Jerky help

[unclejoeyv]

Hi all,

I recently tried a 5# batch of ground beef jerky using a seasoning pack and plastic form from sausage maker.

The taste was great but I found that after the initial drying a lot of fat had come to the surface and congealed.

I put each tray back in the oven one at a time to liquify the fat then mopped it up with paper towels. After a couple days the fat started coming out again on its own and I was worried about safety so I tossed the rest.

Any ideas what could be going wrong? Perhaps I didn't dry each rack enough or something. the ends of each rack of jerky was a lot more red in color and more chewy while the stuff in the middle was still more brown than red and was like tough meatloaf and not like jerky

Thanks.

-Joe

 

[s2k9k]

Hi Joe, what was the fat content of the ground beef? I have made it with 80/20 chuck a few times and I too get a lot of fat out. I always wipe the fat off with some paper towels a couple of times during the smoke.
Did you use cure #1?
With the color issue it sounds like it probably wasn't dried long enough or else it wasn't mixed well enough.

 

[unclejoeyv]

Hi Dave,

It was some locally sourced beef so I don't know the fat content. A friend of mine more familiar with the food industry said that it is probably close to 80/20 but I'll never know for sure.

My next attempt I'm going to use 80/20 from the grocery store or maybe grind my own so I know that it's very lean.

I did use cure #1.  I believe the meat was mixed well enough so it's probably the case that the middle of each tray of jerky didn't dry enough. I was afraid to overdo it and cause the fat to render out (which happened anyway) so I didn't want to leave each tray in too long. I guess I should have left it in longer.

I hadn't thought about blotting off the fat during drying, only at the end. I bet I would have got better results since the meat immediately under the rendered fat has a better chance of drying.
 

 

[doctord1955]

I take my jerky straight from my smoker straight to the sink!  Have a home made plastic basket with holes drilled in it so I can rinse the fat off then a couple of racks on the table with at fan to dry water off!  have no problems with fat now!

 

[sqwib]

Hi Dave,

It was some locally sourced beef so I don't know the fat content. A friend of mine more familiar with the food industry said that it is probably close to 80/20 but I'll never know for sure.

My next attempt I'm going to use 80/20 from the grocery store or maybe grind my own so I know that it's very lean.

I did use cure #1.  I believe the meat was mixed well enough so it's probably the case that the middle of each tray of jerky didn't dry enough. I was afraid to overdo it and cause the fat to render out (which happened anyway) so I didn't want to leave each tray in too long. I guess I should have left it in longer.

I hadn't thought about blotting off the fat during drying, only at the end. I bet I would have got better results since the meat immediately under the rendered fat has a better chance of drying.
 

Try 90/10

 

[jerseyhunter]

If your going with ground beef I would recommend the least amount of fat like 95/5 or 90/10.

Try grinding your own out of top round.  I use venison with no fat.

 

[unclejoeyv]

I'll look into getting either some leaner ground beef or grinding my own. I imagine it's a whole lot easier to remove the fat from a whole cut of meat. I suppose it depends on the cut and how the price compares to the leaner ground beef. I've only seen 80/20 and 85/15 offered at the grocery store...