First post, First real jerky, A few questions

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Mran

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Oct 22, 2022
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Hey guys long time lurker first time poster cant wait to make some jerky using actual cure this time.


Planning on making a batch of jerky with pre cut meat from the butcher may slice it my self not sure what ill find yet.

So I have cure #1. If i get say 1.5 or 2.5lbs of meat how much do i add? Ive heard 1/4tsp per pound. Should i round up for half pound increments? Jerky will be up to 3/8" raw. 24 hrs in the cure is that enough?

Second question, ok 4th. If i want to try the jerky with out soy and Worcestershire do i just marinade the jerky in a cup of water or two along with the cure and some spices?

Gunna smoke it at like 140 to 170 on my webber kettle
 
Welcome to SMF!
Glad to have you join us!
There are tons of jerky makers on here & I’m sure one will be along shortly!
Al
 
Hello and welcome to SMF.

It is a much better practice to weigh the amount of cure in grams using a scale rather than using a measuring spoon.
Also, the quantity of cure# 1 (pink salt, Prague powder) to use depends on whether you are performing a dry equilibrium cure or a wet equillibrium cure where you need to account for the weight of the liquid plus the green weight of the meat.
Generally though, 1/4tsp per pound will be close enough for 1.5 lbs of meat.
24 hours is plenty of time and pretty much standard.

Here is a link to a curing calculator from Dr. Greg Blonder that I use all the time for jerky.


Edit: added this link for great jerky recipes.


Enjoy!
 
Last edited:
Hey guys long time lurker first time poster cant wait to make some jerky using actual cure this time.


Planning on making a batch of jerky with pre cut meat from the butcher may slice it my self not sure what ill find yet.

So I have cure #1. If i get say 1.5 or 2.5lbs of meat how much do i add? Ive heard 1/4tsp per pound. Should i round up for half pound increments? Jerky will be up to 3/8" raw. 24 hrs in the cure is that enough?

Second question, ok 4th. If i want to try the jerky with out soy and Worcestershire do i just marinade the jerky in a cup of water or two along with the cure and some spices?

Gunna smoke it at like 140 to 170 on my webber kettle
Hi there and welcome!

1. To cut out all the guess work 1.33333 grams of Cure #1 per pound of "stuff". "Stuff" meaning add the weight of your meat + liquid = total weight of your "stuff".
Why add meat and liquid? Because the cure#1 will want to distribute evenly between the meat and the liquid so if you have 1 pound of meat and 8 pounds of liquid then you will not end up with enough cure in the meat and that is bad!

It would be wise to get a scale that can measure to 0.0 grams at the least and 0.00 would be great. They are fairly inexpensive and if possible you may want one that can do a considerable amount of pounds (10-20lbs maybe) in case you ever want to weight meat and such in it but not mandatory to go super high in pounds but it really helps.
Measurements by weight are never wrong! (unless you use the wrong number hahaha)


2. Mix it all together but DO NOT HEAT/BOIL/USE HOT LIQUID.
Heat will screw up the cure#1 so as long as you are not heating it up or using hot water you will be ok.
To dissolve without heat I just throw my salt and cure, etc. into the blender with liquid/water and run it till the blender dissolves it through friction. It won't heat up to any temp that will ruin things.

I hope this helps :)
 
Hi there and welcome!

1. To cut out all the guess work 1.33333 grams of Cure #1 per pound of "stuff". "Stuff" meaning add the weight of your meat + liquid = total weight of your "stuff".
Why add meat and liquid? Because the cure#1 will want to distribute evenly between the meat and the liquid so if you have 1 pound of meat and 8 pounds of liquid then you will not end up with enough cure in the meat and that is bad!

It would be wise to get a scale that can measure to 0.0 grams at the least and 0.00 would be great. They are fairly inexpensive and if possible you may want one that can do a considerable amount of pounds (10-20lbs maybe) in case you ever want to weight meat and such in it but not mandatory to go super high in pounds but it really helps.
Measurements by weight are never wrong! (unless you use the wrong number hahaha)


2. Mix it all together but DO NOT HEAT/BOIL/USE HOT LIQUID.
Heat will screw up the cure#1 so as long as you are not heating it up or using hot water you will be ok.
To dissolve without heat I just throw my salt and cure, etc. into the blender with liquid/water and run it till the blender dissolves it through friction. It won't heat up to any temp that will ruin things.

I hope this helps :)
Perfect explanation, thank you . I know I have seen and read this amounts before . But this is better in my understanding the terms

David
 
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Hi there and welcome!

1. To cut out all the guess work 1.33333 grams of Cure #1 per pound of "stuff". "Stuff" meaning add the weight of your meat + liquid = total weight of your "stuff".
Why add meat and liquid? Because the cure#1 will want to distribute evenly between the meat and the liquid so if you have 1 pound of meat and 8 pounds of liquid then you will not end up with enough cure in the meat and that is bad!

It would be wise to get a scale that can measure to 0.0 grams at the least and 0.00 would be great. They are fairly inexpensive and if possible you may want one that can do a considerable amount of pounds (10-20lbs maybe) in case you ever want to weight meat and such in it but not mandatory to go super high in pounds but it really helps.
Measurements by weight are never wrong! (unless you use the wrong number hahaha)


2. Mix it all together but DO NOT HEAT/BOIL/USE HOT LIQUID.
Heat will screw up the cure#1 so as long as you are not heating it up or using hot water you will be ok.
To dissolve without heat I just throw my salt and cure, etc. into the blender with liquid/water and run it till the blender dissolves it through friction. It won't heat up to any temp that will ruin things.

I hope this helps :)
Good advice here. But as to #2, there are times when you do need to heat the ingredients, such as when I make char sui with maltose and candied ginger. In instances like that, you can heat the liquid, but then add the cure #1 only after it has cooled completely.
 
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Good advice here. But as to #2, there are times when you do need to heat the ingredients, such as when I make char sui with maltose and candied ginger. In instances like that, you can heat the liquid, but then add the cure #1 only after it has cooled completely.
That is spot on. Great clarification :)
 
Hi there and welcome!

1. To cut out all the guess work 1.33333 grams of Cure #1 per pound of "stuff". "Stuff" meaning add the weight of your meat + liquid = total weight of your "stuff".
Why add meat and liquid? Because the cure#1 will want to distribute evenly between the meat and the liquid so if you have 1 pound of meat and 8 pounds of liquid then you will not end up with enough cure in the meat and that is bad!

It would be wise to get a scale that can measure to 0.0 grams at the least and 0.00 would be great. They are fairly inexpensive and if possible you may want one that can do a considerable amount of pounds (10-20lbs maybe) in case you ever want to weight meat and such in it but not mandatory to go super high in pounds but it really helps.
Measurements by weight are never wrong! (unless you use the wrong number hahaha)


2. Mix it all together but DO NOT HEAT/BOIL/USE HOT LIQUID.
Heat will screw up the cure#1 so as long as you are not heating it up or using hot water you will be ok.
To dissolve without heat I just throw my salt and cure, etc. into the blender with liquid/water and run it till the blender dissolves it through friction. It won't heat up to any temp that will ruin things.

I hope this helps :)
Sorry, im still kind of new.
Would this be the same for ground beef jerky.
 
Sorry, im still kind of new.
Would this be the same for ground beef jerky.

For ground jerky you don't submerse in liquid.

For ground jerky you just calculate 1.3333 gm of Cure #1 per pound of ground meat you are turning into jerky.

The only liquids you may add are like some water to mix up with seasoning OR like a little bit of worcestershire sauce or soy sauce to mix in.
This liquid is so little you don't have to factor it in with your Cure #1 calculations.

For example. I think I mix like 1floz of water per pound of ground meat. So definitely not enough liquid to use in the Cure #1 calculation.

Let me know if this makes sense :)
 
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For ground jerky you don't submerse in liquid.

For ground jerky you just calculate 1.3333 gm of Cure #1 per pound of ground meat you are turning into jerky.

The only liquids you may add are like some water to mix up with seasoning OR like a little bit of worcestershire sauce or soy sauce to mix in.
This liquid is so little you don't have to factor it in with your Cure #1 calculations.

For example. I think I mix like 1floz of water per pound of ground meat. So definitely not enough liquid to use in the Cure #1 calculation.

Let me know if this makes sense :)
Thanks, yes it makes sense.
I asked in another thread if adding pureed mango and habenero peppers would work in ground jerky but have not seen any replies yet.
Is this safe? If not how would I get the mango habenero flavors in my jerky?
 
Thanks, yes it makes sense.
I asked in another thread if adding pureed mango and habenero peppers would work in ground jerky but have not seen any replies yet.
Is this safe? If not how would I get the mango habenero flavors in my jerky?
I think it would be fine. Use that as your liquid base instead of water so you have less liquid to dehydrate.

The only other way to do it is to dehydrate the mango and habanero and then put it in like a coffee grinder or magic bullet with the grinding blade and grind or mince the pepper and mango up and then just mix in with the meat.

Those are your options.
 
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I think it would be fine. Use that as your liquid base instead of water so you have less liquid to dehydrate.

The only other way to do it is to dehydrate the mango and habanero and then put it in like a coffee grinder or magic bullet with the grinding blade and grind or mince the pepper and mango up and then just mix in with the meat.

Those are your options.
Thank you, those are some good options to try.
 
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I cut up a 20lb sirloin tip and have been letting it cure for two days now. I am planning on Marinating tonight and I want to slow smoke it on my offset tomorrow. I want to get this right so I don't ruin all this time and meat that I have put into this project. I have read people smoke it a while and then finish on the dehydrater, which is what I usually do, smoke a chunk of meat,slice it,cure it,marinate it and then dehydrate. My question I guess is, what do I need to do on my offset not to kill this. Im planning on using a small amount of coals to get my temp and let it run steady at 150-170 and add some chunks every so often. Does this sound right? Im figuring 4-5hrs because they are pretty close to 1/4in thick. Can I just smoke these strips until they are done, or do I still have to put in the dehydrator. Any input is greatly appreciated.

I can't help much with the offset part but yeah the approach is to maintain that 150-170F smoker temp and provide smoke for your 4-5hrs.

If you can manage those temps for many hours (8-12 or so I guess before 20lbs may be done?) then you could dehydrate it in the smoker.

I have a rewired electric smoker that I do jerky in all the time. I apply smoke for 3-4 hours and then stop applying smoke and the heat and draft dehydrates it. No need to put it in a dehydrator if you don't want, BUT the dehydrator is simpler to manage than an offset trying to maintain 150-170F for so many hours.

I do mine out of ground meat rolled into sheets and 10-20 lbs will take me 9 or so hours, maybe more.

Also feel free to more some to fill up your dehydrator and do both in parallel (dehydrater some and smoker some). The less meat on the offset the faster what is there will dehydrate so you could basically speed up the process... a little :)
 
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