Can someone give me some direction for Turkey Jerky ???

[polarlys]

I've been making jerky for awhile with good results and would like to give some thought to making some using turkey ??? How successful have other makers been using turkey ??? What is the best method, ground or sliced ??

ThanX all in advance,

Roger from NJ

 

[jokensmoken]

I've done pork loin and turkey breast jerky a few times with great results...IMHO sometimes with better results...I think it's because of the low fat content in loin and turkey breast...
Techniques are very much the same...
I slice just as I would if using beef or venison.
I use the same marinating and smoking procedures and similar recipies but leaning more towards the sweet teriyaki type recipes instead of the hot or spicy recipes...
Good luck and post some pics...
We do love our food porn...lol..
Walt.

 

[polarlys]

ThanX Walt. With Beef I don't worry too much about temperature but something tells me it's much more concerning using turkey or pork. What guidelines do you follow ??? Do use prague powder and what proportion ?? Have you used ground turkey to make any ???
Making some beef today but giving some thought to the turkey

Roger from NJ

 

[jokensmoken]

I do use prague... I follow the exact same per pound recomendations for beef...
However, I've made it without also...the jerky just doesnt have the same longevity and needs to be refrigerated.
I have noticed that without prague you lose a bit of that "old fashioned" jerky flavor...its hard to explain...
For a long time I didn't use any curing salts due to all the "health" concerns...i got great jerky but it just lacked the flavor profile I remembered as a kid...
When I used prague the first time it was like "THERE IT IS"...the missing link...
You have to make sure your jerky reaches the minimum safe serve temperatures for the particular meat your using during the drying/cooking/smoking/dehydrating...
Pork loin jerky smoking temps are exactly as beef...I run about 200° until I achieve sate serve temp of 145° then back off to 120° till I get the bend I want...
For turkey, I do about the same but I back off the initial temps to about 180°...then drop to 120°...
Turkey is a bit more "delicate" and i run slightly lower temps...
I did get really good results the first couple times doing both turkey and pork loin EXACTLY the same as beef...
I've only tweeked the temps a bit...everything else is pretty much the same...
There are some good Turkey recipies on the net...I've never searched this site for turkey jerky recipies...