Meat for Jerky

[scooby]

What cheap cuts of meat are good for jerky?  I was buying brisket at about 98 cents a pound and having the butcher slice it but holy crap it's almost 3.00 a pound now and that's on SALE!  This is TEXAS for God's sake! We should have cheap beef.

 

[daveomak]

Top round has very little fat, so it won't sour....  I'd use it in place of brisket....    

Dave

 

[driedstick]

Yep top round like Dave said, if you see one that says London broil that is good also. I went to wally world the other day and they had some alrealy sliced thin, I just seasoned it and thru it in smoker, came out great.

Good luck

happy happy happy smokin

 

[manson1675]

I use whole eye of rounds for mine. I actually have about ten lbs in now.

 

[chef willie]

Safeway running bottom round right now for 2.49 a #. Just picked up 6 pounds or so to make jerky outta

 

[ats32]

Anything lean and cheap!

Kroger runs a buy one get one on free almost weekly on different types of lean roasts. Right now it's a boneless English roast. Whatever that is? Good for jerky!

 

[alabamaavenue]

I use whole eye of rounds for mine. I actually have about ten lbs in now.

Eye round with as little marbling as possible. Can find em in 2 packs - usually about 10 lbs total. Just trim the fat cap off. Eye round is also great for different size and shape pieces (cut long ways or short).

London Broil is good too. Little more of a pain to trim the fat without loosing too much meat but has little marbling which is a plus.

 

[jerry reddick]

I find that London Broil works best for my Jerky.  I usually will wait until it goes on sale and buy as much of it as I can.  I will usually make a batch and freeze the rest to use during the summer for more Jerky.

This is the last batch I did.  I usually make my own curing brine but went with a purchased curing package.  It received mixed reviews as I also made a batch with my normal curing brine and served them side by side for comments.  Some preferred the commercial cure and some preferred my standard cure.  Below is a picture of the commercial cure.  I am not sure I liked what it did to the coloration of the meat.  Just seemed wrong as I was used to it being more of a black color due to my curing brine/marinade that I make on a regular basis.

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• jerry reddick
• Sep 24, 2013

 

[newuser4jerky]

Hello!

Do you know what part/cut of beef do these guys use?

Thank you in advance!

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• newuser4jerky
• Aug 4, 2016

 

[petewoody]

It looks like eye of round with the fat cap removed.

 

[newuser4jerky]

EOR is quite expensive, looking to down the cost of production. Any other ideas?

 

[daveomak]

If you use a marbled hunk of meat like chuck, the fat will go rancid and ruin the jerky....  

 

[newuser4jerky]

 
If you use a marbled hunk of meat like chuck, the fat will go rancid and ruin the jerky....  

I am aware of it and still continue to search for the best choice quality vs price!

 

[mrsmoklestein]

Eye of round can get very expensive, yes. However, a little fat and connective tissue on a different cut of meat are not a big deal (but not too much either). Have a little more fat on the meat than you would like? Store your jerky in the freezer and keep it in the fridge when you want to eat some of it. Fat will go bad eventually but only does so when you leave the jerky at room temp for an extended period of time or in the fridge for too long ( a week plus). 

Do yourself a HUGE, HUGE favor and have the butcher slice for you on a piece that's nearly frozen-if you don't have a slicer already that is. A lot of times they'll include the slicing for free if you buy enough meat from them. 

Consider flank steak  or a round roast. MANY times, I've purchased a round roast for MUCH cheaper than Eye of Round prices. Roasts are oftentimes on sale. Eye of round?....almost never

Good luck-you'll find there is never enough jerky around. 

 

[newuser4jerky]

 
Consider flank steak  or a round roast. MANY times, I've purchased a round roast for MUCH cheaper than Eye of Round prices. Roasts are oftentimes on sale. Eye of round?....almost never

Sounds good to take for consideration! 

 

[dyst0pian]

From time to time I'll use pork loin since it's cheap. Comes out very nice in my dehydrator. Worth a try if you're looking for something different.

 

[flipman77]

I've used pork loin many times.  I slice it about 1/4 inches thick (with and against the grain).  I use the same seasoning/brining method I use for the Beef jerky.  comes out excellent...some people have said they cannot tell its pork.

 

[kb3ejw14]

I use eye round for my jerky.I just made a batch today.

 

[kissing bandit]

Here's a load of duck I got for free...I had to process them..no problem, brought them home ground them up shot the meat out my jerky gun...it's almost done...had sample already...very good! I use whatever meat I can get my hands on with no complaints from anyone who has tried it!:) plus I like it...that's what's important

 

[kissing bandit]

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• kissing bandit
• Nov 18, 2016