My first jerky...when to pull out

[kilohertz]

Hi gang,

It's been a busy month of smokin' and BBQ and eating and Thursday I decided it's time for jerky so I bought a nice eye of the round, cut it in half and sliced it into 1/4" thick pieces along the grain, not across. I am using Jerkyholics Ranch Hand recipe this time and it was in the fridge for 1.5 days. I bought a American Harvest Air Preserve II dehydrator which is 1,000W with good updraft fan. I put the meat on paper towels and soaked up the excess moisture and put it in at 1:15pm this afternoon. It took about 1.25 hours for the dehydrator to get to 165 and when it did I let it stay there for 4 hours. I then lowered the temp to 145 and it's been there for about another hour. The meat is bending but not breaking, I tried a piece it's yummy but doesn't have the classic chewy-crunchy texture (yet) . I sliced the partially frozen meat 1/4" thick and pounded with a tenderizing mallet to a thickness of about 1/8-3/16" thick.

I don't want to mess up my first attempt by overdoing it....am I on the right track and it just needs more time? I have put my BBQ probe into the center exhaust hole and am getting great readings, this thing rocks for temp stability, WAY better than my PB820.

Thanks for any guidance you may offer.

Cheers

 

[pit 4 brains]

Don't be your own judge. Your jerky looks great! Give it a day or so to rest then have a neighbor or co-worker try it. I'll bet they want more.

 

[Brokenhandle]

I would pull some now, maybe at different intervals. Sometimes after it cools things seem drier. But we all have different preferences.

Ryan

 

[jkc64]

It is much different after it cools. Pull a piece let it cool and try it.

 

[kilohertz]

Awesome thanks guys! Shoot, I forgot about the pullout for 5 and test.

I'll let you know.

cheers

 

[kilohertz]

Well shoot, it turned out great!

Thanks so much for saving me from overdoing this, it has cooled off now and I get the classic break but not snap in two when I bend it. Spot also is very interested in trying and is being very patient.

Jeez, I'm smoking some cod out on the BGE, I may not be hungry when it's done.

Thanks guys!

cheers

 

[tallbm]

Congrats on the jerky success! I pull when it starts to "crack" just a little bit when bending it. Once cooled and resting it gets the texture we all look for.

These days I only do ground meat jerky though. So much softer on the teeth :)

 

[kilohertz]

These days I only do ground meat jerky though. So much softer on the teeth :)

That's something I will have to look into, have seen it mentioned but know nothing about the process.

cheers

 

[jkc64]

I slice a little thinner than 1/4 inch and put in the dehydrator for 6.5 hours, comes out very good every time.

 

[kilohertz]

I slice a little thinner than 1/4 inch and put in the dehydrator for 6.5 hours, comes out very good every time.

Do you pound it with the tenderizing mallet to make it thinner as well? How hot does your dehydrator get?

Always willing to learn something new.

cheers

 

[jkc64]

I slice it about 3/16 inch, marinade it for a couple of days and put in my excalibur dehydrator at the highest setting165 i think. I have never checked the temp with a probe. I let it go for 6.5 hours per the timer on the dehydrator and put in a paper bag in the fridge for a day or two.