Tender Jerky - is it even possible?

[idahobangbang]

Forgive me if there is a Search or Search This Forum link somewhere ... I'm not seeing it, but would've used it since I expect this question has been asked already...

I've been using the original Beef/Game Jerky recipe from my Big Chief Smoker recipe book (the one that uses salt/sugar/soy sauce/wine etc ... I think it's the only one containing wine?). In any case, I cut meat strips 1/4" thick across the grain etc and try to remove it from the smoker just as soon as it appears to have dried 'enough' (no squishy raw-feeling portions on the thicker pieces). The jerky seems to continue to dry, but whether fresh out of the smoker or after a few days in the fridge ... it's tough stuff! Short of using ground meat and a big syringe thing to squeeze out ground jerky strips, is there any way to make the jerky turn out more tender? Protein enzymes or tenderizer additives added to the brine? Alter the sugar/salt ratio for more sugar and less salt? A friend pounds the dinner out of his with a meat tenderizing mallet and says that helps, but I find it didn't make much difference .... so, how do you make jerky tender? Anyone?

 

[jbellard]

Idaho,
I hear you on tough jerky. I prefer thicker jerky that is more like smoked steak meat. Not sure on the name as this one isn’t very catchy.
I generally will cut mine 1/4 inch thick too and let them go for about 4-5 hrs turning and moving around as needed.
Then once the pieces start showing white when you bend them, I take them off to dry on a rack inside. This seems to work for me. Just try taking yours off sooner and try it one time.

 

[Bearcarver]

You could try Pork Loin Jerky. Tastes Great !!
It's much cheaper (Under $2 a pound), and it's more tender.
Also not a whole lot of Fat to trim off.

Here's some I did in "Step by Step" form:
Pork Loin Jerky

Bear

 

[tallbm]

Forgive me if there is a Search or Search This Forum link somewhere ... I'm not seeing it, but would've used it since I expect this question has been asked already...

I've been using the original Beef/Game Jerky recipe from my Big Chief Smoker recipe book (the one that uses salt/sugar/soy sauce/wine etc ... I think it's the only one containing wine?). In any case, I cut meat strips 1/4" thick across the grain etc and try to remove it from the smoker just as soon as it appears to have dried 'enough' (no squishy raw-feeling portions on the thicker pieces). The jerky seems to continue to dry, but whether fresh out of the smoker or after a few days in the fridge ... it's tough stuff! Short of using ground meat and a big syringe thing to squeeze out ground jerky strips, is there any way to make the jerky turn out more tender? Protein enzymes or tenderizer additives added to the brine? Alter the sugar/salt ratio for more sugar and less salt? A friend pounds the dinner out of his with a meat tenderizing mallet and says that helps, but I find it didn't make much difference .... so, how do you make jerky tender? Anyone?

Hi there and welcome!

There is a definite way to get tender beef jerky but it is different from your current method.
The secret is to make ground meat jerky. This is what those soft store brand jerky sticks and chunks are made from.

Though it seems like blasphemy you may honestly not know much of a difference other than the tenderness in the end product if you make strips from it. I go this route because I have 25-35 pounds of pure ground venison each year after hunting season. To grind the meat and save in 1 pound bags is a convenience in my 1 man week long processing effort BUT I have the flexibility to turn that ground meat into jerky whenever I want or use it as ground meat in any dish that calls for it. I can also make sausage again at a later time with the ground meat so it's a win, win, win for me :)

If you don't want to go down the ground meat route then I would recommend you marinate the strips a few days in marinades with citrus juice and/or pineapple juice and other liquids that are very well known to break down and tenderize tough cuts of meat. I mean this is basically how fajitas came to be with those tough cuts of flank steak that meat plants didn't want to fool with and would sell for cheap back in the day here in TX :)

Anyhow best of luck!

 

[idahobangbang]

I'm tempted to go the ground meat route, and may look into that before too awfully long. I may try some tenderizer or pineapple juice (it's got protein enzymes in it) in the mean time... but the pork loin jerky looks great too. I guess I have several things to go try! I'll post follow-ups here after I try stuff ... it may help others with the same end goal as me.

Brian

 

[tallbm]

I'm tempted to go the ground meat route, and may look into that before too awfully long. I may try some tenderizer or pineapple juice (it's got protein enzymes in it) in the mean time... but the pork loin jerky looks great too. I guess I have several things to go try! I'll post follow-ups here after I try stuff ... it may help others with the same end goal as me.

Brian

Yep try some things and see where you land. The good thing about your experimenting is that you will have a bunch of tasty results to eat :)

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I can confirm that pork loin jerky is more tender from the get go for jerky. I could easily do a loin a week as Pork loin jerky. And any jerky recipe for beef will work for pork loin as well.

 

[noboundaries]

Here's a post I did recently on tender jerky. Bottom line, I cut the meat into strips, across the grain, around 1/2" thick. I'm just about out of the batch in the post and will be repeating it soon, probably next week.

BTW, the picture of the jerky on the smoker is NOT the thick cut. The picture was there purely for showing how to build two levels in the WSM without having to remove a grate.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...ck-cut-jerky-or-cured-meat-you-choose.279211/

 

[SmokinAl]

I only make ground beef or ground pork jerky, cause I don't like chewing it all day.
Al

 

[idahobangbang]

Here's a post I did recently on tender jerky. Bottom line, I cut the meat into strips, across the grain, around 1/2" thick. I'm just about out of the batch in the post and will be repeating it soon, probably next week.

BTW, the picture of the jerky on the smoker is NOT the thick cut. The picture was there purely for showing how to build two levels in the WSM without having to remove a grate.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...ck-cut-jerky-or-cured-meat-you-choose.279211/

Thanks. I have now saved off the threads for the Pork Loin Jerky and now your Thick Cut Beef Jerky. Before this thread came in, I also found a recipe online where a guy uses a very slightly modified version of the original Luhr-Jensen recipe ... but adds about a teaspoon of Meat Tenderizer per pound of meat to it and lets it brine 24 hours. That might be worth a try too?

Brian

 

[idahobangbang]

I only make ground beef or ground pork jerky, cause I don't like chewing it all day.
Al

Seems like this would be the ultimate solution ... I'm keeping it on the back of my mind and may spring for the hardware that'll enable doing this at some point. I've got a grinder ... just need drying screens and the meat syringe thing, whatever it's called (Cabela's has them). I too prefer to eat, not chew all day ... it sorta makes me feel like the dog, chewing on rawhide!

Brian

 

[tallbm]

Seems like this would be the ultimate solution ... I'm keeping it on the back of my mind and may spring for the hardware that'll enable doing this at some point. I've got a grinder ... just need drying screens and the meat syringe thing, whatever it's called (Cabela's has them). I too prefer to eat, not chew all day ... it sorta makes me feel like the dog, chewing on rawhide!

Brian

The grinder would be the main piece unless you want to buy the leanest ground beef you can (when on sale) then no grinding necessary.

I own the LEM Jerky Cannon which is good and has the largest capacity of any jerky guns I could find on the market.
I have plans this weekend to take a different approach where I roll out sheets of ground meat (venison) and smoke them as a sheet and then cut with a pizza wheel or knife after they are done. DaveOmak and some others do it this way so I figured I would give it a shot hahaha.

So I guess what I'm saying is that you can actually do this with no equipment or as much equipment as you like. The no equipment approach(es) mean you can start today :D

 

[idahobangbang]

I wouldn't think that a sheet of jerky would dry evenly, but I guess dry is dry ... the edge areas won't be drier or more brittle than center areas? Let us know how it turns out.

I wonder if they make drying screens that fit the wire racks in my Big Chief Smoker?

Brian

 

[tallbm]

I wouldn't think that a sheet of jerky would dry evenly, but I guess dry is dry ... the edge areas won't be drier or more brittle than center areas? Let us know how it turns out.

I wonder if they make drying screens that fit the wire racks in my Big Chief Smoker?

Brian

The way the process of it all was explained to me I'm not sure I will have too much to worry about with the edges.
I was told to do them in sheets only half as wide/long as my MES racks and then to stagger the sheets so there was only one on each rack and no sheet on a rack directly above/below any other sheet.
So with the size of the sheets and the staggering I think I'll be good. Also I plan to do sheets about 1/4 inch'ish thick so that may help with evenness :D

I'm not sure but you can also look into the Q-Mats and overlap them if necessary :)

 

[idahobangbang]

The staggering probably results in a left/right air flow that flows across the top and bottom of each 'sheet of meat' fairly evenly... probably why the stuff dries evenly. Interesting....

 

[Bearcarver]

Seems like this would be the ultimate solution ... I'm keeping it on the back of my mind and may spring for the hardware that'll enable doing this at some point. I've got a grinder ... just need drying screens and the meat syringe thing, whatever it's called (Cabela's has them). I too prefer to eat, not chew all day ... it sorta makes me feel like the dog, chewing on rawhide!

Brian

LOL---I like to call it a "Caulking Gun"!!

Bear

 

[MeatSkull]

I don't mind tough but I sometimes cut it thick 1/2" and make it more like snack strips, as said Pork loin jerky is less tough. I've been known to buy a spiral sliced ham or two when on sale and jerky that, already cured just pull it apart and into the smoker or dehydrator with your favorite condiment or not.

 

[Bearcarver]

I don't mind tough but I sometimes cut it thick 1/2" and make it more like snack strips, as said Pork loin jerky is less tough. I've been known to buy a spiral sliced ham or two when on sale and jerky that, already cured just pull it apart and into the smoker or dehydrator with your favorite condiment or not.

Great Idea!! Never thought of that.
Question: Doesn't the Ham pieces get more salty tasting, because you're pulling the moisture out, and leaving the salt in it?

Bear

 

[zwiller]

Have not done it on jerky but I would say a Jaccard would work well prior to slicing. If you have alot to do then there are jerky processing tools. Basically, you are talking mechanical tenderizing and not chemical. My understanding is that chemical tenderizers such as papain etc are hard to control.

 

[idahobangbang]

Hey ... Good idea on the Jaccard. Inexpensive too ... thanks!