If you are using whole muscle meat make sure you get the amount of cure right, if I remember right it takes more cure for whole muscle meat then it does for ground meat. (Don't quote me on this). I follow the directions to the letter on the amount of cure, I very the amount of seasoning I add, I usually add more seasoning for flavor.
When I started I made small batches, 2 to 3 pounds, to see if I did like the flavor and also tried different brands. The brand I use now is from Hi-Country Seasoning. It comes from Lincoln Montana and so far the things that I have tried have turned out great. The only thing I do different is if I want to make ground meat teriyaki jerky I use the original jerky seasoning and add teriyaki sauce. And with Hi-Country jerky seasoning, it is really good sprinkled on buttered popcorn instead of salt... They also have a kit called "Complete Wild Game Processing Kit" so you can make Summer Sausage, Jerky, Pepperoni Sticks, and Breakfast Sausage. The packages for the different products are smaller so you try a small batch and see if you like it before buying a lot of the seasoning and finding out you don't care for the flavor that you get. (No I am not a salesman for them, just really like their product). I actually have 5 lbs. elk meat all mixed up for pepperoni sticks that I have to put in the smoker tomorrow morning.
Good Luck and once you get your favorite recipe down you will never buy store bought again.
