Jerky Boards - Worth it?

[illini40]

What experience do you have with jerky boards? Are they worth a darn?

Im intrigued as they seem to be an affordable alternative to free hand slicing whole muscle jerky, without going to an actual meat slicer. I am generally doing 5lbs or less at a given time.

I would like more consistency in my slice thickness.

I can pick this board up locally for $29.

Ultimate Jerky Board & Knife

Make delicious homemade beef jerky with easy-to-use kits, seasonings, and sausage blends. Perfect for beginners and pros—start making jerky today.

himtnjerky.com

 

[pc farmer]

Never used one but I will say get a meat slicer. You will use it more then you think. Dont have to be a expensive. Chef Choice makes some good ones.

 

[Steve H]

I have one as you already commented on. For a 5 pound batch of jerky I prefer to use the board. It's fast and easy. And a big plus is that the clean up is much easier then taking apart the slicer and cleaning that. And the board is real handy for slicing thin slabs of meat for roll ups, fajitas, Canadian bacon, etc. For larger jobs. I agree with PC. A slicer is worth the investment.

 

[tropics]

I have one like Steve it is useful for more then Jerky as Steve said.
Richie

 

[zwiller]

A slicer is on my list but a few things are above it... I cannot comment on the board but have some other ideas you might consider first, if you have a food processor, you can use the thin slicer blade and does a good job. I've done it often for philly steaks but not jerky. Might be actually cool for jerky as the pieces end up quite uniform albeit a little on the small side. Another option I got from my SIL but have not tried yet. She always makes her Mom's makes roast beef sliders for Christmas and one year I got to talking about how well it is done and she confided in me she uses a mandoline to slice. She actually bought me the mandoline (Oneida) she uses and it is WAY sharper compared to the old ones we used to use. Slighty freeze meat of course whatever method...

 

[Steve H]

Well heck! I never thought about using a mandoline before. With the jerky board. You don't need to have the meat slightly frozen.

 

[illini40]

Never used one but I will say get a meat slicer. You will use it more then you think. Dont have to be a expensive. Chef Choice makes some good ones.

Thank you. I agree a meat slicer would be nice, but I cannot justify the investment at this point.

I have one as you already commented on. For a 5 pound batch of jerky I prefer to use the board. It's fast and easy. And a big plus is that the clean up is much easier then taking apart the slicer and cleaning that. And the board is real handy for slicing thin slabs of meat for roll ups, fajitas, Canadian bacon, etc. For larger jobs. I agree with PC. A slicer is worth the investment.

Thank you. This is very helpful. For about $30, sounds like it would be worth it.

I have one like Steve it is useful for more then Jerky as Steve said.
Richie

Thanks for confirming.

A slicer is on my list but a few things are above it... I cannot comment on the board but have some other ideas you might consider first, if you have a food processor, you can use the thin slicer blade and does a good job. I've done it often for philly steaks but not jerky. Might be actually cool for jerky as the pieces end up quite uniform albeit a little on the small side. Another option I got from my SIL but have not tried yet. She always makes her Mom's makes roast beef sliders for Christmas and one year I got to talking about how well it is done and she confided in me she uses a mandoline to slice. She actually bought me the mandoline (Oneida) she uses and it is WAY sharper compared to the old ones we used to use. Slighty freeze meat of course whatever method...

Interesting ideas. Thanks for the responses. I agree...a meat slicer would be great, but not the highest priority for me either.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Some replies from experience people here so now its your choice.

Warren

 

[ihocky2]

In a good year I will run 20-30 pounds of meat or more and use a jerky board exclusively. I usually run 5-10 pounds batches, depends on the size of the deer or what was on sale. I can run a normal sized eye round through it in less than 5 minutes.

I built my own, but I have a planer and table saw to make the pieces with. A slab of maple, cut off two pieces for the elevation and plane them to the desired thickness, a little Titebond #2 and a couple stainless screws for good measure and voila.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

I had a wood one for while, worked good on splitting chicken breasts. I still have the long knife that came with it, its sharp

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Also if your thinking on a slice that hooks to your grinder BEWARE

Very sharp blades and to clean is a major PITA, you have to just about take it apart to get it clean. I sold mine.

 

[JckDanls 07]

I had a wood one for while, worked good on splitting chicken breasts. I still have the long knife that came with it, its sharp

I too have the wood one (Cabelas)... I didn't care for it as my knife road up off the board and made slice thicker in the center... But now the knife.. that's a different story... As Rick said it is very sharp so that's my fav. knife for slicing my cooked meats ..

 

[uncle eddie]

Interested in this post...

I have been making jerky for 25 years with a very sharp knife and a cutting board. I have considered some gadgets but never pulled the trigger.

 

[dave in indiana]

Interested in this post...

I have been making jerky for 25 years with a very sharp knife and a cutting board. I have considered some gadgets but never pulled the trigger.

Same. I just make sure my meat is slightly/moderately frozen. Easier to slice "free-hand".

 

[illini40]

I ended up picking this up at Farm and Fleet yesterday. I figure it’s worth a shot.

I hope to try it out in the next week or two. I’ll share my thoughts after testing it out.

Ultimate Jerky Board & Knife

Make delicious homemade beef jerky with easy-to-use kits, seasonings, and sausage blends. Perfect for beginners and pros—start making jerky today.

himtnjerky.com

 

[illini40]

I was able to try out the board on 2lbs of pork loin and 2lbs of venison. Overall, I would say it worked pretty darn good. It was making much more consistent 1/4” slices than I could free hand. The knife was surprisingly sharp.

Once you get down to small pieces, it is a little tricky. But that is to be expected.

For $29, I would recommend it to make the slicing process easier and more consistent.

 

[K9BIGDOG]

I've had the wood version of the Hit Mountain jerky board for year and have no complaints. Keep the knife nice and sharp and it does the job. I even use the knife for slicing brisket until I get around to buying one just for that purpose.

 

[Steve H]

I've had the wood version of the Hit Mountain jerky board for year and have no complaints. Keep the knife nice and sharp and it does the job. I even use the knife for slicing brisket until I get around to buying one just for that purpose.

The knife is pretty good. Though I put a better edge on it.

 

[illini40]

The venison and pork that I sliced with the new board seemed to turn out great.

I put them in a ziploc in the fridge over night. Are they good to go straight to vac seal today and stay in the fridge? I plan on gifting in about 1.5 weeks for Christmas. Cure was used.

Side note - used the board to slice about 4.5lbs of eye of round yesterday to smoke for beef jerky today.

 

[Steve H]

The venison and pork that I sliced with the new board seemed to turn out great.

I put them in a ziploc in the fridge over night. Are they good to go straight to vac seal today and stay in the fridge? I plan on gifting in about 1.5 weeks for Christmas. Cure was used.

Side note - used the board to slice about 4.5lbs of eye of round yesterday to smoke for beef jerky today.

Yup! Vac seal em. They'll be fine for that amount of time.