Ground beef jerky sticks

[ErikAlan]

My uncle got me a dehydrator for Christmas: Cabela’s Harvester Pro Five Tier and I’ve been using it a lot since I got it.

So far, round steak has come out great as has sirloin. Wife wanted jerky sticks so used one of the recipes that came with the jerky gun I bought. Everything looked good going in. Recipe was basically the same as the beef round I had made previously. (No cure)

Temp set to 160 for 3 hours at first to test, at 2.5 hours I check and was underdone in the middle so added 2 more hours. Double checked the manual for making ground beef jerky and it told me 8-12 hours to fully dry, so I left it in longer.

End result was a catastrophe. Came out over dry, brittle and a tad gross.

I’m thinking it’s just how long I dried it for and drying for less will fix next batch.

Looking for any tips on making ground beef jerky in a dehydrator, specifically what temps and how long and any additional tips on flavorings. Some sites say don’t use too much liquid and only use lean 90/10 and others use a lot of liquod and 80/20, so no real consensus.

Any help would be great.

Thank you all.

 

[Winterrider]

I think each dehydrator is going to work differently. It will just be a learning curve until you get things figured out. I have the cheaper Nesco ( works good when I need it) but I also had the 1st couple of batches that I had troubles with that dried out to much. When they are sliced real thin, it is easy to over dry them.

 

[ErikAlan]

Yeah, don’t think I’m going to do sticks again. Gonna try flat ground beef strips and check it more thoroughly

 

[canuhover]

I had the same trouble and ended up making the flat strips with good/great results. 3-4 hours in the Nesco is my normal. The jerky should bend without breaking. After the dehydrator I let them sit in an open container in the fridge for a few days to dry a little more. I also think the fat content makes a big difference; 90% to dry, 80% greasy, 85 seems to work for me.

 

[410mudslinger]

I am new here, but I really enjoy the ideas that everyone comes up with on here.
I have been trying to figure out ground meat jerky for at least 20 years, I tried mixing chicken,deer,pork,beef,turkey, to try to get a good sticky mixture. Let me tell you what I have found that works for me.
I use nesco seasonings.
Check into a sausage making supply company for a binder, it seems like adding binder did wonders for my ground meat jerky. It makes it nice and sticky and it holds together perfect out of nesco’s jerky gun.
I have been making sliced jerky and ground meat jerky for 20 plus years.
I made so much jerky on my Excalibur dehydrater that from the vibrations it just basically cracked apart. I am on my 2nd Excalibur dehydrater, that I have nothing but great things to say about their products.
Feel free to ask any questions and I will and answer them with what I have learned over the years.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Fat in or on jerky goes rancid pretty quick. Use leaner ground meat or add Cure #1 as it inhibits rancidity...JJ

 

[nanuk]

I like the texture and flavour Cure#1 seems to add.

also, I find I need to start out on the cooler side. If I start at the top of my dehy setting, the outer dries fast, and the inner never dries at all..... and it tastes... uh... not good.