Beef Jerky - Two Ways

[illini40]

Good morning

I did beef jerky, two ways, this morning - whole muscle and ground. Both turned out really good.

Two Ways:
- 1lb of beef bottom round, with Hi Mountain’s Cracked Pepper ‘n Garlic seasoning and cure
- 2lbs of 93/7 ground beef with Hi Mountain’s Sweet & Spicy seasoning and cure

Cook recap:
- both batches sat in the fridge overnight
- total cook time was 3.5 hours on the Traeger
- ran on the Smoke setting for 2.5 hours
- then ran at the 180* setting for 1 hour
- ran Traeger Signature Blend pellets

Seasoning and cure ready to sit:

On racks before going on the smoker:

Two hours into the smoke:

Finished product:

 

[73saint]

That looks awesome! Not sure why, but I’ve yet to make jerky. I really want to though.

 

[illini40]

That looks awesome! Not sure why, but I’ve yet to make jerky. I really want to though.

Thank you! Jerky is actually really easy to do, and I would encourage anyone to try it. This is probably my 4th batch of ground meat jerky and 1st time with whole muscle.

 

[73saint]

Thank you! Jerky is actually really easy to do, and I would encourage anyone to try it. This is probably my 4th batch of ground meat jerky and 1st time with whole muscle.

Did you just cut the whole muscle neat with a knife? How thin do you have to get it?

 

[illini40]

Did you just cut the whole muscle neat with a knife? How thin do you have to get it?

Yes - I just used a sharp chef knife to slice the roast. I put it in the freezer for probably 45 minutes before slicing to firm it up - definitely helps if just slicing with a knife.

Mine slices varied but probably between 1/8” to 1/4” thick.

If you have access to a meat slicer, it would work really well, but totally not necessary. My pieces were fine - just not super consistent or pretty.

 

[Winterrider]

Looks like a job well done...

 

[illini40]

Looks like a job well done...

Thank you!

 

[crazymoon]

I40, Nice job on your jerky,both types look awesome!

 

[illini40]

I40, Nice job on your jerky,both types look awesome!

Thanks Crazy Moon!

 

[HalfSmoked]

Looks great I've made beef sticks with ground beef no casing but I like your idea for jerky I have that type of tip for my jerky gun. A definite try.

Warren

 

[maplenut]

Looks great, nice color.
I have been wanting to do jerky and seeing this may get the ball rolling for me.

 

[illini40]

Looks great I've made beef sticks with ground beef no casing but I like your idea for jerky I have that type of tip for my jerky gun. A definite try.

Warren

Thanks Warren. For your stocks, were you just using the tube tip for your jerky gun? How did it work out?

Looks great, nice color.
I have been wanting to do jerky and seeing this may get the ball rolling for me.

Thank you. Definitely give jerky a try. Easy and tasty.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Yup just used the I think 1/2" tip squeezed out on a screen and did them no casing turned out real nice.

Warren

 

[GaryHibbert]

Nice job on both kinds of jerky. beautiful color.
I generally make jerky from ground meat--100% beef, 50/50 beef & pork, and 100% pork. All 3 are great.
Gary

 

[Texan4ut]

Looks good. I made 5 pounds on Sunday using Hi Mountain Hickory Blend. I bought a 6 pound roast on sale 1.99 a pound, trimmed the fat and ground it up. I put mine in my dehydrator for about 10 hours. I use the hickory blend when I use the dehydrator so I have some smokey taste.

 

[mrsevil]

Did you add water to your ground meat or just the seasonings?

 

[Texan4ut]

Did you add water to your ground meat or just the seasonings?

The seasoning blend says to add water 1/4 cup ice water per pound of meat.