Anyone use Lemon or Lime Juice in Jerky Marinade?

[dougmays]

hey guys,

i'm thinking of trying a Chipotle Lime jerky....i'm thinking standard ingredients (soy, curing salt, etc...) and addding in chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and lime. Now i was thinking i'd use Lime zest as well as the juice from the lime...but i'm not sure if the acidity in the Lime juice would ruin the marinating process? will it "cook the meat while marinating? or am i good to go with this process?

anyone have any experience with this? if the acid will cook or break apart the meat i could just use Zest. Or maybe cut the lime juice with water?

 

[Dutch]

Doug, I've used lime juice before in marinades and it comes down to 1) how long you plan to marinade and 2) how diluted the lime juice is .  As far as using the zest of the lime, I' zest about 1/4th of the lime and then place the flat side of a wide knife or cleaver on the zest (still on cutting board) and then strike the other side of knife/cleaver with the other hand while dragging the blade over the zest.  This will bruise the zest and release more citrus oil into the marinade.  If I recall, I've used about 1 1/2 tablespoons worth of juice and marinade the meat for 4-6 hours.

 

[dougmays]

thanks Dutch! i'm going to try that zest "smear" method haha

I cure my jerky for about 24-36 hours so i'm thinking having any lime juice in there will ruin it.
 

 

[smokegoddess]

I don't know if this will work or not - but if you go to a Persian grocery store (we have a few here in Winnipeg) you can find Lime powder (dehydrated limes then crushed) - it's a very instense flavor.

 

[dougmays]

I don't know if this will work or not - but if you go to a Persian grocery store (we have a few here in Winnipeg) you can find Lime powder (dehydrated limes then crushed) - it's a very instense flavor.

that's interesting! i could even make that myself possibly. would dehydrating take the acidity out?

 

[smokegoddess]

You know - I'm not sure - but I would think so, I've used it to marinate some chicken breast for the grill (with yougurt and cayenne) and it never looked like it started to 'cook' it

 

[pellet]

Just last weekend I did ribs and marinated over night in a premixed margrita. Turned out great. The lime was just right I thought.

 

[smokegoddess]

that sounds awesome!! what brand did you use?

 

[jrtiberius]

I just made a batch of Chili-Lime Beef Jerky and it turned out great!

Here is what I did...

To 1 lb or lean London broil sliced to 1/8 inch

add the zest and juice of 2 limes

1 tsp ground coriander

1 sliced jalapeno with seeds

1 teaspoon of sea salt.

3 tbsp sugar

Marinated 4 hours

 

[bigwheel]

Sounds good. Was fixing to take a wild guess the lime juice would be good in there. All marinades I ever heard about have an acidic component and lime juice bound to be pretty acidic. Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) is also a great addition to cured meats and know limes have a lot of that. Thanks for the recipe.

 

[foog]

You can find the whole dehydrated limes the same way and yes the lime flavor it imparts is strong and very good at least to my taste.

Aaron