RobbieQ Jerky...

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rawbutah

Newbie
Original poster
Jan 20, 2012
6
10
Heber, Utah
Everybody always asks me how my jerky turns out perfect, everytime.  The answer is always sodium nitrite (speed cure, pink salt,  etc.).  The beautiful red color, the perfect texture and "chew factor", the longevity of storage and the consistency are all attributed to the pink stuff.  My recipe is simple and steps are easy, so I thought I would share my ideas here. on the "BEST BBQ site, EVER!!" "
yahoo.gif



I order my sodium nitrite online.  It costs ten dollars for 4 oz. Enough to do over 100 lbs.


I've also found it in the jerky section of Sportsman's Warehouse and Cabela's.


I use a cheap Harbor Freight Tools digital scale that cost 10 dollars and weighs up to 1 lb.


Smoking and Drying is provided by a 48" Cabela's propane smoker that I have retrofitted


    with the electric element from my old R2D2. no thermostat and only heats to about 160-170.


    I also use an old fan from a sweater dryer that moves about 30 cfm.. not much, but perfect for dehyd.


    will attach pics soon...


RobbieQ Jerky:


1 lb. fresh meat, sliced to 1/4' thick or less.


1 gram cure #1


5 grams kosher or sea salt (NOT iodized)


5 grams onion salt


1 gram garlic salt


0.5 grams fresh ground pepper


0.1 grams cayenne pepper



mix well so pink salt is distributed evenly



13 grams (about 1 Tbsp) dark brown sugar


1/4  cup water



1. dissolve the sugar in the water then add the seasong mixture.


2. using large mixing bowl ( I'm doing 7 lbs at time because thats what my smoker will hold) mix the seasoned water into the meat using clean hands. be sure to seperate any pieces that are stuck together. mix well!


3. stuff meat mixture into Zip-Loc bag or bags, and remove as much air as possible. Refrigerate 24 hrs. more if meat is thicker than 1/4", Less if sliced thinner...  up to 48 hrs is ok, but will affect the texture a bit.


4. I wash my Chrome smoker racks off using pressure washer alone, no soap, no abrasives, NO 3M pads!


5. Newspaper on the counter, 7 racks stacked together, I spray lightly with olive oil (Pressurized sprayer, hand pump model from costco. 15 Bucks for a 2 pack!!!)


6. Lay jerky in single layer on racks, I put thicker pieces on one. thinner pieces on another, try to keep each rack loaded with approximately same thickness.


7.  Load racks in Smoker. thinner at the top, thicker at the bottom.  plug in element and load chip pan for about an hr of smoke. reload if neccessary. one hr of smoke is PLENTY.  shrinks as it drys so surface area becomes more concentrated.


8.   after an hour i hook the fan onto the exhaust of my smoker. kind of a stupid looking rig, but works VERY well. promise to include pics soon. Warm air movement is neccessary now to dehydrate the jerky rather than smoke cooking it. if u cant get enough airflow through the smoker, best option is to smoke the jerky for an hr then transfer to a home or commercial dehydrator. =(  but u may want to consider drying it on the patio or in the garage unless u want the house to smell like smoked jerky.


9. Depending on humidity, air flow, meat moisture, amount of product in smoker, temperature and about a  100 other factors, =)  Jerky takes from 3-10 hrs.  I check about every 1/2 Hour after 3. I am looking for translucent strips of meat.  hold them up to the light, when the dark spots are almost gone, the jerky is done.  the smaller the dark spots are, the longer the jerky will last in storage, less moisture. 


After many years of experimenting with this system, I have found this to be the most efficient way of doing the kind of jerky most people are familiar with. I started using the commercial mixes with two parts and sprinkle on one side then flip and sprinkle other side...  Man!!  what a pain! the small amount of added water in this recipe is well worth the ease of mixing into the meat!



Will get pictures asap of my Smoker to Dehydrator conversion. More Info to Come!!
 
Last edited:
Everybody always asks me how my jerky turns out perfect, everytime.  The answer is always sodium nitrite (speed cure, pink salt, salt peter...   etc.).  The beautiful red color, the perfect texture and "chew factor", the longevity of storage and the consistency are all attributed to the pink stuff.  My recipe is simple and steps are easy, so I thought I would share my ideas here. on the "BEST BBQ site, EVER!!" :yahoo:

I order my sodium nitrite online.  It costs ten dollars for 4 oz. Enough to do over 100 lbs.
I've also found it in the jerky section of Sportsman's Warehouse and Cabela's.
I use a cheap Harbor Freight Tools digital scale that cost 10 dollars and weighs up to 1 lb.
Smoking and Drying is provided by a 48" Cabela's propane smoker that I have retrofitted
    with the electric element from my old R2D2. no thermostat and only heats to about 160-170.
    I also use an old fan from a sweater dryer that moves about 30 cfm.. not much, but perfect for dehyd.
    will attach pics soon...


RobbieQ Jerky:

1 lb. fresh meat, sliced to 1/4' thick or less.
1 gram sodium nitrite
5 grams kosher or sea salt (NOT iodized)
5 grams onion salt
1 gram garlic salt
0.5 grams fresh ground pepper
0.1 grams cayenne pepper
mix well so pink salt is distributed evenly

13 grams (about 1 Tbsp) dark brown sugar
1/4  cup warm water

1. dissolve the sugar in the water then add the seasong mixture.
2. using large mixing bowl ( I'm doing 7 lbs at time because thats what my smoker will hold) mix the seasoned water into the meat using clean hands. be sure to seperate any pieces that are stuck together. mix well!
3. stuff meat mixture into Zip-Loc bag or bags, and remove as much air as possible. Refrigerate 24 hrs. more if meat is thicker than 1/4", Less if sliced thinner...  up to 48 hrs is ok, but will affect the texture a bit.
4. I wash my Chrome smoker racks off using pressure washer alone, no soap, no abrasives, NO 3M pads!
5. Newspaper on the counter, 7 racks stacked together, I spray lightly with olive oil (Pressurized sprayer, hand pump model from costco. 15 Bucks for a 2 pack!!!)
6. Lay jerky in single layer on racks, I put thicker pieces on one. thinner pieces on another, try to keep each rack loaded with approximately same thickness.
7. Load racks in Smoker. thinner at the top, thicker at the bottom.  plug in element and load chip pan for about an hr of smoke. reload if neccessary. one hr of smoke is PLENTY.  shrinks as it drys so surface area becomes more concentrated.
8.  after an hour i hook the fan onto the exhaust of my smoker. kind of a stupid looking rig, but works VERY well. promise to include pics soon. Warm air movement is neccessary now to dehydrate the jerky rather than smoke cooking it. if u cant get enough airflow through the smoker, best option is to smoke the jerky for an hr then transfer to a home or commercial dehydrator. =(  but u may want to consider drying it on the patio or in the garage unless u want the house to smell like smoked jerky.
9. Depending on humidity, air flow, meat moisture, amount of product in smoker, temperature and about a  100 other factors, =)  Jerky takes from 3-10 hrs.  I check about every 1/2 Hour after 3. I am looking for translucent strips of meat.  hold them up to the light, when the dark spots are almost gone, the jerky is done.  the smaller the dark spots are, the longer the jerky will last in storage, less moisture. 

After many years of experimenting with this system, I have found this to be the most efficient way of doing the kind of jerky most people are familiar with. I started using the commercial mixes with two parts and sprinkle on one side then flip and sprinkle other side...  Man!!  what a pain! the small amount of added water in this recipe is well worth the ease of mixing into the meat!

Will get pictures asap of my Smoker to Dehydrator conversion. More Info to Come!!

Nice and simple, that's cool!

A few things need to be clarified so there's no confusion.

Saltpeter isn't nitrite or the same as Cure #1, it's nitrate.
Please change your recipe to 1 gram Cure #1, instead on Sodium Nitrite.
Don't warm cure before using it.

Thanks!


~Martin
 
Last edited:
RawBUtah, I agree with Martin. I understand what you mean when you say you use Nitrite but that can be confusing to casual lurkers or Newbies looking to follow your very easy recipe. Pure Sodium Nitrite is difficult to measure for small batches that is why Premix Cures are more readily available and highly recommended. Please edit your posted recipe to reflect: 1Gram Cure #1 instead of Sodium Nitrite...JJ
 
I have submitted some pics that haven't posted yet, but I have a new batch ready for smoke tomorrow! Will get lots of Q-view!
 
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