Making Jerky / Everything BBQ Tips Thread
 

Any of you guys make Beef Jerky? I have made a lot of wild game jerky over the years, but I have never had an end product that was what I would call fantastic. I have used about every cut of meat you can think of to make it with as well.

I have a buddy who makes the best jerky I have ever had, I'm taking not ever close. After six years, I finally talked him out of the recipe. I'm going to fire up the smoker Saturday and make some. I'm trying to figure out the best bang for the buck cut of meat to make this with. I know I want something with as little fat as possible. What cut do you guys use when you're making jerky? I was thinking top round?

I decided to expand this thread a bit and turn it into a BBQ tips and technique thread as well so people could share their tips, recipes, BBQ techniques or whatever floats your boat in the "Q" department.

I don't know about bang for buck as I get it with a half cow, but I've had success with top round.

that's what I normally use

I'd slice off Thor's hand for some jerky.

I think Flank would work as well, but I could also see that turning out tough.

no venison this time of year?

Made a couple of batches of jerky and used top round as well.

Soon :thumb: I'm just fired up to make a batch, so I'm going to have to go with beef for right now. Elk and deer will be next.

Love me some venison jerky. Good luck with your beef batch.

Thanks, I appreciate it. With this recipe, it would be hard to go wrong to be honest.

My buddy was also talking about a temp of 165 on the smoker when drying it, does that sound right?

Have not tried this but I think that will change relatively soon.

Thoughts on elk jerky?

If I was going with something that tough, I would just use bull pecker. :)

A lot less fat than a cow, so you're off to a good start.

LMAO

Can we make a coozie out of that?
No, wait...

I love venison. I'd assume it's similar but I feel that when making assumptions, I tend to err.

I got some elk from my cousin a while back and made the steaks into jerky, it came out really good.

165 sounds about right to me you could probably a little higher or lower but stay in that ballpark and you'll be good.

Now that would be one hell of a conversation piece!

Sounds right. I try to stick around 160 but have gone over as my rig struggles maintaining lower temps over 2 hours.

My brother tried this recipe from Alton Brown and it worked pretty well.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...ipe/index.html

Marinated meat that is dehydrated between air conditioner filters using a box fan.

Very close in the lean department.

Perfect

How thick do you guys cut your strips?

http://thedailyprocrastinator.com/wp.../frogsmile.jpg

Excellent.

My uncle makes great jerky, he just uses some black pepper, sometimes dips it in terriaki(sp?) and puts it in a convection oven on low with the door propped open until its dry.

I haven't tried to make jerky for 20 years and it was always dried in the oven. It turned out from bad to so-so back then. Now that I have been smoking meat for years, I'm fired up to roll with this recipe. This same guy also makes some out of this world sausage, that's next on the to do list.

I have buddies in Iowa and Colorado that fill a tag each year and share jerky. It is the stuff.

I might have to look into this.

I just can't justify making beef jerky. When I factor in the cost of good meat to make good jerky, I realize that I can't do it better or cheaper than the people that package it.

Yeah I've reached the point where I have my entire deer processed. Jerky, sticks, and summer suasage.

Summer sausage. Hell yes.

But its a good way to get rid of all that "practice deer" meat

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/i...z6tIKtVIQLdspm

I'm on a low salt, low carb (sugar) diet and I came up with a marinade/coating recipe that makes great jerky if you like a "tangy" kind of spicy flavoring. Like one of the posts mentioned, it's not cheap to make your own jerky, but I can't buy jerky off the shelf...all of them have way to much sodium. If anyone's interested, I list the recipe.

I use the propped open oven method. It usually turns out pretty damn good with top round.

What's the best way to preserve it?

Usually all the sodium helps with that...which reminds me, my jerky has to be refrigerated if you make a lot and want it to keep long.

I got a buddy who makes jerky every year for the float trip. He gets one of those flavor injecter guns and uses hamburger meat (lean) and I have to say it is amazing. He also uses a dehydrator.

I've used both the oven and the smoker. I swore after using my smoker that I would never "cheat" with the oven again. You know why so many recipes call for so much liquid smoke? It's because that's the only way oven guys get that "smoked flavor". Top round works fine, I try to slice mine 1/4"-3/8". I usually end up thicker, but that's not always bad.

If you have a hankerin' for beef jerky now, look here:
http://www.robertsons-hams.com/products/real-beef-jerky

This stuff is as close to my beef jerky as I've seen, and by that I mean kicks my jerky's ass to pieces. It's real man shit, for sure.
If you think Jack Link's make some good stuff, prepare to have your entire world shattered.

Trust me, this isn't Jack Links when it's done. We do it for the same reason we make homemade Ice Cream. Sure you can run to the store and buy ice cream, but the taste is like night and day with homemade, jerky is the same way.

Word.

You're really making me want to run out and shoot a deer.

No, beef jerky should be dried, not cooked.

Play with the recipe, but the method Alton Brown employs is the best jerky I've ever had. Quoting WhawhaWhat's post for the link.

I make some before backpacking season and ziploc it with a silica packet. :shrug:

It seems to moisten up pretty quickly though.

Good post

Get it done. :)

http://www.whitetaildeerhuntinginfo....ail-deer-1.jpg

I'm going to be driving around in about 3 hours, see one, and swerve across the interstate.

After crushing the virginianus, I'll be asked by officeers of the law "What in the sam hell were you thinking!!??"

I'll put on my David Caruso sunnies and look at them as I load the carcass into my vehicle, saying:

"Jerky".

Then I'll drive off away from the sunset.

I don't eat jerky very often. What store bought beef jerkey do you guys like the best? I tried some stuff from Colorado called Duke's. It was good, but expensive, like $6 a bag. Slim jims are a little too greasy for me.

I don't blame you, those things are just nasty. On the fly for a fishing trip, I normally grab a bag a jack links, pepper. Im not a big fan of teriyaki.

Mom uses a dehydrator and makes the best I've had ever.

If you're interested at all in the box fan dehydrator method, here's a decent thread on it: http://chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=154216

Some others may be, but I'm going the smoker route. Good thread though.

You could cold smoke, then dehydrate this way...

There was a brand around Kansas that I haven't seen in 20 years (I'm in Missouri now) called No Bull. Best leathery beef jerky I ever had. However, typing No Bull beef jerky into Google might be the most pointless thing ever.

I'm demanding a gif with this thread... "I don't always eat beef jerky, but when I do I prefer...."

Beef Jerky is the bomb.

When I lived in Houston, I attended the Texas Cattle Feeder's Association annual dinner (we sold pricing data back before the internet). They had tubs of the best jerky I've ever tasted - one of the TCFA fellows made it every year just for their shindig.

I used to help a buddy cut up elk and deer for his jerky - he would butcher the meat a little differently than I was used to from cutting up pigs and so on, where we were using saws to cross cut across the grain. He'd take whole 'muscles' off the critter, cut off at each end, then lay the muscle out on the table, slice into about 1/3" above the table and just keep slicing - going 'with the grain'. When he got almost to the end of the meat he'd turn it over and keep doing the 1/3" cut until he 'unwrapped' the whole muscle. Wind up with a long string of thin cut meat from every muscle. Keep a couple of knives handy, and a butcher's steel.

Some sort of roast from the round.

Sounds like he knew his stuff.

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I've done this a number of times. They turn out prutty darn good. Which reminds me to do it again. I usually do a number of layers. It's quite easy to.
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I don't slice my jerky completely with the grain but more on the diagonal. Shorter muscle filaments make a more tender jerky for me. I have a 5 tray dehydrator with a small heating element that might get to 150 degrees on the bottom tray. When choosing the cut I cheat. We have a local butcher (old style- take in a live animal, take home steaks) and I tell him what I doing and he hooks me up with he has that is economical and works well.

I use a tri tip.

Always go low temp and slow cooking conditions! You are wanting to draw the moisture out of the meat. Need enough salt and flavoring to end up with an edible product. The pink salt will add to overall longevity of the finished product. If you are like me, it won't last that long!

Im fixin to arrow a fat doe. Will you share the recipe?

Fun show. Couple others in texas are a hoot too. nCBA is a great time as well

Bwana, call Edes Meats in Amarillo, TX ask for Melvin the owner. [U]806-622-0205[U] This is a local butcher shop and he's famous ,at least locally for his beef jerky. I've bought $200 worth at a time and sent to my brother in Afghanistan. The troops go crazy for it. He can tell you the best cut to use and have him send you some. I have a picture of an Afghanny local in Afghanistan that has his own butcher shop holding a bag of EDE's beef jerky. He's holding the bag in one hand and a machete in the other and you can see his little leantoo shop behind him with a dead cow with it's throat cut laying there. I had an 8x10 made and gave it to Melvin to hang on his wall.

so hard to find good jerky...store stuff is just gross, even though i give in occasionally

used to get venison jerky and summer sausage from my brother, both awesome

there is a place in georgia that has pretty excellent jerky, the thin strip kind:
http://www.striplings.com/butcher-shop/jerky.html

Dave's Insanity Sauce makes a great marinade if you like it hot.

Hot is an understatement. I bought a case of his scorpion pepper sauce. I like stuff hot and spicy but jesus Christ!

I cheat on beef jerky and make it in the oven. Well I don't have a dehydrator for one. I like to use stew meat from the store already chunked up. Works pretty good for me.

Check PM

I picked up 15 lbs of top round this afternoon and plan to cut it up, season it and let it sit in the refrigerator tomorrow night to blend. Saturday is the day I smoke it.

http://www.yodersmokers.com/images/ys640_hero.png

Like burning out your colon and shooting fire out of your ass like it was a dragon.

Alright, I've had it.

I'm off to go ram a deer with my motor vehicle, drag it back to my abode and make jerky.

Hint, shoot it and save the vehicle insurance hike.



Yes

http://james-mcwilliams.com/wp-conte...Crosshairs.jpg

No

http://www.stripersonline.com/ubb547...4/deer-car.jpg

Too clean to make things right!! Use that thang!!!

I knocked out 10 racks of ribs with it last Saturday, yum.

I am really glad that I checked this thread before leaving.

*Loads a few rounds into his .300 Win Mag (can't ever be too careful, right?)*

No pics, didn't happen!

Just because at my age smoking meat is a whole new form of porn, I'll taunt you with the claim of you being a liar to get you to post pics of the ribs!

You're welcome. :D

Oh but it did. This was from last year using half the smoker. It also has a top rack.