Jerkey time...

[boogblaster]

Just put on some jerkey meat in the old dehydrater..whats your favorite jerk recipe...mine is thin cuts of deer about 4in. long 1/2in. wide by 1/4 in. thick..sause is.. ketchup,onion powder,garlic powder,pepper,garlic salt,hot mustard,soy sause,liquid smoke..mix well in glass or plastic bowl leave overnite in fridge take out and put in dehydrater for about 8 hrs....

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

KC Fish, when you put your jerky in a food dehydrator (like the ones available at Wal-Mart), you set a temperature setting, no? That temperature setting probably ranges from 85 to 150 degrees. If you set it at 140 degrees for 8 to 10 hours, by hour 10, the internal temperature of that meat is going to be 140 degrees... it's been cooked.

In the dehydrator I linked to, a fan is blowing room temperature air -- the colder air the better. My last batch was about 65 degrees for 12 hours.

Give this a shot sometime... I guarantee you'll be able to tell a difference in the taste/texture. And I'd be willing to bet you won't use that American Harvest dehydrator for beef jerky again.

No.... There is no temp setting at all. My dehydrator blows room temp air the entire time. There is one switch that controls the fan. The air is not heated, and I didn't know there were dehydrators that were heated. If that is the case, I apologize, as I guess I only speak for my food dehydrator. My jerky is not cooked, it's dried. And it's fantastic.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by KC Fish

No.... There is no temp setting at all. My dehydrator blows room temp air the entire time. There is one switch that controls the fan. The air is not heated, and I didn't know there were dehydrators that were heated. If that is the case, I apologize, as I guess I only speak for my food dehydrator. My jerky is not cooked, it's dried. And it's fantastic.

Most home-use dehydrators that you'd buy at Wal-Mart, Target, etc. blow air that is AT LEAST 85 degrees... recipes in those dehydrators tell people to set the temp setting at 145 degree and dry for 8-12 hours...

And yes... the way you and I are doing it IS fantastic.

[InChiefsHeaven]

Wow. I suck. I thought it had to be cooked. The only time I've ever had any success was doing jerky in the oven. Came out kinda tough and too chewy. I mean, it was edible and all, but not really very good. I'll have to remember that about the no cooking thing.

[InChiefsHeaven]

Originally Posted by InChiefsHell

Wow. I suck. I thought it had to be cooked. The only time I've ever had any success was doing jerky in the oven. Came out kinda tough and too chewy. I mean, it was edible and all, but not really very good. I'll have to remember that about the no cooking thing.

Redrum in 5...4..3..2..

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by InChiefsHell

Wow. I suck. I thought it had to be cooked. The only time I've ever had any success was doing jerky in the oven. Came out kinda tough and too chewy. I mean, it was edible and all, but not really very good. I'll have to remember that about the no cooking thing.

Follow that link I sent... spend $15 on a cheap box fan and another $3 on a/c filters (try and get the NON fiberglass kind) and you're set for a long time... personal preference, I like to use a cheap cut of meat and cut WITH the grain. It's a little chewier that way... if you like, though, cut cross grain.

[Redrum_69]

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[Fish]

Anybody tried this on their deer jerky? Very good stuff..... Although I make my own marinade, if you're in a hurry this works great for a quick easy store-bought marinade for deer....

http://www.allegromarinade.com/gametame.html

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by KC Fish

Anybody tried this on their deer jerky? Very good stuff..... Although I make my own marinade, if you're in a hurry this works great for a quick easy store-bought marinade for deer....

http://www.allegromarinade.com/gametame.html

I've tried the Allego marinades before and wasn't overly impressed... too salty. But I also make my own marinades.

[InChiefsHeaven]

Originally Posted by Redrum_69

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Heh. I was convinced that admitting that I suck and the "doing jerky" part would surely solicite a comment from you...

[seclark]

is this a jerky-off?
sec

[InChiefsHeaven]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

Follow that link I sent... spend $15 on a cheap box fan and another $3 on a/c filters (try and get the NON fiberglass kind) and you're set for a long time... personal preference, I like to use a cheap cut of meat and cut WITH the grain. It's a little chewier that way... if you like, though, cut cross grain.

I went to the one Da Face posted, the other wouldn't work for me. OK, so it says that you lay the meat on the paper air filters (3 of them) then you put another on top, so you need 4 altogether. Then you lay the fan on its side (I'm thinking it's back, in other words, put it to where it would be blowing straight up from the ground to the ceiling) then strap the filters to it with the bungee chords. THen you stand it back up again...this means that the fan is pushing the air through the filters and the meat, but doesn't that get a little front heavy? would it be fine to just leave it on it's back and blow the air up?

I'm the kind of guy that needs a picture...

[InChiefsHeaven]

Originally Posted by seclark

is this a jerky-off?
sec

Indeed, of the circular variety.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by InChiefsHell

I went to the one Da Face posted, the other wouldn't work for me. OK, so it says that you lay the meat on the paper air filters (3 of them) then you put another on top, so you need 4 altogether. Then you lay the fan on its side (I'm thinking it's back, in other words, put it to where it would be blowing straight up from the ground to the ceiling) then strap the filters to it with the bungee chords. THen you stand it back up again...this means that the fan is pushing the air through the filters and the meat, but doesn't that get a little front heavy? would it be fine to just leave it on it's back and blow the air up?

I'm the kind of guy that needs a picture...

It actually works... I usually only do three filters (two full of meat, one empty), but it'll work just fine. If you wanted you could lay the fan flat, but it would need to be sitting above ground between a couple of chairs or something, otherwise you'd get no air flow.

If you get a normal box fan, you'll need 20"x20" filters, exactly the size of the fan. Set the whole contraption on the floor and you won't have to worry about it tipping over.

[InChiefsHeaven]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

It actually works... I usually only do three filters (two full of meat, one empty), but it'll work just fine. If you wanted you could lay the fan flat, but it would need to be sitting above ground between a couple of chairs or something, otherwise you'd get no air flow.

If you get a normal box fan, you'll need 20"x20" filters, exactly the size of the fan. Set the whole contraption on the floor and you won't have to worry about it tipping over.

Duh! That makes sense...cool!

So, you re-use the filters? I mean, they don't get all nasty and stuff? I realize that the meat is patted dry...

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by InChiefsHell

Duh! That makes sense...cool!

So, you re-use the filters? I mean, they don't get all nasty and stuff? I realize that the meat is patted dry...

I reuse them once (to two total uses). And it's important that they're dry... I normally lay the meat on a cooling rack in front of the fan and blast the fan for 15-20 minutes prior to laying the meat on the filters.