Before you give up, try a couple of things:
1. Cut the meat yourself.
Possibly the "butcher" wasn't a butcher, but someone who did not understand to cut the meat across the grain to make it easier to consume. Cutting Jerky seems to be beneath many among the Cleveroligists.
An automatic slicer has no brain to read the grain in whole meat muscle. If whole meat muscle is cut
with the grain it can be near impossible to tear it off with your teeth. And I suspect these things may have happened to your meat.
2. Try some ground beef Jerky.
It's a little tricky in getting the taste 'right'. But it's can be really easy. Some of my earliest batches tasted more like hamburger than jerky. But
I found a recipe I like for burger Jerky, and I've added a touch of heat with (1/2 tsp) Cyan pepper powder, and some (1/4 tsp) Smoked Paprika.
But you can mix it, and flatten it out right away, rack it, dry it, and enjoy it. No marinading required. (I do prefer to let mine rest in the fridge for an hour or two, to let the flavors blend.)
Now, you do want to get the leanest ground beef you can. Sams Club sell lean ground beef that is 90/10. But a local Butcher shop sells 93/7. So that second number wants to be as small as you can find. More meat, less fat.
If you use pre-packaged Jerky Seasoning everything is there, just follow the instructions.
But I like to be.. um.. adventurous. So
I finally got some Prague Powder, and that's the basis for many Jerky recipes. I've read where it adds a distinctive flavor to the meat as well as help preserve it. Others say it adds no taste.
My Jerky tastes better, to me, with it. And it comes in a pound plastic jar. But only takes 1/4 tsp per pound.
But do not add it to pre-packaged seasonings. And do not use it for other things.
The first thing I did with my new
dehydrator was fruit. It was something our 4 year old granddaughter could help with. I cut, she placed the pieces. Then I made some fruit roll ups. Before making Jerky.
Fruit roll-ups taught me the need to grease my racks or trays. Now I don't put anything on bare-footed. I take some cooking oil, put a dab on a folded paper towel, and moisten the racks where food will rest.
Or lay down some parchment paper for fruits and purees.
Lubin the screen or racks is a step in my process. A hard learned step. :eek:
