My first jerky...when to pull out

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kilohertz

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Dec 29, 2022
261
329
Vernon, BC Canada
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. :emoji_laughing:

Thanks for any guidance you may offer.

Cheers

Jerky.jpeg


dehydrator.JPG


jerky dehydrator.jpeg
 
Last edited:
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.
 
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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. :emoji_scream:

Thanks guys!

cheers

Spot jerky.JPG
 
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 :)
 
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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.
 
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