I love jerky. It is so handy to have around for golf games, road trips or just snacking. I have been working on my jerky making and have tried several different methods and seasonings. I have finally settled on my go to base recipe and this is it. So, I have dubbed it OFG Jerky!
I start with eye of the round roast. You can use any lean cut like sirloin tip or outside round but you are looking for lean meat with no fat. I find the eye of the round has little fat and it is easy to trim any fat off.
Trim any fat or silverskin coating off the beef. I find it easier to cut in slices if I cut the roast in half lengthwise.
Weigh the meat after trimming as the amount of spices will vary based on the amount of meat you use.
There are arguments about whether to slice against or with the grain. Against is a little less chewy but I like both. I cut across the grain for the wider part of the roast and with the grain for the narrower end.
You'll also note I use cure in my jerky. I like the cured taste and colour.
Slice the meat with a sharp slicing knife to just less than 1/4 inch slices. You can put the meat in the freezer for an hour or so but I don’t have any problem with sharp knife.
Lay the meat out in one layer on trays.
I mixed up my seasoning blend. Put the following into an empty spice bottle, for each kilogram of beef:
Toss the meat to even out the coating. Cover and refrigerate between 24 and 48 hours, tossing the meat three or four times.
Preheat your smoker to 200 F.
To get more meat in my pellet smoker, I thread a bamboo skewer through the end of 8 pieces of meat. I lower a strip between the racks of my upper shelf so they hang down between the racks.
I smoke for about 2 hours. I check to make sure the meat cracks when bent. You can use an instant read thermometer to make sure the internal temperature is over 155 F.
Let it cool and freeze any that won’t be used in a week.
The Verdict
The reason this has become my go to method is the jerky has a better texture than drying it at lower temperatures in a smoker or dehydrator. It has a nice chew but isn’t leathery.
The taste is just what I wanted. A nice cured saltiness with some follow up heat that doesn’t burn your mouth but gives a nice warmth. The onion and garlic flavours aren’t pronounced, they just add a lot of flavour to the beef. The kiss of smoke makes it perfect!
If you are a jerky fan, give this a try!
Disco
I start with eye of the round roast. You can use any lean cut like sirloin tip or outside round but you are looking for lean meat with no fat. I find the eye of the round has little fat and it is easy to trim any fat off.
Trim any fat or silverskin coating off the beef. I find it easier to cut in slices if I cut the roast in half lengthwise.
Weigh the meat after trimming as the amount of spices will vary based on the amount of meat you use.
There are arguments about whether to slice against or with the grain. Against is a little less chewy but I like both. I cut across the grain for the wider part of the roast and with the grain for the narrower end.
You'll also note I use cure in my jerky. I like the cured taste and colour.
Slice the meat with a sharp slicing knife to just less than 1/4 inch slices. You can put the meat in the freezer for an hour or so but I don’t have any problem with sharp knife.
Lay the meat out in one layer on trays.
I mixed up my seasoning blend. Put the following into an empty spice bottle, for each kilogram of beef:
- 15 ml kosher salt
- 10 ml garlic powder
- 10 ml onion powder
- 10 ml ground dried chipotle
- 5 ml coarse pepper
- 10 ml sugar
- 5 ml ground coriander
- 3 grams (2.2 ml) Prague powder #1
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground dried chipotle
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/5 teaspoon (0.048 oz) Prague powder #1
Toss the meat to even out the coating. Cover and refrigerate between 24 and 48 hours, tossing the meat three or four times.
Preheat your smoker to 200 F.
To get more meat in my pellet smoker, I thread a bamboo skewer through the end of 8 pieces of meat. I lower a strip between the racks of my upper shelf so they hang down between the racks.
I smoke for about 2 hours. I check to make sure the meat cracks when bent. You can use an instant read thermometer to make sure the internal temperature is over 155 F.
Let it cool and freeze any that won’t be used in a week.
The Verdict
The reason this has become my go to method is the jerky has a better texture than drying it at lower temperatures in a smoker or dehydrator. It has a nice chew but isn’t leathery.
The taste is just what I wanted. A nice cured saltiness with some follow up heat that doesn’t burn your mouth but gives a nice warmth. The onion and garlic flavours aren’t pronounced, they just add a lot of flavour to the beef. The kiss of smoke makes it perfect!
If you are a jerky fan, give this a try!
Disco
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