Super Doody
Explorer
Can anyone recommend a good homemade recipe for beef jerky? I think lamb would be good too.:drool: :chowtime:
Recipe for homemade beef jerky?
- Thread starter Super Doody
- Start date
The first time I made beef jerky it came out too salty, I'd suggest starting with a small amount like about a pound of meat a couple of times until you get good at it. If you talk to a butcher at a speciality meat shop he will know exactly which cuts of meats to use and how to cut them but so that you know, the best jerky is made from cuts which have no fat or all fat removed and are cut at about 30 to 60 degrees across the grain; flank cuts, round cuts and even sirloin are great. Buffalo or Elk meat are excellent as they have less fat than beef, lamb or pork. If the jerky comes out too salty either reduce the salt or reduce the marinading time, if too tough use a hammer type meat tenderizer to help break the fibers down.
Some recipes ask for 1/8 inch cut meat but I prefer about 3/8 inch or slightly thicker. Thicker meat takes longer to dry to jerky quality but stays moist rather than turning into cardboard. When you make the marinade taste it before using, it should be just barely salty like a good light soup for example, the saltiness and flavors will concentrate in the meat.
For a pound of meat you might want to make about 4 cups of marinade from about 1/4 cup or less of soya sauce, 1 - 2 teaspoons of salt, a couple tablespoons of brown sugar or honey and any small amounts of other flavors that you like such as, pepper, chile powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, teriyaki sauce, cummin, canned chipoltle peppers, liquid smoke, etc and soak the meat in the marinade overnight in the refrigerator. When ready to use dry the meat on towels as much as possible before putting it on racks.
If using the stove drying method lay the meat on a stove grill rack, preheat the oven to about 300F then turn the control down to the lowest setting where the stove will still turn on and off once in awhile, think drying rather than cooking. Put the meat in and leave the stove door open about an inch so humidity and heat can get out. Depending on your stove it will probably take 4 to 6 hours to make a batch.
A few tips to get tender beef jerky is to add small papaya pieces, a small amount of vinegar or lemon juice, pineapple juice, meat tenderizer or even coca cola to the marinade. Also freezing the meat first and then thawing it before marinating helps break down the fibers.
I've made jerky in the BBQ as well but it takes more time than in the stove. Preheat the BBQ to a medium heat then turn it off and put a rack of meat in. When the BBQ gets to where you can hold your hand on the top, cover it over with some insulation layer or blankets and repeat about every hour until the jerky is dried to your liking. The BBQ has the advantage in that you are able to add in a small tray of smoking wood chips for some extra flavor but too much smoke is worse than none imo.
An electric food dryer/smoker works great as you can control the small amount of dry heat needed, but even a 100 or 150 watt lightbulb in a small wooden or cardboard box or in the BBQ with a little ventilation will get the drying done.
Frozen beef jerky keeps for months.
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Some recipes ask for 1/8 inch cut meat but I prefer about 3/8 inch or slightly thicker. Thicker meat takes longer to dry to jerky quality but stays moist rather than turning into cardboard. When you make the marinade taste it before using, it should be just barely salty like a good light soup for example, the saltiness and flavors will concentrate in the meat.
For a pound of meat you might want to make about 4 cups of marinade from about 1/4 cup or less of soya sauce, 1 - 2 teaspoons of salt, a couple tablespoons of brown sugar or honey and any small amounts of other flavors that you like such as, pepper, chile powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, teriyaki sauce, cummin, canned chipoltle peppers, liquid smoke, etc and soak the meat in the marinade overnight in the refrigerator. When ready to use dry the meat on towels as much as possible before putting it on racks.
If using the stove drying method lay the meat on a stove grill rack, preheat the oven to about 300F then turn the control down to the lowest setting where the stove will still turn on and off once in awhile, think drying rather than cooking. Put the meat in and leave the stove door open about an inch so humidity and heat can get out. Depending on your stove it will probably take 4 to 6 hours to make a batch.
A few tips to get tender beef jerky is to add small papaya pieces, a small amount of vinegar or lemon juice, pineapple juice, meat tenderizer or even coca cola to the marinade. Also freezing the meat first and then thawing it before marinating helps break down the fibers.
I've made jerky in the BBQ as well but it takes more time than in the stove. Preheat the BBQ to a medium heat then turn it off and put a rack of meat in. When the BBQ gets to where you can hold your hand on the top, cover it over with some insulation layer or blankets and repeat about every hour until the jerky is dried to your liking. The BBQ has the advantage in that you are able to add in a small tray of smoking wood chips for some extra flavor but too much smoke is worse than none imo.
An electric food dryer/smoker works great as you can control the small amount of dry heat needed, but even a 100 or 150 watt lightbulb in a small wooden or cardboard box or in the BBQ with a little ventilation will get the drying done.
Frozen beef jerky keeps for months.
.
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VikingVince
Explorer
My best recipe is:
A trip to Costco plus $10 = 2 one pound pkgs of good jerky. (beef or turkey in regular or teriyaki)
A trip to Costco plus $10 = 2 one pound pkgs of good jerky. (beef or turkey in regular or teriyaki)
Check out Alton Brown's recipe from the Food TV show "Good Eats." Instead of using a food dehydrator which actually cooks the meat, he used a large fan and placed the beef jerky on Air conditioning filters. It looked pretty good, although I haven't had a chance to make it yet.
Here's the link http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_31151,00.html
I love the "special equipement" list on the recipe: "1 box fan, 4 paper air-conditioning filters, and 2 bungee cords."
Here's the link http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_31151,00.html
I love the "special equipement" list on the recipe: "1 box fan, 4 paper air-conditioning filters, and 2 bungee cords."
bmonday said:
Commercial jerky often contains potassium nitrate/saltpeter or more often sodium nitrite which turns meat a pink color or when other dies are added dark red or brown, and which also serves to combat botulism bacteria thereby giving a longer shelf life. Thats why when you see dried meat products in gas stations they are unrefrigerated.
I prefer making home cured dried meat to stay away from those chemicals but anyone making home style jerky can use those as well for additional storage life and safety.
Shelf life of homemade jerky depends on the water content, how it's packaged, at what temperature it's stored, etc, but I wouldn't leave homemade out in hot temperatures as botulism developed toxins can kill. An oldtimers solution is to put a wrapped up pure silver coin in with packaged dried meats or other dried foods and the silver ions will wipe out bacteria, mildew or fungus and give longer storage life at ambient temperatures. Modern silver ion sheets available from a butcher or meat processing supply store do the same, but they are a one use deal.
http://www.microbeguard.com/FoodTouch/FoodTouchHome.htm
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adventureduo
Dave Druck [KI6LBB]
3lbs of flank steak from Costco. Cut against grain in strips about quarter inch thick. Marinate with 2 cups of soy sauce for 20 mins in a zip lock bag. Take directly to water smoker. Smoke for 90 minutes with 3 hickory wood chips.
I do it this way every time. It's good and pretty dang soft. In a good container it can last a long time.. but never does in our house
Makes me wanna go smoke some jerky now :chowtime:
After you get good at smoking jerky, try smoking a chicken. It's good eats.
I do it this way every time. It's good and pretty dang soft. In a good container it can last a long time.. but never does in our house
Makes me wanna go smoke some jerky now :chowtime:
After you get good at smoking jerky, try smoking a chicken. It's good eats.
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Couple of recipes
First I use a "wet smoker" propane powered, with a water pan. the wood chips it normally depends on what i have on hand, I do like to use hickory, or mesquite, or a combination.
This recipe I got from a Hawaiian friend of mine. The meat I normally get what ever is the leanest and on sale, flank steak is best, but ive been buying bottom round roast and I cut it across the grain trim any fat that you can.
Pipikaula
1 cup soy sauce (I like to use the Yamasa brand)
4 tblspn white sugar
1-2 tspn Ground fresh Chili paste (kim chee base)
1-2 tspn minced garlic
2 tblspn sherry cooking wine
2 tblspn sesame seeds
marinate for 24 hours place on smoker rack turn once.
it goes pretty quick 1-2 hours, I like it pretty moist and easy to chew.
another recipe i like is more of a traditional kind of jerky, i prep the meat the same as above and the cooking time / smoke is the same
5 tblspn soy sauce
3 tblspn worcestershire sauce
2 tblspn brown sugar
1 tspn paprika
1/2 tspn pepper
1/2 tspn garlic powder
1/2 tspn onion powder
marinate 24 hours,
some optional ingrediants:
1/2 tspn or more hot pepper sauce,
1/4 tspn ceyenne
1 tspn chili powder
1/2 tspn ginger
1/2 tspn allspice
hope you enjoy, I probably make this every 2 weeks just to snack on its usually the Pipikaula. the kids devour the stuff.
First I use a "wet smoker" propane powered, with a water pan. the wood chips it normally depends on what i have on hand, I do like to use hickory, or mesquite, or a combination.
This recipe I got from a Hawaiian friend of mine. The meat I normally get what ever is the leanest and on sale, flank steak is best, but ive been buying bottom round roast and I cut it across the grain trim any fat that you can.
Pipikaula
1 cup soy sauce (I like to use the Yamasa brand)
4 tblspn white sugar
1-2 tspn Ground fresh Chili paste (kim chee base)
1-2 tspn minced garlic
2 tblspn sherry cooking wine
2 tblspn sesame seeds
marinate for 24 hours place on smoker rack turn once.
it goes pretty quick 1-2 hours, I like it pretty moist and easy to chew.
another recipe i like is more of a traditional kind of jerky, i prep the meat the same as above and the cooking time / smoke is the same
5 tblspn soy sauce
3 tblspn worcestershire sauce
2 tblspn brown sugar
1 tspn paprika
1/2 tspn pepper
1/2 tspn garlic powder
1/2 tspn onion powder
marinate 24 hours,
some optional ingrediants:
1/2 tspn or more hot pepper sauce,
1/4 tspn ceyenne
1 tspn chili powder
1/2 tspn ginger
1/2 tspn allspice
hope you enjoy, I probably make this every 2 weeks just to snack on its usually the Pipikaula. the kids devour the stuff.
robertdarin
Adventurer
rmccoy, i was going to say the same thing.:REOutArchery02:
greybrick, i have never heard of botcholism in jerkey, as botcholism needs a zero oxegen environment to live in. Does it start in the middle of the jerkey? Just wondering if you knew why this happens. Thanks for the new info.
greybrick, i have never heard of botcholism in jerkey, as botcholism needs a zero oxegen environment to live in. Does it start in the middle of the jerkey? Just wondering if you knew why this happens. Thanks for the new info.
Spikepretorius
Explorer
Google "Biltong". You'll get plenty info about the best jerky in the world.