New to Jerkey...

lovinsmokin · Feb 10, 2008

Just got a jerky kit from Cabellas, not sure how to use it. Looks like it uses ground beef. It has a jerkey pistol, looks like a caulk gun. No instructions, or info sheets. Curious if we should use a leaner meat, or a little fattier. I suppose that could depend on what kinda jerky you favor. And we got some jerky seasoning packages, not sure what else we need to do to prepare it...any links, suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated! Didn't do much research on this one, just an impulse buy.

richtee · Feb 10, 2008

Hia Lovin- Yeah it's for ground meat. LEAN gound meat. I believe it needs to be a fairly fine grind too. I don't use those set-ups but some folks here do... sorry I could not be more help.

lovinsmokin · Feb 10, 2008

Not good setups in your opinion? We were just cruisin thru Cabellas yesterday lookin at Bradleys smokers and saw the kits. Looked easy enough.

richtee · Feb 10, 2008

Well, not that it's not good... I just prefer the whole meat jerky. Preference is all...many do the ground. I tease 'em about making artificial jerky tho LOL!

pigcicles · Feb 10, 2008

I've had some pretty good tasting ground jerky, but I'm with Rich on the sliced type though. The jerky shooters are a handy thing to have if you want to whip out some quick jerky.

I don't have one either so can't give you the ins and outs to them, but should be pretty straight forward - mix your meat and spices, load, squirt, smoke N dry.

Let us know how it works and comes out for you.

kookie · Feb 10, 2008

I have the Lem jerky cannon, it's basicly the same as yours. You want to use meat on the leaner side of things. I use like 83% or leaner ground beef. I put the burger in a ziplock bag and then add my seasonings and follow the directions on the mix packet, then I mix it all in the ziplock bag and close it and let it sit in the frige overnight to marinade. Then the next morning I use the cannon to shoot it out on to my jerky screens and then put in the smoker. Or you can use your oven also. Not sure what you have for a smoker. Hope this helps.....

lovinsmokin · Feb 10, 2008

That sounds exactly like what we're doing Kookie! Gonna give er a go with just letting it marinate for a few hours...see how that turns out. Keepn my fingers crossed....I prefer letting it sit overnight, but someone's getting impatient, not good for a smoker eh?

kookie · Feb 10, 2008

If you got a foodsaver or someother vac sealer, you can put the meat in a vac bag and vac and seal it then put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to marinade and that is about the same as overnight then normal way.......

bigarm's smokin · Feb 10, 2008

I don't have a jerky cannon, but I made a jerky tube for my meat grinder, it works well, but is a two man operation. I too, would use lean ground beef, regular sliced jerky meat has NO fat, but I suppose it takes a little fat to hold the ground meat togather.

I mix the spice and meat and let it sit for 24 hrs in the fridge before smoking it.

travcoman45 · Feb 11, 2008

I've got a jerky gun as well, like mine alot. I use 85 or 90 percent ground beef in mine. I use either a store bought seasoning kit or the fun part, experiment with flavors! Terryaki is very good, I've also made chilli flavor before as well. Lemon pepper, and cajun were good also. I use a dehydrator to make my jerky, will also use the smoker when I get the new one built.

I like the ground jerky because it is a bit more like the beef sticks you can buy. It is just my preference. Good luck!

walking dude · Feb 11, 2008

what every one else said.......we have one and use it alot.......but i got 12 lbs of venison i am going to turn into jerky..........

also.........what travcoman said

minn.bill · Feb 11, 2008

i make a lot of jerky every year probably 50/50 on ground or sliced i lovem both and so wiil you. with the ground i never let it sit figure it cant get any more mixed than by handin hamberger with the sliced i will let it marinade good luck and you wont regret your buy.ps i actually prefer it in the dehydrater over the smoker.or smoked just a while for flaver and then in the dehydrator

walking dude · Feb 11, 2008

thats what i do bill.........give it some smoke........and finish up in the de-hydrated.............

lovinsmokin · Feb 13, 2008

All went VERY well! We love it! We cheated for beginners and tried a premade seasoning, and I think it was grrrreat. May be a bit spicy/salty for some. Will absolutely try the teryaki, that seems to be our favorite flavor. This did turn out like the beef sticks, which I love. He likes the thinner, solid meats (which I told him he would

) so, now, we can make our own! Thanks so much for all the tips and ideas! For sure not disappointed with our buy!

richtee · Feb 13, 2008

Glad to hear it worked out. Now ya gotta make some "real" jerky for him ;{)

lovinsmokin · Feb 16, 2008

Well it ended up very well! Jerky turned out grrrreat! Just like the 'Jack Links' kind I like. Going to try some other recipes this weekend. 3lbs meat sure does make a good batch of jerky!

jerkyaddict · Feb 16, 2008

aaaggghhh...........jerky.....so many way's , sooo many meat's , and it is all golden to the taste bud's . glad to hear you came out good.....keep experimenting this is a big big world in smoke'd meats , you can jerky just about anything you can catch , kill , or buy in a market and it's all good meat's fish and poultry too....have fun with that...

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