Homemade jerky?

[joegrizzy]

i got a dehydrator for christmas and i've been experimenting with jerky making. so far only tried beef, but i have several pork tenderloins in the freezer (and the other freezer.....and the other other freezer....) that i may thaw out and attempt.

what i have learned so far is soy sauce marinades work great, i can get a texture basically like that of old style beef jerky, the kind you have to really let rehydrate in your mouth and chew on for a while.

but if i try something that uses something fatty like olive oil for a base then it basically just......fries. like i can't figure out the right combo of temp/time (i mean it's only two variables!) to keep the jerky from going limp -> crispy. it's like once it goes; it goes. and i don't like crispy jerky, even if the flavor is good.

i've read people take their overdone jerky and process it into pemmican or just a general meat paste/dip, but man i think i'm going to toss this stuff because it just ain't good.

anyone use olive oil as a marinade base for jerky successfully? i think i'll just stick to the soy/fish sauce marinades. my favorite so far is red curry paste in fish sauce with some garlic. or a korean bulgogi marinade of just soy sauce, garlic, and sesame oil. that one worked fine because the base was still the soy sauce with a bit of oil, i tried one that used like 1/2 cup of olive oil for 2 lb of beef and holy crap it's just grease.

also: do you guys pat dry/squeeze after marinating, or leave the marinade on? i have tried both, and this last time i didn't pat dry or scrape any off and that oil based marinade ruined it imo. so it may come down to the reactions taking place depending on the marinade on if that's a good idea or not.

 

[PBramble]

I seldom make jerky but have found that if you dry it too much, it ruins it. There's a fine line between chewable jerky and hard tack. I usually dryo mine on a wire rack in the oven at 200 degrees for a few hours, checking the "doneness". I marinade in a glass bowl and just shake off the excess before racking it.

 

[swampratt]

I have never added oil to a jerky marinade and never heard of doing that until i read your post.

I have made marinades but for easy peasy i grab a bottle of Claudes Brisket Marinade.
I usually only add crushed red pepper flakes to make it spicy.

Soak meat 8 hours and you can just let it drip dry.

You will be surprised how thick the meat needs to be ..About thick cut bologna thickness.
In a dehydrator like the stacked shelf type with air and heat at only one end you will need to rotate the trays.

Ones closer to the head dry first and if you have smaller pieces those will dry first and need removed.

If you got some a bit too dry stick them in a zip lock baggie and add a piece of bread and that bread will go very dry and the jerky will soften up a bit.
Keep it in the fridge if you do that.

I keep mine in the fridge most of the time anyway.
90% of my meat for jerky is trimmed lean Deer meat.

 

[joegrizzy]

I have never added oil to a jerky marinade and never heard of doing that until i read your post.

I have made marinades but for easy peasy i grab a bottle of Claudes Brisket Marinade.
I usually only add crushed red pepper flakes to make it spicy.

Soak meat 8 hours and you can just let it drip dry.

You will be surprised how thick the meat needs to be ..About thick cut bologna thickness.
In a dehydrator like the stacked shelf type with air and heat at only one end you will need to rotate the trays.

Ones closer to the head dry first and if you have smaller pieces those will dry first and need removed.

If you got some a bit too dry stick them in a zip lock baggie and add a piece of bread and that bread will go very dry and the jerky will soften up a bit.
Keep it in the fridge if you do that.

I keep mine in the fridge most of the time anyway.
90% of my meat for jerky is trimmed lean Deer meat.

yeah i was just trying recipes from the book that came with it; i did think to myself "why trim off all the fat and get a lean cut only to....marinade it in fatty oil?" and well.....i think my intuition was right on that one. it's somewhat dryer today, but it's still kinda.....greasy. do not like.

i had heard about the bread trick, i may do it. although my bread is a little hard and stale atm, so i might need some fresher bread lol.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

Never used oil unless a light coating on trays to prevent sticking.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

yeah i was just trying recipes from the book that came with it; i did think to myself "why trim off all the fat and get a lean cut only to....marinade it in fatty oil?" and well.....i think my intuition was right on that one. it's somewhat dryer today, but it's still kinda.....greasy. do not like.

i had heard about the bread trick, i may do it. although my bread is a little hard and stale atm, so i might need some fresher bread lol.

Snow is forecasted and you don't have fresh bread.
OMG! best wishes buddy.

 

[joegrizzy]

i don't eat much bread, thus why it gets stale

i have some frozen persimmon pulp left, i could make some persimmon bread but that's about it lol.

 

[TedKennedy]

Check out Walton's Meatgistics on You Tube. Dudes know what they're doing.

 

[swampratt]

My friend has 8 dehydrators and only 1 was decent at making jerky.
I have 1 and do not use it.. In fact now that I think about it I gave it to my younger son.

I now use a small electric smoker a neighbor gave me ..aluminum rectangular deal with a lid that comes off and a wire rack inside.
Little hinged door at the bottom front.
I hang jerky on bamboo skewers and hang on the racks.
I have a little electric portable space heater I put in front of the hinged door and turn it on and that works way better than any dehydrator I have used except a gas oven.
Gas oven is the ticket on very low.
Bigger air space and meat does not touch anything except the skewers.

 

[swampratt]

Speaking of Bread my buddy got me with a really good joke.
I can't post it here.