Commercial marinates from Amazon

[Captain Jim1]

Being new to cooking with my Memphis Elevate pellet smoker, I'm seeing posts about beef jerky. I want to try it. I see that Amazon has several premade marinades and kits or mixes for marinating. Does anyone have any experience with these or another source for making a marinade for my first jerky cook?

 

[normanaj]

What I would say is post up the specific ones you're interested in so that you can some decent feedback, Amazon carries a lot and narrowing it down will get you better answers.

 

[BigW.]

Are you wanting to do ground meat or whole muscle. Making your own marinade is very easy. Several recipes here. As far as pre-made kits...Sausage Maker, PS Seasonings or A.C Legg are options. If you buy cure #1, most of the other ingredients you have on hand already. Worcestershire, soy, black pepper, crushed red pepper, garlic powder, and teriyaki sauce are all common ingredients.

 

[chopsaw]

Here's the link for the jerky page if you haven't looked at it .
Some good formulas in there if you want to mix up your own .

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forums/making-jerky.131/

 

[Captain Jim1]

Are you wanting to do ground meat or whole muscle. Making your own marinade is very easy. Several recipes here. As far as pre-made kits...Sausage Maker, PS Seasonings or A.C Legg are options. If you buy cure #1, most of the other ingredients you have on hand already. Worcestershire, soy, black pepper, crushed red pepper, garlic powder, and teriyaki sauce are all common ingredients.

I've seen videos using eye of round. Thinking about doing that. Meat doesn't coct much and if I ruin it, not a big loss.
But, I'm hoping for a great snack to share with friends and neighbors.

 

[cptnding]

Eye of round works great. It's what I almost always use.
PS Seasoning is my go to brand for kits. Out of curiosity I checked and it's available on Amazon however the price is much lower on their own web site but you have to order $49 for free shipping. You might not want that much just to give it a try. Our favorite is their Sweet and Hot kit. Unless you are very sensitive to spicy it's not actually hot at all. My wife thinks jalapenos are too hot and she loves it.
If you've watched some videos I'm sure you've seen this but be careful about overcooking it. It will harden up quite a bit after you take it off the smoker and it cools off.
Good luck with whatever you decide to go with! It's gonna be good!

 

[jcam222]

I try not to toot my horn often but if you wanna give this a go it's darn near a guaranteed pleaser if you like the flavor. My friends and friends of friends beg for it. Recipe is messy in a pic of my handwritten notes further down in the thread. As a bonus you can usually find whole loin for $1.99 a lbs and it ends up every bit as good as beef. https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/asian-chili-garlic-pork-jerky.324235/

 

[pineywoods]

I've used several of the Hi Mountain jerky seasoning kits that have all yielded a pretty good product

 

[cptnding]

I try not to toot my horn often but if you wanna give this a go it's darn near a guaranteed pleaser if you like the flavor. My friends and friends of friends beg for it. Recipe is messy in a pic of my handwritten notes further down in the thread. As a bonus you can usually find whole loin for $1.99 a lbs and it ends up every bit as good as beef. https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/asian-chili-garlic-pork-jerky.324235/

Looks interesting. I already have everything in there except for fish sauce and swerve.
Is the amount of swerve interchangeable with regular sugar? And what is the garlic chili sauce you're using? Something like sriracha?

 

[Fueling Around]

I've seen videos using eye of round. Thinking about doing that. Meat doesn't coct much and if I ruin it, not a big loss.
...

You must be gifted with a freezer full of cheap meat.
Beef is out of control for prices and pork isn't much better.
The last I purchased a whole eye of round was on sale for $6 a pound

 

[cptnding]

You must be gifted with a freezer full of cheap meat.
Beef is out of control for prices and pork isn't much better.
The last I purchased a whole eye of round was on sale for $6 a pound

It's all relative to what is now. $6 a pound for eye of round hurts my feelings but not as bad as $18-$20 a pound steaks. Still the lowest price beef cut and it makes good jerky.

 

[jcam222]

Looks interesting. I already have everything in there except for fish sauce and swerve.
Is the amount of swerve interchangeable with regular sugar? And what is the garlic chili sauce you're using? Something like sriracha?

Definitely can sub the swerve for regular brown and the chili sauce is Huy Fong which is widely available again.

 

[GatorAGR]

My first jerky trials were done with Hi-Mountain from Cabela's. They sell a variety pack that allows you to try different flavor profiles and get the preparation technique (curing, seasoning) down. From there you can move on to creating your own blends. I found it to be a great way to get in the game. I also use eye of round for my meat. Good luck! Jerky is super fun and rewarding to make.

 

[okie sawbones]

I've used several of the Hi Mountain jerky seasoning kits that have all yielded a pretty good product

As have I. My favorites are Hickory and Original.

 

[GatorAGR]

As have I. My favorites are Hickory and Original.

Same.

 

[zwiller]

I was in the one of the Christmas Exchanges in the past and got some STELLAR jerky. Like better than store. Asked the guy sheepishly for tips assuming he had spent a decade or 2 refining his process. To my shock he told me it was Owen's Seasoning. If you have family that eats it you will be a legend after making some. The mixes include the smoke as well so dehydrator not smoker.

https://www.owensbbq.com/collections/jerky-mixes

 

[crazymoon]

EOR Teriyaki Jerky- CJ1, Check this recipe out if you want to dabble in your own spice, it is a keeper​

 

[sandyut]

I've used several of the Hi Mountain jerky seasoning kits that have all yielded a pretty good product

Thanks for this recommendation. Gonna need to try the original and then more if all goes well.

Did you dehydrate or smoke the jerky?

 

[Captain Jim1]

I've ordered the hot and sweet. Sounds good. I'll let you know how it comes out.

 

[pineywoods]

Thanks for this recommendation. Gonna need to try the original and then more if all goes well.

Did you dehydrate or smoke the jerky?

We dehydrated it not really set up to smoke it yet