Pork Loin Jerky (Step by Step with Pics)
I saw this done by at least 3 different guys, so I combined the things they did, and came up with what I did below.
Pork Loin (not Pork Tenderloin) is a very lean cut of meat, which is what you want for Jerky, and it costs less than half as much as Lean Beef. This Loin was $1.68 LB.
I made a few changes in what I actually did to make it even better than my first batch came out.
So I began with about 6 pounds of Boneless Pork Loin. I trimmed off everything that wasn’t nice solid red meat. You can save the trimmings for sausage or anything that suits your fancy. Then I sliced it all into 1/4” thick slices. Then I mixed up the following batch of Curing & Seasoning Brine:
Curing & Seasoning Brine (Per pound of Meat):
Tender Quick———————————1/2 TBS
Brown Sugar———————————3/4 TBS
Black Pepper———————————1 tsp
Cayenne—————————————1/4 tsp
Garlic Powder——————————1/2 tsp
Onion Powder——————————1/2 tsp
Ground Ginger——————————1/2 tsp
Worcestershire Original——————1/2 ounce
White Wine————————————1/2 ounce
Water———————————————1 ounce
Mix this all real good, until the Brown sugar dissolves.
Then I drop 1 piece at a time into the Marinade (Brine), to be sure each piece gets a good coating on both sides, and from there into the Ziplock bag.
After all pieces have been tossed into the bag, I dumped the rest of the Marinade into the bag with the meat (not much left).
Then I put that bag on a tray (in case of a leak), and into the fridge for 24 hours.
During that 24 hours, I flip the bag over every 2 hours, and reach inside the bag a couple times to stir the pieces around, so the inside pieces get a turn on the outside.
Then after 24 hours, I rinse all the pieces off & put them on paper towels to pat dry.
Now it’s time to put in Smoker:
8:00—————Put all pieces on top 4 racks of my 6 rack MES 40. (I put Frog Mats & Q-Mats on racks first)
8:00—————Start Smoker & set to maintain 140° of heat.
8:30—————Fill two rows of my AMNS with Hickory Dust, and light one end.
10:00————-Put AMNS on bottom rack on left end (away from heating element)
12:00————-Bump heat up to maintain 150° of heat.
4:00—————All pieces are dark reddish color, and they crack when bent, without breaking.
4:00—————Remove from Smoker & take in house, lay out to cool.
Then put all the pieces in a big Zip lock, leave the bag open and put in fridge over night.
Next day I kept a few pieces and gave all the rest to my Son. He loves Jerky!!
This stuff really is Great, and so much cheaper than Beef Jerky!
Thanks for looking, and enjoy the Pics.
Bear
About two thirds of a Boneless Pork Loin after trimming down to pure Red Meat only:
All sliced up into 1/4” slices of 4 pounds, 8 ounces of Pork Loin:
Mixing up my Curing & Seasoning Brine:
Each piece goes into the Brine one at a time:
Then each piece goes into the Ziplock:
All 4.5 pounds goes into the fridge for 24 hours, flipping & mixing every 2 hours:
4 Racks full goes into my MES 40:
Some of the pieces cooling before bagging:
A plate full of Great Tasting Pork Jerky:
I saw this done by at least 3 different guys, so I combined the things they did, and came up with what I did below.
Pork Loin (not Pork Tenderloin) is a very lean cut of meat, which is what you want for Jerky, and it costs less than half as much as Lean Beef. This Loin was $1.68 LB.
I made a few changes in what I actually did to make it even better than my first batch came out.
So I began with about 6 pounds of Boneless Pork Loin. I trimmed off everything that wasn’t nice solid red meat. You can save the trimmings for sausage or anything that suits your fancy. Then I sliced it all into 1/4” thick slices. Then I mixed up the following batch of Curing & Seasoning Brine:
Curing & Seasoning Brine (Per pound of Meat):
Tender Quick———————————1/2 TBS
Brown Sugar———————————3/4 TBS
Black Pepper———————————1 tsp
Cayenne—————————————1/4 tsp
Garlic Powder——————————1/2 tsp
Onion Powder——————————1/2 tsp
Ground Ginger——————————1/2 tsp
Worcestershire Original——————1/2 ounce
White Wine————————————1/2 ounce
Water———————————————1 ounce
Mix this all real good, until the Brown sugar dissolves.
Then I drop 1 piece at a time into the Marinade (Brine), to be sure each piece gets a good coating on both sides, and from there into the Ziplock bag.
After all pieces have been tossed into the bag, I dumped the rest of the Marinade into the bag with the meat (not much left).
Then I put that bag on a tray (in case of a leak), and into the fridge for 24 hours.
During that 24 hours, I flip the bag over every 2 hours, and reach inside the bag a couple times to stir the pieces around, so the inside pieces get a turn on the outside.
Then after 24 hours, I rinse all the pieces off & put them on paper towels to pat dry.
Now it’s time to put in Smoker:
8:00—————Put all pieces on top 4 racks of my 6 rack MES 40. (I put Frog Mats & Q-Mats on racks first)
8:00—————Start Smoker & set to maintain 140° of heat.
8:30—————Fill two rows of my AMNS with Hickory Dust, and light one end.
10:00————-Put AMNS on bottom rack on left end (away from heating element)
12:00————-Bump heat up to maintain 150° of heat.
4:00—————All pieces are dark reddish color, and they crack when bent, without breaking.
4:00—————Remove from Smoker & take in house, lay out to cool.
Then put all the pieces in a big Zip lock, leave the bag open and put in fridge over night.
Next day I kept a few pieces and gave all the rest to my Son. He loves Jerky!!
This stuff really is Great, and so much cheaper than Beef Jerky!
Thanks for looking, and enjoy the Pics.
Bear
About two thirds of a Boneless Pork Loin after trimming down to pure Red Meat only:
All sliced up into 1/4” slices of 4 pounds, 8 ounces of Pork Loin:
Mixing up my Curing & Seasoning Brine:
Each piece goes into the Brine one at a time:
Then each piece goes into the Ziplock:
All 4.5 pounds goes into the fridge for 24 hours, flipping & mixing every 2 hours:
4 Racks full goes into my MES 40:
Some of the pieces cooling before bagging:
A plate full of Great Tasting Pork Jerky:
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