for me, so I make my own too

I've used other Jerky Premix from Cabelas, and they are not too salty

TJ