First go at making home-made beef jerky.. Turned out horrible. What did I do wrong?

[highpitchsolo]

I did a lot of research on both home-made and store-bought dehydrators.. I've seen the $10 jerky maker, Alton Brown's fan/filter dryer, and several others, but I decided to buy an electric dehydrator. After researching recipes, I saw that a lot of experts recommended drying jerky at only around 100 degrees Fahrenheit or less, instead of the FDA-recommended 160 degrees.. Alton Brown's design uses absolutely no heat at all.. So with my dehydrator, instead of setting it to cook at 160 degrees, I tried doing it at 95.

I used flank steak, and marinaded the sliced meat for 3 hours, one batch in just teriyaki sauce, one in just BBQ sauce, and the last with this more complex recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/beef-jerky-recipe/index.html

My strips were cut about 3/16ths of an inch thick, and after dehydrating for 12 hours, I tore one in half and noticed it was still red on the inside. 6 hours later, it looked cooked through, and I tried a piece, but it tasted almost rancid.. The jerky has been in at 95 degrees for over 20 hours now, and all three are absolutely terrible tasting. I think they are spoiled.. What did I do wrong? I was using fresh meat from a reputable grocery store.. How did it turn out so awful?

 

[shtrdave]

You no doubt have meat that is bad, the ways you have made the three batches none had any type of cure in it, a special salt that allows meat to stay bacteria free at the lower temps. AB's recipe had ample amounts of salt in it with the WC sauce and the soy sauce plus the honey will help shield from bacteria some.

The next time look for a jerky kit. High Mountain is a good one available almost everywhere any more, I use Cabelas kits and there are many others out there.

I usually do my jerky in the marinade for 4 or 5 days in the bottom of the fridge, then dry at 150 for maybe 7 hours in a dehydrator, I don't have a smokers I can get my desired results with.

Good luck and try again, even use the search for jerky recipes here.

Welcome to SMF
 

 

[highpitchsolo]

You no doubt have meat that is bad, the ways you have made the three batches none had any type of cure in it, a special salt that allows meat to stay bacteria free at the lower temps. AB's recipe had ample amounts of salt in it with the WC sauce and the soy sauce plus the honey will help shield from bacteria some.

The next time look for a jerky kit. High Mountain is a good one available almost everywhere any more, I use Cabelas kits and there are many others out there.

I usually do my jerky in the marinade for 4 or 5 days in the bottom of the fridge, then dry at 150 for maybe 7 hours in a dehydrator, I don't have a smokers I can get my desired results with.

Good luck and try again, even use the search for jerky recipes here.

Welcome to SMF
 

So it just spoiled from not having a cure? I thought about cures, but the recipes I looked at never said you needed them.. Just a little bit of salt for flavor was all they mentioned.. I will look for a cure kit, but I live in California, and there are no Cabelas here. I will dry mine at a higher temperature next time as well.. Thanks for the reply.

 

[nybbq]

I have been doing jerky for a while now and came up with one way to make it. I did try many other ways but did not like them. Marinate the meat for 24 hrs in the fridge then drain. I like to put the meat in a smoker and give it a quick smoke( 1 hr or so) then move it to an oven and finish at 170F until its dry. I find the key is low and slow at 170f so it does not get hard and tough. I like to use a wire rack to dry the meat in an oven and turn as needed while it drys.

To marinate I like to start with 1 cup Soy sauce, 1 cup Worcestershire and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Add what other spice you like from there.

 

[fpnmf]

Here's my opinion....

You cut it too thick...

I have been making jerky the same way for many years..using this recipe with variations.. http://homecooking.about.com/od/beefrecipes/r/blbeef98.htm

Usually no cure or liquid smoke...

One of the round electric el cheapo dehydrators...

Never had a problem..always great jerky..

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?736-Curing-Salts

 

[highpitchsolo]

I have been doing jerky for a while now and came up with one way to make it. I did try many other ways but did not like them. Marinate the meat for 24 hrs in the fridge then drain. I like to put the meat in a smoker and give it a quick smoke( 1 hr or so) then move it to an oven and finish at 170F until its dry. I find the key is low and slow at 170f so it does not get hard and tough. I like to use a wire rack to dry the meat in an oven and turn as needed while it drys.

To marinate I like to start with 1 cup Soy sauce, 1 cup Worcestershire and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Add what other spice you like from there.

170 degrees is low? My dehydrator only goes up to 160, and I have heard of people drying jerky at 40 degrees with cool wind! Also, I don't have a smoker..

 

[forluvofsmoke]

I used to watch Alton Brown's shows when I got bored, until I realized I wasting my time while he tried to pump people full of crap with unsafe or unproven methods for food prep/cooking ( I quit Alton years ago, and I'm still hacking up the crud). Use USDA recommended methods or cure the meat...not much else to it. If you use a safe method you can't go wrong with jerky.

I think this will tell the rest of the story for me:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/fo...-steak-jerky-from-bottom-round-in-sv24-q-view

Eric

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Dry curing is a well proven method of food prep.
I'm not attempting to defend Alton, per se, but I'm not for fear mongering either.
What Alton is doing is a fast method of dry curing (which in itself is a safety benefit), not really unlike how proscuitto, country ham, bresola, lomo, traditional fermented sausages, etc. are cured.
For extra safety, use cure, up the salt to 3-3.5% and dry at low temperature.
I usually dry mine at fridge temperatures....it's MUCH better than the cooked stuff!!!


~Martin

 

[nybbq]

I started at higher temps and just kept working down to 170. Each time I went lower with the temps the meat was better and better, dry but not like leather and easy to eat.I don't like it so tough that It hard to get a bite of it. I used a dehydrator but did not like what I was getting out of it. You don't need to smoke it at all, I did just to try something different and it was great !! As long as I have the time for a quick smoke that how I do it every time. Add some liquid smoke if you like. Try the oven and see how it goes. My thickness of meat is usually 1/4 inch.

 

[mainehunter1]

I too have been making jerky for years. I have my own recipe (Ill post it later). I dont mess with fancy dehydrators or other gadgets. I just use the oven. SImple. One thing I do recommend, and have been using for a while, is a good drying rack made for the oven. I use a good non-stick 3 tier one that I got from amazon with free shipping. (actually, I bought 2) they are still available I think :


Of course, YMMV, but this is just how I do it. Next, I will tackle home made sausage!

Good luck!

 

[waymore3]

You have to have a smoker!!!   Jerky never was meant to be cooked in an oven using Tenderquick or liquid smoke.  Look at a luhr jensen little chief it will change your jerky making life.  Check out my video its all you need to know except I won't give away my special brine recipe.  

 

[brican]

You have to have a smoker!!!   Jerky never was meant to be cooked in an oven using Tenderquick or liquid smoke.

Beg to differ there, granted I do not make the thick stuff. I do not cook mine but do use a liquid smoke as I do not have access to a smoker at the present time so use the oven as a dryer the result is that mine is shelf stable until its all gone and I do about 10kg at a time

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• brican
• Oct 29, 2012

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• brican
• Oct 29, 2012

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Gotta agree with Brican, it's SO much better uncooked, although I do cold smoke mine.


~Martin

 

[smokinhusker]

You have to have a smoker!!!   Jerky never was meant to be cooked in an oven using Tenderquick or liquid smoke.  Look at a luhr jensen little chief it will change your jerky making life.  

I agree with Brican and DiggingDog! An electric smoker is nothing more than an outdoor oven that you add wood pellets/chips/dust in order to eliminate the liquid smoke. While I don't use Tenderquick, I do use Cure #1 and therefore I don't have to refrigerate my jerky and I never slice thicker than 3/8" and I trim all fat off the meat because it will turn rancid in time. Prior to getting a smoker, I have made jerky in the oven and a dehydrator with great success. Hi Country (as opposed to Hi Mountain) makes several flavors of jerky seasoning kits and that's all I use. 

 

[jarhead]

I've used the oven method before. My electric stove oven will go down to 150F so that's where I set it at. Open the door every once in a while to dump the moisture.

If your oven won't go that low, leave it cracked to control the heat and dump the moisture.

I use the FEC-100 with the AMNTS for starters and finish in the oven.

I made my drying racks out of expanded metal cut to fit in the oven, so I just pull them from the smoker and place in the oven.

I use a 1/4" slice and marinate 2-3 days with a homemade marinade with cure #1.

Like mentioned, get all of the fat off of it.

 

[waymore3]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I always thought jerky is always "cooked" and smoked and if its cured its called kippered.

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I always thought jerky is always "cooked" and smoked and if its cured its called kippered.

You know, that is a good point. And, considering the fact that adequate exposure to high enough concentrations of hardwood smoke on the surface of meat acts as a preservative by discouraging invasive/harmful bacteria from attacking the surface and colonizing, then, a properly smoked and dried meat should be safe without cure, to a reasonable point where the meat will eventually begin to degrade and become unsuitable for consumption from water or water-vapor infiltration, or becoming rancid due to having too much fat content (generally considered safe, but not palatable due to odor and taste). Smoking and drying is an age-old method for preserving meats, after-all, as well as salting/drying (a form of dry-curing), and in certain cases, drying alone (climate/environment permitting).

I have yet to make jerky without cure myself, maybe due to placing more trust in a modern, quick, proven method (time is something some of us don't seem to have enough of nowadays), rather than wanting to use methods that many food authorities would view with skepticism and raising their red flags, but again that may be due to their lack of knowledge in the process, as well as my own, and again, the extra time required to perform the process correctly. The, after considering all of the proceeding thoughts, I would have to wonder if a water soak for salt removal would also remove certain amount of nutritional value, such as protein, and then, how much flavor from the meat would be lost...this, because at this point, I do not know, because I have not researched it based on a thesis...although would be interesting, it would also quite time consuming. Ah, there's that nasty four-letter word again...time...LOL!!!

Regarding Kippered, if you take a filet of herring, salt it to dry-cure, re-hydrate to remove excess salt through osmosis by soaking in water, and then, smoke it and cook to minimum safe internal temps to create a kippered smoked herring, it is a bit different process and also results in different storage requirements than wet-curing with nitrite/salt and just smoking and drying as many do with beef jerky. The kippered snacks (herring) need to be refrigerated and eaten promptly, or, canned/frozen for long-term storage, mainly due to the water content being so high. With jerky, if properly cured, dried, and packaged, can be stored for several months or longer at room temperature, due to it's low water content, which aids in the long-term continued anti-microbial properties of the meat. Water is necessary to support growth/colonization of bacteria in foods. If the water activity is too low for bacteria to thrive, then, even if they may be present in low numbers, they cannot colonize and reproduce, which prevents them from producing high enough concentrations of toxins (bacterial waste) in the meat to be lethal when consumed by humans. In essence, low water activity in food forces bacteria to remain dormant. Just remember: water is the life-giving fluid...the less water there is available, the less chance for life...this applies to bacteria and viruses, just as much as every other form of life.

Whatever method for preserving you decide to use, be sure it's from a trusted source, as there are many ways to accomplish basically the same thing, and there  may be someone how has done "it" a thousand times and never suffered any ill effects. Their source for meat may not be the same as yours, especially if you don't live in the same area. How animals are raised may have an impact on what could be considered an acceptable method for preserving. Some methods may be better suited to certain climates, or those persons with certain equipment. If time (again) could be a constraint, using a faster method (such as with a cure additive) may be your best option.

On a food preservation-related topic, one of the critters we try to discourage from taking up residence in our food during prep/storage, being bacterium Clostridium botulinum, which as many of us know was a huge problem just a few hundred years ago, is now for the most part controlled due to safe food prep/storage practices, but it should still be of concern for anyone using food preservation methods so it does not become an issue for you...it's still here...well, almost everywhere...so, avoid it:

http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/botulism/

Anyway, that's all I have time for this evening...getting late and it's time (there's that nasty four-letter word, again) for eyelid inspections, as I'm working 6 days/week lately...busy, busy, busy.

May your jerky be great, and may you have the foresight to make a large enough batch to enjoy it for months while sharing it with friends...hey, if they didn't get to partake of it, how will they know if it's good? Huh? LOL!!!

Eric

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I always thought jerky is always "cooked" and smoked and if its cured its called kippered.

True kippers are not cooked, they're never exposed to a temp of more than 86 degrees F, which is the temp that fish begins to cook.


~Martin

 

[mvincent42]

I've been dehydrating meat for jerky for years. I bought a cheap, $20 oster dehydrator with 4 plastic trays. Not sure what temp it goes at but it is fairly idiot proof. I usually get beef round sliced for milanasa. It is a great thickness and will save you a ton of work because you can cut the thin sliced meat into the size of pieces you want fairly easily. Also usually not a lot of fat. One thing I add to my marinade is a can of dr. Pepper, and this will break down any fat that is left. You can add Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, and garlic salt and pepper or whatever spices you want and marinade usually overnight. I put the pieces on the trays and salt liberally with kosher salt (not sea salt or iodized salt.) Usually takes about 4 hours and I rotate the trays every hour. I just got a smoker so I look forward to trying it next.

 

[gbrubq]

Great discussion, very helpful, I love this forum! I will be trying my first swing at jerky and this thread has helped me by answering a ton of questions. Thanks again everybody!