Post by Old Ironsights on Feb 15, 2009 22:59:59 GMT -5
It's been a year or more since anyone posted anything about Jerky, so... I just did this post for some guys on Leverguns and thought I's cross-post it here..
Making Oven-Jerky.
It's not really complicated or fancy, but it works. It DOES work best in the dead of winter on a beastly cold and dry day though becase you are leaving your oven door open... keep that in mind.
Gas ovens work best. Electric just doesn't dry as well or circulate the air as well. They work, but they require a bit more tweaking.
Here is the Jerky Block I use to slice whole-tissue into 1/4" thick slices. The back side is routed to aid in slicing off particularly annoying silverskin.
Simple enough to make and wildly handy. Lay a hunk-o-meat in the trough and run a fillet knife down the rails. Instant Jerky Slice.
I make my Jerky Marianade mostly by Guess and by Golly to a highly acidic taste, but DO include commercial sodium nitrate to aid in the cure process. I do NOT use water in my marianade. I use only Booze (in this case Burbon), Vinegars and acidic/capsacianic Juices. Tap Water is crawling with bugs & chemicals I don't want on my meat. (yes, capsicum is an alkaloid and counters some of the acidity, but I think it helps ballance the blend...)
Here is #35 of Venison Slices soaking in Jerky Brew. It has been like this at 38deg & mixed about once a day for the last week.
This batch started with a 1.75 of Store Brand Burbon, to which I added 2 packages of Cabelas Teriaki Jerkey seasoning & Sulfates, then 1/3 bottle of Malt Vinegar (4oz?), 1/3 bottle of Red Wine Vinegar (4oz?), about 1/2 C (?) lemon juice, 1/2C (?) Jalepeno & Bananapepper juice, then some chili powder, Chinese 5 spice, & I don't-remember-what-all untill the liquid "tasted right".
Then I tumbled the meat strips in that mix then poured the lot into the tote, then added cheap red wine to the tote until the meat would stay submerged.
I cook by Taste, not by Numbers... ;D
Before placing the meat strips on the drying rack(s) you need to "milk" the excess Jerky Brew off the strips - otherwise you will be burning juice & humidifying the oven as much as drying meat. Layered on a Drying Rack:
I sprinkle Ground Pepper on both sides of each strip.
Ready for the Oven:
Crack the door open:
Try to keep the ambient in the oven around 150-160deg. DO NOT TRUST THE OVEN TEMP GUAGE/SENSOR. Get a thermometer you can put inside and see through the cracked open door.
After an hour I pull the racks out and turn all the meat:
Then do it again every Hour until done.
I find it takes anywhere from 4 to 6 hours to sufficiently dry the jerky in my oven.
Those 5 racks were finished in just over 5 hrs and prodced 6lb of ready-to-eat jerky.
I think I've got another 15 to 20 racks to go...
before I start up on the Slim-Jims. ;D
Making Oven-Jerky.
It's not really complicated or fancy, but it works. It DOES work best in the dead of winter on a beastly cold and dry day though becase you are leaving your oven door open... keep that in mind.
Gas ovens work best. Electric just doesn't dry as well or circulate the air as well. They work, but they require a bit more tweaking.
Here is the Jerky Block I use to slice whole-tissue into 1/4" thick slices. The back side is routed to aid in slicing off particularly annoying silverskin.
Simple enough to make and wildly handy. Lay a hunk-o-meat in the trough and run a fillet knife down the rails. Instant Jerky Slice.
I make my Jerky Marianade mostly by Guess and by Golly to a highly acidic taste, but DO include commercial sodium nitrate to aid in the cure process. I do NOT use water in my marianade. I use only Booze (in this case Burbon), Vinegars and acidic/capsacianic Juices. Tap Water is crawling with bugs & chemicals I don't want on my meat. (yes, capsicum is an alkaloid and counters some of the acidity, but I think it helps ballance the blend...)
Here is #35 of Venison Slices soaking in Jerky Brew. It has been like this at 38deg & mixed about once a day for the last week.
This batch started with a 1.75 of Store Brand Burbon, to which I added 2 packages of Cabelas Teriaki Jerkey seasoning & Sulfates, then 1/3 bottle of Malt Vinegar (4oz?), 1/3 bottle of Red Wine Vinegar (4oz?), about 1/2 C (?) lemon juice, 1/2C (?) Jalepeno & Bananapepper juice, then some chili powder, Chinese 5 spice, & I don't-remember-what-all untill the liquid "tasted right".
Then I tumbled the meat strips in that mix then poured the lot into the tote, then added cheap red wine to the tote until the meat would stay submerged.
I cook by Taste, not by Numbers... ;D
Before placing the meat strips on the drying rack(s) you need to "milk" the excess Jerky Brew off the strips - otherwise you will be burning juice & humidifying the oven as much as drying meat. Layered on a Drying Rack:
I sprinkle Ground Pepper on both sides of each strip.
Ready for the Oven:
Crack the door open:
Try to keep the ambient in the oven around 150-160deg. DO NOT TRUST THE OVEN TEMP GUAGE/SENSOR. Get a thermometer you can put inside and see through the cracked open door.
After an hour I pull the racks out and turn all the meat:
Then do it again every Hour until done.
I find it takes anywhere from 4 to 6 hours to sufficiently dry the jerky in my oven.
Those 5 racks were finished in just over 5 hrs and prodced 6lb of ready-to-eat jerky.
I think I've got another 15 to 20 racks to go...
before I start up on the Slim-Jims. ;D
Your directions are great Iron but with a dehydrator how long should I cook it and will I need to flip the meat over every hour like you are doing with a stove? I'm sure directions will come with the machine but I don't want to screw it up... I'm sure the time is proably not as long either. Just looking and want to make it right the first time. I had a deer butchered last year that for some strange reason they gave me back 30# of burger and need to do something with it.