85% Lean Ground Beef for Jerky?

[sandyut]

I may have messed up...I was in a rush a Costco and picked up 4lbs of 85% lean ground beef for jerky. I was looking at the cost not the leanness.

Most of that I read online says 90% or higher is best. Is it really a deal breaker to have the extra 5% fat? I am using premade mix and cure. I keep the finished product in the freezer and fridge, never room temp. Thoughts?

I was reading a thread on here about snack sticks and it sounded like guys were running higher fat content in snack sticks?

Thanks

 

[Steve H]

I may have messed up...I was in a rush a Costco and picked up 4lbs of 85% lean ground beef for jerky. I was looking at the cost not the leanness.

Most of that I read online says 90% or higher is best. Is it really a deal breaker to have the extra 5% fat? I am using premade mix and cure. I keep the finished product in the freezer and fridge, never room temp. Thoughts?

I was reading a thread on here about snack sticks and it sounded like guys were running higher fat content in snack sticks?

Thanks

You could add a pound of 97 %. That would get you pretty much in the ball park.

 

[JckDanls 07]

You could add a pound of 97 %. That would get you pretty much in the ball park.

Should help ...

Most people like as fat free as possible for jerky... Snack sticks you look for around 70/30

 

[SMOKEOCD]

I think it’s just the expected texture of the jerky may be slightly different. Change your jerky nozzle and make skinless snack sticks and you’re back in range. Makes perfect sense. The issue won’t be storage/safety. You keep it in the fridge/freezer, it’s cured and how long is 4 lbs going to last anyway?

 

[sandyut]

You could add a pound of 97 %. That would get you pretty much in the ball park.

Brilliant! Many Thanks!!

Should help ...

Most people like as fat free as possible for jerky... Snack sticks you look for around 70/30

I was thinking I may just try the caseless sticks.

I think it’s just the expected texture of the jerky may be slightly different. Change your jerky nozzle and make skinless snack sticks and you’re back in range. Makes perfect sense. The issue won’t be storage/safety. You keep it in the fridge/freezer, it’s cured and how long is 4 lbs going to last anyway?

Not long. First batch ever was 2lb and I have once bag left in the freezer.

 

[chopsaw]

Worst case is you have a film of fat on the surface after putting in the fridge . I just wipe it off .
Something that thin should force " too much fat " out of it .

 

[Winterrider]

Yep like @chopsaw said, may have a slight greasy film (will turn white after chilled), wipe and would be.good to go. Fat or fatty meat used to make jerky has a tendency to turn rancid quicker thus the reason for using lean .
Steve had a good idea

 

[Fueling Around]

Very lean meat (as in venison) I make the ground jerky as a loaf and slice after smoking and drying. I think I learned that from @Winterrider and it is a great method.
Fattier meat I would use the strip method and smoke to dry and place the hot strips on paper to suck up the grease.

Steve @Steve H had a great suggestion to dilute with low fat ground, but I have never seen lower than 93% so not much gain.

 

[sandyut]

Gonna go with the mix with 96% (leanest they have in my parts).

Do you guys let the mix rest over night in the refer? One mix says to do this and the other just says mix and go. Does it matter much?

 

[chopsaw]

David , I don't do a lot of it , but I'm a 3 day mix everyday guy . Comes from my Tender quick sausage days .
I would go overnight at least .
Make sure you look close at the mix . Some have different amounts for ground and whole muscle .

 

[pineywoods]

I do overnight then proceed personally

 

[SMOKEOCD]

If you haven’t mixed it up yet, you can set aside a meatball size test batch to see the difference with higher fat content. Just for scientific purposes.

 

[sandyut]

David , I don't do a lot of it , but I'm a 3 day mix everyday guy . Comes from my Tender quick sausage days .
I would go overnight at least .
Make sure you look close at the mix . Some have different amounts for ground and whole muscle .

Yup, At least overnight sounds better to me too.

I do overnight then proceed personally

Thats what I was thinking too. Many thanks

 

[Steve H]

Yup. Overnight here too. Though, I've gone two days a couple of times due to schedule conflicts. Was fine though.

 

[sandyut]

Did the mix with 85% and 96% using the LEM backwoods and some red pepper flakes, overnight rest. 4 hours at 165 - turned out great!

thankyou @Steve H @pineywoods @chopsaw @Winterrider @Fueling Around !! Y'all helped get me through. Much appreciated!