Question: How much do you bend the jerky when checking if it's done?

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gotmeat

Newbie
Original poster
May 20, 2014
8
10
Okay, this is another question that I've had that has yet to be resolved since starting on making jerky a couple-few weeks ago. This one should be the easiest to answer.

Before I begin, I've learned very  frustratingly that most of the information out there on jerky making is FAR  from scientific. I've never seen so much "ehh, about as much as feels right" or other undefined things in my life. I am a Molecular and Cellular Biologist so all this wishy-washy stuff has had me pulling at my hair (figuratively of course)!

The topic of this thread:

*I use Ground Turkey  (93% Lean/7% Fat) for all of my jerky. I will continue to use this until a consistently cheaper alternative comes along, which is unlikely to happen (besides Chicken).

In reading around the internet I noticed a consensus for testing when jerky is done/good to go (i.e. stop the dehydration). I just refer to it as a "Bend Test" now, as the method that everybody seems to recommend for checking if your meat is dehydrated perfectly well entails bending one of the sticks that you have dehydrating.

My question:

HOW much do you bend it when doing a "bend test?" I actually performed searches for just this because you know, I like to do things right, and surprise surprise, out of all the results I only found two where the person actually described how much to bend it - but they both said essentially opposite things. One said to bend it ALL the way (i.e. bend it until the meat has folded back on to itself; i.e. almost a 180º bend), whereas the second source said to only bend it slightly. Slightly to me is around a 20º degree bend. These two conflicting opinions on the matter are obviously vastly different in terms of how much fluid retention would keep the packed meat pliable enough to bend to these points. And since I would like to make jerky the RIGHT way, I would like to know what is the actual correct  way to perform this bend test for doneness? If somebody has pictures, that would be awesome. Otherwise, please just describe what I should be seeing.

Do I only barely  bend the ground turkey piece (i.e. bend only approximately 20º)? Or do I really want to be able to fold the meat all the way back onto itself (i.e. approximately 180º bend)? Or should I be able to only bend it to about a 90º bend until it starts forming small tears? What exactly am I looking for too, when doing this? Am I looking for only small tears in the ground turkey stick, or should I continue to dehydrate until there is complete breakage when bending to the 'bend point'?

Please keep in mind that I'm not using steak meat, I'm using ground turkey and as such the meat is already less cohesively held together as it is. If I should be using some other "test for doneness" when using ground turkey, please let me know.

Any help with this would be much appreciated. It seems like such a small thing, but getting this right literally determines whether I'm making jerky sticks.. or jerky chips 
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Thanks  for any input, I appreciate ALL of it!
 
Swing by roll call so we can give u a warm welcome and let us know where u r at and what equipment u r using. Oven,smoker,dehydrator? Posting recipes and entire process tend to help along with a little qview. I think u r mixing apples and oranges. Bend test is for whole muscle meat bent at a 90 degree angle. If middle cracks fibers it's done if bent and no cracks continue on if bent and breaks in half over done. For ground I use a pair of scissors and snip a 1 inch piece off and let sit 10 min and taste. On another note being ground and poultry, I'd use cure #1 and usda guideline to get above 165. Good luck.
 
The answer is that there is no definitive answer.  Much of it is personal preference.  Length and method of storage also comes into play as does the type of meat, fat to lean ratio, thickness, method of drying, etc.  ASME has not come out with standards for jerky testing yet.
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I like a chewy jerky and it usually goes pretty quickly around my house, so I leave it more pliable.

However, when making jerky to send to my son in Afghanistan, it will be stored for a longer period time and consumed slower, so I dry his out quite a bit more.

BTW, welcome to SMF.  Some of the members that do the ground jerky and meat sticks will be able to help you more.  Someone is bound to chime in shortly.
 
Doneness is measured by temperature.... 165 deg. F..... While the meat is moist with the brining liquid.... If it is allowed to dry out, before the critical temperature is reached, bacteria etc. can become "heat tolerant" and survive.....
Bring up to critical temp first, then reduce the heat for final drying.... using cure #1 is highly recommended, when making jerky, to reduce the risk of botulism.....

Then bend test can be misleading.... depends on how much hygroscopic additives are added.... they hold on to moisture to make the jerky "chewy" and not brittle.... sugar and honey are just 2 of those additives....
 
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Awesome! Thanks for the replies everybody.

So, there is no known way to actually test whether ground meat jerky is done? That seems strange to me, I would think there would be some sort of test that could be performed. If I cut a piece and then wait 10 minutes before trying it, wouldn't that be subjective? I mean to me the jerky ends up tasting basically the same right after it's done and 10 minutes later anyways, so I don't know how useful this would actually be - I still get the same fundamental tastes.. deliciousness :P

And okay, so here's my preparation method. 

As mentioned, I am a Molecular and Cellular Biologist so it should perhaps come as no surprise that I am a proponent of pre-cooking your meat before dehydrating it. There's a reason the USDA would not authorize a jerky maker (ex: Jack Link's) if they didn't cook theirs either.

My preparation process  (not rocket science):

- I thaw my ground turkey, in the sealed package.

- I prepare my marinade in a large plastic bag. This eliminates unnecessary loss of mass from the marinade being left behind in a preparation bowl due to liquid adhesion.

- I then add my ground turkey  to the bag, and mix it in very well.

- I then squeeze out any excess air and seal the ziploc bag, and lay the meat + marinade mixture inside, flat.

- I then simply "pound" the meat such that it forms a uniform layer, covering maximal surface area on the countertop. This ensures that maximal surface area on the meat inside the bag itself is also exposed and ready for "diffusion" by the marinade.

- I then marinade the meat for a period of time (I am currently testing out, collecting and recording data on what is the most efficient marination time)

>> this is not the cause of the "wetness" problem because I've tested marinating less time when using more marinade volume and the results were no different (i.e. what recipes yielded wet meat before, still yielded excessively wet meat).

- I then take the marinade out of the refrigerator and load handfuls of meat into a jerky gun.

- I then shoot strips (or what are supposed to be strips, if the meat wasn't so wet) onto a cooking pan. If it doesn't come out as strips I simply squeeze out meat from the gun and then finish hand-forming them.

* I then load the meat into an oven that was preheated to 325º F until the internal temperature  of the meat is at least 160º F. This generally takes 20-23 minutes.

>> It is important to note that I perform this step, and that I do it before dehydrating. At 160º F almost all living cells will be destroyed. I will explain this further below, for anyone interested. Between a high-salt marinade and pre-cooking, there is basically, almost a 0% chance of any bacteria surviving. Dehydrating the cells later puts the nail in the coffin.

- I then take my meat strips out, and place them onto my dehydrator (Nesco Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator; a.k.a. model FD-75A).

- I dehydrate my meat strips until they are done. I created a separate thread on this issue (how to tell when it's done, when using Ground meat).

- That's it!

*As promised, I will explain the Science, aka the "magic" that actually allows all of us to even be able to make Jerky! If anybody has any questions, feel free to ask, or create another thread asking about it and let me know.

The high sodium content in the marinade acts to dehydrate the cells in the meat (including any resident bacterial cells, ex: Botulism-causing bacteria). Without water, chemical reactions ~cannot take place. There's a reason we look for water on other planets as a sign of possible life. The high salt (Sodium) content of our marinade creates what is known as a hypertonic solution, which, basically, causes water that is present inside of cells to escape out in order to dilute out the very high salt levels and re-establish a balance. This results in a situation where the water that was once inside  the cell is now outside  the cell - inaccessible and essentially useless now for the cell. For most cells, this will result in crenation (cell collapse) as there is then insufficient volume inside the cell to keep it from collapsing in. While this process will dehydrate cells, it will obviously not remove ALL of the water from ALL cells. Some cells may survive, and they can replicate quickly (cell growth is exponential). That is where pre-cooking comes in. Cooking meat to an internal temperature of at least 160º F ensures that all cells in/on the meat have been exposed to at least this temperature. At temperatures this high, the thermal energy simply completely destroys bacterial cells and their proteins/enzymes, etc. that they need  to live. Their proteins become denatured, etc. One enzyme that will be denatured is DNA Polymerase. Without this enzyme, bacterial cells will not be able to replicate  (i.e. divide; make more of themselves). It should be noted that this is literally what Sodium Nitrite does (inhibits bacterial growth.. or in other words, inhibits the ability of the cell to divide into and create more cells), except this way is completely normal, scientific, and natural. Sodium Nitrite tries doing it chemically, and with dangerous, known carcinogenic outcomes. Obviously not all chemicals are bad, but carcinogens are not a laughing matter. A carcinogen means that it is known to cause cancer  (not believed to, no, it is known  to result in it). It obviously may not manifest today, but it's the long-term effect of it. And with every dose of Sodium Nitrite you're taking in, you're just speeding it along. Eventually you're going to transform the wrong cell in the wrong way and.. you will have cancer on your hands.
 
Beware, long Post.

Hopefully you can find something here to help you.

MODS...Sorry if I missed BREAKING  any Links

JERKY
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Please read the general notes before making jerky.
 
  • Select the meat you will be using and place it in the freezer for 2 hours or so, this will make it easier to slice.
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  • Having a good quality slicer is a great tool for making jerky.
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  • Remove any fat or nasty bits from the meat, Flank Steak (erroneously named London Broils) is one of the cuts of meat I prefer for Jerky Making. Slice the meat to your preferred thickness, I do mine at 1/4". For a heavy chew with whole muscle meat, slice it with the grain, for a soft chew, slice across the grain. Meat sliced and ready to be marinated.
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  • Weigh the meat and figure out the correct amount of TQ to use, too much and its too salty, too little and it can become unsafe at lower drying temps.
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  • Mix all ingredients together with the exception of the meat. Allow the ingredients at least 15 minutes for the flavors to blend. Add meat, Marinate in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for at least 24 -36 hours., I prefer using gallon Ziploc Bags, today I had none.

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  • I will sometimes use my Vacuum Seal canisters.
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  • Remove the meat and place on a cooling rack with a pan under neath, Drain the meat and place on paper towels, blot dry and place on a cooling rack, make sure that the meat does not overlap. Crack some fresh black pepper, lightly to the meat.
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  • Prepare the Smoker or Dehydrator, do not use water in the water pan if using a smoker. Smoke at lowest temp possible, do not go above 140 degrees, use a propane torch to start the wood smoking or use a smoke generator, such as an AMNPS.
  • SMOKER
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  • NESCO DEHYDRATOR  Nesco Food Dehydrator, FD75-PR Snack Master.
  • If you are using TQ... DO NOT go by Nesco's temp of 155 degrees, set it on a lower setting, I prefer 120°
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  • Check the texture after about 3 hours, and wait until it's getting leathery before you pull it. Pull it when it’s leathery but not to soft in the middle, it will continue to dry while it is resting. You want a leathery product that will crack like old leather when bent, if it breaks it is too dry.
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  • You want it to crack with the grain but not against the grain.  

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Test a piece, but remember, it will taste differently after it has had time to rest overnight, Leave it rest uncovered till the next day then vacuum seal. The flavors change and the texture gets a little drier.
  • Note the pink color, which is caused by the cure, THIS IS SAFE!
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When stored in the freezer, thaw in the unopened bag and let it get to room temperature before opening or else condensation can form on the jerky. Let the jerky rest open for a few hours before eating if you want to store on the counter, a loosely closed paper bag or plastic container with air holes poked in it will prevent mold however it will keep drying and becoming brittle.
  • I usualy Vac-Seal my jerky.
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General Jerky notes
  • London broil (Top Round), preferred, Flank steak will sometimes be labeled London Broil, London broils is actually a cooking method but for my sanity I will not go into detail, Google it!

  • I use 1.5 teaspoon of Morton[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] Tender Quick[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] to each 1lb of ground or thin sliced meat 1/4". Morton[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] Tender Quick[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup]suggests 1 tablespoon per/lb for thin sliced meat at 1/2", but their curing process is for a dry cure and for 1 hour which is different than what is outlined here. This is your decision!
  • The cure time can go for a few days if something prevents you from doing the smoke. Cure at least 24 hours for the jerky.
  • If Tender Quick is used omit all salt in the seasoning, and use soy sauces or any pre-made marinades with salt cautiously.
  • The Morton[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] Tender Quick[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] allows you to take your sweet time getting it dried out after smoking without worries of food borne illness.
  • If using a food dehydrator, you can use liquid smoke for a smoky flavor, I do not, set the Dehydrator on 120° maximum. The Nesco manual says 155° but that cooks the meat and the outside gets crusty, if you are using Morton[emoji]174[/emoji] Tender Quick[emoji]174[/emoji] you can dry it at much lower temps. Remember you want to dry it out, not cook it, I prefer 120°.
  • Another good tip is after slicing the meat, lay in a criss cross pattern, a sort of weave, and place in a covered dish then place in the refrigerator overnight. The next day pour off the liquid then place the meat in the cure and refrigerate another 24 hours.
  • Best luck has been with flavoring the outside of the jerky while still wet.
  • I have made lots of Jerky over the years without using cure and had never been ill from it, however after doing a bit of research about the "Danger Zone" , I decided to start using cure.

  • Slicing tip: freeze the meat about 2 hours in your freezer before slicing, this will make it easier to slice! Slice the meat against the grain for an easier chew and with the grain for a tougher chew, this is entirely up to you.

  • OPTIONAL: Place the meat in an uncovered dish in a criss-cross pattern, place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.Remove from the refrigerator and drain.
 
Here are a few recipes to toy around with, enjoy!

Honey Barbecue
For 4lbs.
  • 2 tsp coarse grind black pepper
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tbsp onion powder
  • ½ cup Apple juice
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup Soy Sauce
  • ¼ cup burgundy
  • 1.5 tsp Morton[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] Tender Quick[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] per pound of meat.(please read jerky notes about cure)
  • ¼ c. Honey
  • 1 cup Barbecue sauce
Slice the meat to your preferred thickness
Mix all ingredients except the last 2
Place meat in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for 24 hours.

After 24 hours remove from refrigerator, place meat in a colander remove meat and blot dry.
Brush one side with honey and the other side with Barbecue sauce, crack some pepper on each side and place in smoker or dehydrator.
 
Pepper Jerky
For 1-1.5lbs.
 ​
  • 1 Tbl. Worcestershire
  • ¼ cup Soy Sauce
  • 3 Tbl. Captain Morgan
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 Tbl coarse grind black pepper
  • 1.5 tsp Morton[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] Tender Quick[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] per pound of meat.(please read jerky notes about cure)

Slice the meat to your preferred thickness
Mix all ingredients
Place meat in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for 24 hours.

After 24 hours remove from refrigerator, place meat in a colander remove meat and crack some pepper on each side and place in smoker or dehydrator.

 
Spicy Orange
For 1-1.5 lbs.
  • zest from 1 orange
  • Juice from orange
  • 1 tsp orange extract
  • 2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ cup Soy Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire
  • ¼ cup cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
  • 1.5 tsp Morton[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] Tender Quick[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] per pound of meat. (please read jerky notes about cure)
Slice the meat to your preferred thickness
Mix all ingredients.
Place meat in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for 24 hours.

After 24 hours remove from refrigerator, place meat in a colander remove meat and crack some pepper on each side and place in smoker or dehydrator.
 
 
Honey Mustard
For 1-1.5 lbs.
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 heaping teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. Mustard Seed
  • 1/2 tsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp Rosemary
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1.5 tsp Morton[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] Tender Quick[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] per pound of meat. (please read jerky notes about cure)
  • ¼ cup honey
  • ¼ c. Dijon mustard
Slice the meat to your preferred thickness
Mix all ingredients except the last 2
Place meat in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for 24 hours.

After 24 hours remove from refrigerator, place meat in a colander remove meat and blot dry.
Brush one side with honey and the other side with Dijon mustard, crack some pepper on each side and place in smoker or dehydrator.
Burgundy Jerky
For 1-1.5 lbs.
  • 1/4 cup Merlot or burgundy
  • 1/4 red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 brown sugar, if using Dark Brown Sugar omit the molasses
  • 1 Table liquid smoke
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire
  • 3 garlic cloves chopped
  • 3 tbls Molasses, if not using Dark Brown Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon garlic
  • 1 Teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 Teaspoon red pepper
  • 1 Teaspoon Coarse Black Pepper
  • 1.5 tsp Morton[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] Tender Quick[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] per pound of meat. (please read jerky notes about cure)
Slice the meat to your preferred thickness
Mix all ingredients
Place meat in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Coconut Jerky
For 1-1.5 lbs.
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp chili powder
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp coconut extract
  • ½ c. coconut milk
  • 3 Tbsp Malibu coconut rum.
  • 1 cup Pineapple Juice
  • 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
  • 1.5 tsp Morton[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] Tender Quick[sup][emoji]174[/emoji][/sup] per pound of meat. (please read jerky notes about cure)
Slice the meat to your preferred thickness
Mix all ingredients
Place meat in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Teriyaki Jerky
For 1-1.5 lbs.
Slice the meat to your preferred thickness
Mix all ingredients
Place meat in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for 24 hours.
 
Awesome! Thanks for the replies everybody.

 It should be noted that this is literally what Sodium Nitrite does (inhibits bacterial growth.. or in other words, inhibits the ability of the cell to divide into and create more cells), except this way is completely normal, scientific, and natural. Sodium Nitrite tries doing it chemically, and with dangerous, known carcinogenic outcomes. Obviously not all chemicals are bad, but carcinogens are not a laughing matter. A carcinogen means that it is known to cause cancer (not believed to, no, it is known to result in it). It obviously may not manifest today, but it's the long-term effect of it. And with every dose of Sodium Nitrite you're taking in, you're just speeding it along. Eventually you're going to transform the wrong cell in the wrong way and.. you will have cancer on your hands.[/COLOR]



Holy Cow...... Another fear monger joins the group to preach to the choir.....
 
At Costco, they sell a "no preservative" or "preservative free" candian bacon.  Well, that sounds too good to be true, so I had to look.  I am not quoting but the statement on the package goes pretty close to this........ "there are no added nitrites except for those found in the celery product added to this food" - and it's cured in salt, so sodium nitrite is present.

So they use sodium nitrites, but as long as they come from celery juice they are good?  Other sources are bad?  I might be wrong but even the amount of nitrite that Pop recommends is barely above what celery juice would provide?

I like that what SMF preaches is a safe approach to food handling that mostly involves cleanliness and temperature.  Then a pretty low amount of any preservative is recommended for the holding or making of certain things.

None of us eat preservatives for fun or for a hobby. 
 
DaveOmak:

I presented all of the scientific evidence in the other thread (http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/163385/jerky-coming-out-too-wet-pre-dehydration) - I'm not here to ram anything down your throat, if you want to ignore the actual science being presented/explained to you by an actual scientist, that is entirely your decision and your responsibility. I have no bias in the matter, as a scientist I only believe in and follow where the actual facts lie, I don't believe in "hokum pokum" nonsense, I believe in actual verifiable science that you and I can both prove 100% of the time anywhere, any time of the day. Even during happy hour. I only care about actually helping people.

SQWIB:

Holy smokes, that was an awesome  post!! THANKS!! Unfortunately I noticed that it was all for solid/steak meat. I mentioned I thought rather clearly that I'm using ground  meat, which changes things and is what precipitated this thread. But for anybody reading that uses steak meat, I know those pictures will be very  useful in answering the question in this thread as it relates to steak  meat (i.e. 'whole muscle' slabs instead of ground meat). I know that if I ever use steaks in the future for using jerky, if I have the question on how to know when the jerky is done by a bend test, I will definitely  use that information you provided, so while it wasn't exactly pertinent to this thread (since my question is regarding ground  meat) it is still definitely appreciated!

And dang, some of those recipes sounded interesting and delicious! I think I'll want to try some of those. Honey Mustard Jerky? Hmmm..!

The original question behind this thread (still unanswered):

So, there is no known way to actually test whether ground meat jerky is done? That seems strange to me, I would think there would be some sort of test that could be performed. If I cut a piece and then wait 10 minutes before trying it, wouldn't that be subjective? (since the taste would be, basically, the same)

*What kind of test, etc. can I perform to assess the doneness of ground meat jerky? Simply tasting it is rather subjective and seems rather imprecise. Further, it sounds like the traditional bend test does not apply to ground meat. Or does somebody else know of a way to still apply it?

Appreciate the input guys 'n gals! Thanks! Feel free to keep it comin', it's all appreciated!

thumb1.gif
 
 
DaveOmak:

I presented all of the scientific evidence in the other thread (http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/163385/jerky-coming-out-too-wet-pre-dehydration) - I'm not here to ram anything down your throat, if you want to ignore the actual science being presented/explained to you by an actual scientist, that is entirely your decision and your responsibility. I have no bias in the matter, as a scientist I only believe in and follow where the actual facts lie, I don't believe in "hokum pokum" nonsense, I believe in actual verifiable science that you and I can both prove 100% of the time anywhere, any time of the day. Even during happy hour. I only care about actually helping people.

SQWIB:

Holy smokes, that was an awesome  post!! THANKS!! Unfortunately I noticed that it was all for solid/steak meat. I mentioned I thought rather clearly that I'm using ground  meat, which changes things and is what precipitated this thread. But for anybody reading that uses steak meat, I know those pictures will be very  useful in answering the question in this thread as it relates to steak  meat (i.e. 'whole muscle' slabs instead of ground meat). I know that if I ever use steaks in the future for using jerky, if I have the question on how to know when the jerky is done by a bend test, I will definitely  use that information you provided, so while it wasn't exactly pertinent to this thread (since my question is regarding ground  meat) it is still definitely appreciated!

And dang, some of those recipes sounded interesting and delicious! I think I'll want to try some of those. Honey Mustard Jerky? Hmmm..!

No problem, I posted this on my first post Not sure how this would work for Ground Turkey. In my haste did not put it into the 2nd post, sorry.

The original question behind this thread (still unanswered):

So, there is no known way to actually test whether ground meat jerky is done? That seems strange to me, I would think there would be some sort of test that could be performed. If I cut a piece and then wait 10 minutes before trying it, wouldn't that be subjective? (since the taste would be, basically, the same)

*What kind of test, etc. can I perform to assess the doneness of ground meat jerky? Simply tasting it is rather subjective and seems rather imprecise. Further, it sounds like the traditional bend test does not apply to ground meat. Or does somebody else know of a way to still apply it?

Appreciate the input guys 'n gals! Thanks! Feel free to keep it comin', it's all appreciated!

thumb1.gif
 
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