Homemade Jerky

ageros
ageros Posts: 66 Member
edited September 28 in Food and Nutrition
There are few things in this world and glorious has jerky. Its lean, full of protein, and not hard to make at all.

I've been doing homemade jerky on and off for a few years now. So far my favorite to make is a simple hickory smoke style flavor. Generally speaking I used a prepackaged cure/spice mix that I can get from a local Bass Pro Shop, but I'm curious if any other jerky makers out there have some great spice ideas for jerky.

Replies

  • schaapj2
    schaapj2 Posts: 320 Member
    Will you post this recipe...I am very interested in trying to make my own!
  • MaysMom
    MaysMom Posts: 103 Member
    I have always wanted to learn to make my own jerky. How do you do it? What meats to you use? A friend of mine used to make fish, turkey, chicken, and naturally beef. I have a dehydrator but I had bought it at a yard sale, and don't know about makng jerky in it.
  • ageros
    ageros Posts: 66 Member
    I've only ever used beef, though I'd like to branch out into other meats eventually.

    Making jerky is very straight forward. To start, you need the leanest meat you can get. You absolutely do not want fat as it can go rancid very quickly. I usually use something like a london broil since its so lean.

    Once you have the meat you cut it down to 1/4" to 3/8" thick slices, cut away as much fat as you can.Also, you can choose to cut with or against the grain, its a matter of personal taste.

    After the meat is cut you need to get your spice and your cure. There are a lot of different types I've seen. Some spice mixes you mix with water and soak it that way, some are dry rubs. Find one you like. MAKE SURE YOU CURE THE MEAT! Most mixes I have found recommend curing for 24 hours in the fridge to kill bacteria.

    After the meat is ready then you put it in the dehydrator/oven/smoker. Each method is a little different. I use a dehydrator because I find it easy to manage, and I got mine for about $40 from wal-mart, so its not a high investment device. You don't need a dehydrator though, you can use your oven. A quick google search will return plenty of instructions on how to use the different drying methods.

    Finally, after its done...eat the heck out of that delicious snack.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories