Uncured Jerky Temps

[eightythree]

I'm going for my 2nd shot at beef jerky in my MES smoker. The 1st batch came out too dry, crumbly texture and too much smoke. I think I let the temperature climb way to high and smoked for way too long.

If you are not using cure in your jerky marinade the USDA recommends 165. My question is for how long do you need to cook at that temperature? What temp can you safely drop down to afterworkds?

 

[crankybuzzard]

Good info here.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/co...13aad1e/Jerky_and_Food_Safety.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

 

[eightythree]

I actually got my info from the USDA on that page. It was a little unclear on this part :

After heating to 160 °F or 165 °F, maintaining a constant dehydrator temperature
of 130 to 140 °F during the drying process is important because:

So do you place the jerky in a cold smoker and then raise the heat to 165, or do you place your jerky into the smoker when it reaches temp? How long does the meat need to remain at 165 to kill bacteria?

Thanks for the reply!

 

[crankybuzzard]

I actually got my info from the USDA on that page. It was a little unclear on this part :

After heating to 160 °F or 165 °F, maintaining a constant dehydrator temperature

of 130 to 140 °F during the drying process is important because:

So do you place the jerky in a cold smoker and then raise the heat to 165, or do you place your jerky into the smoker when it reaches temp? How long does the meat need to remain at 165 to kill bacteria?

Thanks for the reply!

Another good reason to use a cure with jerky, lots of confusion and variables...

Here's a site that answers your questions about how to heat to 160.

http://www.meatsandsausages.com/drying-preservation/jerky/whole-meat-jerky

 

[daveomak]

You can safely cook meat at a lower temperature... Below is a "Time / Temperature" guide to safely kill pathogens... It's the same practice used in "Sous Vide".... Holding a piece of meat at a lower temperature, for a longer period of time, has the same effect on pathogens as a high temp for a short period of time..... As far as I know, this chart does not reflect killing botulism, sooooo, do not add smoke using this table... have the dampers wide open for good air flow so there is not an oxygen deficit.... botulism grows in an oxygen deficient atmosphere...


Translation of the number below......

Holding the meat "internal temperature" at a temperature of 135 deg. F., for 36 minutes..... gives the same results as holding the "Internal Temperature" at 158 deg. F., for zero seconds... That makes it safe to eat.... HOWEVER, it may not be dry, or due to a thermometer that is not calibrated correctly, I recommend holding at lower temps for longer periods than the chart shows....

Hope all this makes sense..... Dave


Temperature Time Temperature Time
°F (°C) (Minutes) °F (°C) (Seconds)
130 (54.4) 112 min 146 (63.3) 169 sec
131 (55.0) 89 min 147 (63.9) 134 sec
132 (55.6) 71 min 148 (64.4) 107 sec
133 (56.1) 56 min 149 (65.0) 85 sec
134 (56.7) 45 min 150 (65.6) 67 sec
135 (57.2) 36 min 151 (66.1) 54 sec
136 (57.8) 28 min 152 (66.7) 43 sec
137 (58.4) 23 min 153 (67.2) 34 sec
138 (58.9) 18 min 154 (67.8) 27 sec
139 (59.5) 15 min 155 (68.3) 22 sec
140 (60.0) 12 min 156 (68.9) 17 sec
141 (60.6) 9 min 157 (69.4) 14 sec
142 (61.1) 8 min 158 (70.0) 0 sec
143 (61.7) 6 min
144 (62.2) 5 min
145 (62.8) 4 min
Table C.1: Pasteurization times for beef, corned beef, lamb, pork and cured pork (FDA, 2009, 3-401.11.B.2).

 

[atomicsmoke]

You can safely cook meat at a lower temperature... Below is a "Time / Temperature" guide to safely kill pathogens... It's the same practice used in "Sous Vide".... .... As far as I know, this chart does not reflect killing botulism, sooooo, do not add smoke using this table... have the dampers wide open for good air flow so there is not an oxygen deficit.... botulism grows in an oxygen deficient atmosphere...
.

Won't there be the same concern for sous vide cooking (no oxygen)?

 

[daveomak]

You can safely cook meat at a lower temperature... Below is a "Time / Temperature" guide to safely kill pathogens... It's the same practice used in "Sous Vide".... .... As far as I know, this chart does not reflect killing botulism, sooooo, do not add smoke using this table... have the dampers wide open for good air flow so there is not an oxygen deficit.... botulism grows in an oxygen deficient atmosphere...
.

Won't there be the same concern for sous vide cooking (no oxygen)?

I've never seen botulism mentioned in a sous-vide recipe... and I did mention to not use smoke using this recipe and have the dampers wide open so there was not an oxygen deficient atmosphere....