Jerky

Sorry but I thought this should be separate from the dehydrator thread.

I have just been reading up on making jerky and until today I always thought the meat was pre-cooked. Wouldn't there be a health risk with drying and eating "raw" meat jerky?

My local store has some cheap beef heart that I was going to try drying.

There is a risk in all we do.
I know nothing about beef hearts used in beef jerky.
Beef jerky i have made for years. Just learn all you can about it, and you will be fine.
Will be bring jerky to the June meeting for everyone (brave folks) to try if they like.
Should start a batch next Tuesday.

one thing, do not use tons of garlic , ruined 5 pounds worth last year 😳

Dehydrator jerky is the same as dryed jerky.
The drying process was originally done in two ways;
Sun Drying
Smoke drying

Both are a curing, cooking and preservation processes, both remove the moisture and cure the meat. There are variations to the two main ways that were done, you can actually do some very intriguing combinations as well. Both of the main drying processes remove the moisture, moisture and oxygen are the main causes of meat becoming bad.

Bugs and Mold love moisture thus the curing process removes the moisture, cures the meat for long term storage. Variations on the theme, smoking and creating Bill-tongue (South African delicacy.. give them some and watch them gobble it down). Now as stated there are many ways to preserve the meat, some also include potting in which you fill a jar or container with meat, cooked or uncooked slather the top with 4-10 inches of certain types of fat to keep out the oxygen. Google meat potting.

The Mennonites have a process similar to the billtongue meat process, the meat looks like great big salami meat rolls. Salami making is another variation on the drying and processing theme for meat preservation. The Mennonite way of curing the meat is a combination, drying, smoking and cooking process in which the rolls are able to be stored in their final wrap just hanging from the rafters for up to 3-4 years.

Dehydrating jerky is as simple as doing it over the fire, in the Oven or in the actual dehydrator. This has evolved from the labour intensive outdoor sun drying and outdoor food drying although very eco friendly is labour intensive as you need a 24hr guard to swat away the bugs and keep away the animals.

Buy the way I have had some pre cooked Beef Jerky and would not recommend you go that route so much, it does not taste as good pre cooked. There is also a size variation, in that pre cooked pieces are always much larger than the thinly shaved meat that is pre cut before dehydrating. Dehydrating cooked meat is good however for preserving the meat to be re-constituted later for soups and stews.

One of my fav all time food experiences was paper thing Bison strips, smoked and then put on some thin whole grain fresh bread. Can you say Yummy! So tender, so mouth watering and surprisingly so filling. When you use the best ingredients you become fuller from the full and rich taste as well as from the quality of the food source.

Neat site, early peoples
http://www.chemistryland.com/CHM130W/01-Intro/02-WhyChemistry/EarlyChemistry/QuestionsForEarlyChemistry.html

might add more in later, that is a synopsis.

Thank you both.

I was just going to try dehydrating a sliced roast but I ate it all lol

Very cool web site WildE thank you

Hi.
My name is Izzy and I am a beef jerky addict.

When I didn't have the dehydrator I made it on a low temp in the stove. Drying time was about 6 hours and I highly recommend rotating the pans about once an hour and flipping the pieces every 2 hours.
We have done spicy chipotle, coke and ketchup, regular with liquid smoke, garlic, sweet and sour, oh the list goes on...... *drool*
I buy the cheap $1.97 beef roasts from the grocery store, trim off the fat, slice them fairly thin with the electric knife. Marinade in a bowl overnight. Drain in the morning, place pieces on parchment paper on metal pans, oven is set at lowest temp and I do not lay the pieces flat, I leave some wrinkles in each piece if I can. Gives it that store bought look lol
Never had a complaint about it 🙂
It is kind of like chili... everyone has their favorite recipe, some are always better than others 🙂

that would be the $1.97 a pound roasts. See I got all excited about the jerky and left words out. 😳

that would be the $1.97 a pound roasts. See I got all excited about the jerky and left words out. 😳

😀 good you can give me some more tips or maybe a recipe or two at the meet

Yes, I am thinking I should bring my note book... everything is in there. Recipes, lists, preps... my kids call it "mom's good book" lol my Mom says it's "Izzy's Bible" hahaha!

I've done jerky in my oven once, long time ago. I hung the strips on one of the racks, and hung them on the highest position with a tray on the bottom rack. Had the heat on the lowest setting with door opened a crack to let out the moisture easier. The meat turned out good, but I wasn't happy with the brine that I used.

There is also a size variation, in that pre cooked pieces are always much larger than the thinly shaved meat that is pre cut before dehydrating. Dehydrating cooked meat is good however for preserving the meat to be re-constituted later for soups and stews.

I just took another roast out to try this hopefully I don't eat it all first lol

Not sure if I am reading this correctly... Jerky is made from raw meat... not cooked and dried...

Not sure if I am reading this correctly... Jerky is made from raw meat... not cooked and dried...

Jerky can be made both ways;
best way is thinly sliced
then put into brine with seasoning,
overnight in fridge is best
then put into dehydrator

Jerky can be from pre cooked meat, although the slices would be bigger/thicker, take time to dry out and then could be chewed or rehydrated.
there are also variations, of some cooking, some smoking which partially cooks the meat and on and on.
Bobs your Uncle

A few suggestions in cutting the meat for jerky. Put the meat in the freezer until almost frozen, the meat will be easier to cut into thin slices. Cut the meat with the grain, and a butterfly cut will give you longer strips.

I was just going to use my meat slicer. Does the grain made a difference?