Getting some Christmas gifts ready...

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uncle eddie

Master of the Pit
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May 14, 2016
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Central Missouri
I make a lot of jerky and shrink wrap it in 4 oz. packs and use them as Christmas stocking stuffer...always a big hit!

Helpful Tip - Spray some cooking spray on your trays and the jerky will not stick to it and it doesn't affect the jerky one bit.

I have a little over 5 pounds of pork loin thawing for the next batch...
Pheasant will be the next batch after that...

This is what 3.5 lbs. of eye of round looks like on 4 trays. Marinate is Hickory from Owens BBQ...I added 2 tbsp. of Mrs. Dash Chipotle to spice it up a bit. I can get about 4.75 lbs. on 4 trays but it is a feat - I now have 6 trays. These are cut to about 1/8-inch to 3/16-inch thick.
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The shelf in the garage where the magic happens....
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Prepping 5 lbs of pork loin. Lost 0.5 lbs to trimming fatty parts. I cut pork loin extra thick - about 1/4-inch because it shrinks so much when dehydrating. The bottle of bourbon is for scale :-)

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Using Owens BBQ Mesquite flavor pack, their cure and adding chipotle to spice it up a bit more.
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FWIW - Great Value Gallon Slider Bags work very well. Never have had a leak...ever. Since the loin is thick, I will marinate for a full 24 hours.
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Very nice , how do I get on your Christmas list. :emoji_wink:

approx ,how long does it take to dehydrate with that thickness ?

The beef eye of round at 125F - about 8 hours +/-. I am at 7 hours right now and have set a timer to check it every 20 minutes. I like mine dry, but flexible.

The pork loin is a little different (as is wild game). I dry it for an hour at 125F - pop the temp up to max (155F) for an hour, then back to 125 to finish. The whole point "for me" is to have the pork loin (or wild game) over 140F for a spell...rare pork doesn't sound good to me. Total drying time is still about 8 hours +/-. It is also dry, but flexible.
 
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The hickory/chipotle marinated eye of round is done, shrink-wrapped, and in the freezer waiting for Christmas distribution. 3.5 lbs raw is now a bit more than 1.5 lbs after dehydrating.

The 4.5 pounds of thick-cut pork loin just hit the dehydrator a few minutes ago after 24 hours of marinating in mesquite/chipotle.

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Looks good! I’ve never tried pork jerky.

Am I following that you suggest slicing pork thicker?

Any specific flavor profiles that you like for pork?
 
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