Making Beef Jerky

[packman80]

Hey guys. I just started making beef jerky using my masterbuilt electric smoker. Wondering for guys who make it who might can give me tips or some recipes to try out. Also do any of you guys use jerky guns? I found one at my local home improvement store for $30 but looke all plastic and was not a fan of it. Saw Cabela's has a metal one for $50 and was thinking of getting it but wondering thoughts on how well jerky guns work.

[JeremyNick]

I use a jerky gun and ground venison. It takes me no time to do 3-5 lbs and the clean up is super easy.

Definitely go the jerky gun route. I have a Lem 555. My wife bought it for me for Christmas 5-6 years ago. It’s plastic. I’ve had no issues and it still works flawlessly.

[JWinn]

Once you do this, you will never buy beef jerky at the store again.

Never ground and gunned it myself. I just prefer the sliced whole muscle style.

I got a friend who's a taxidermist, and he gives me a little every other year or so when he's got a freezer full of extra meat. So many hunters only want the mount.

I usually just do it in the oven, using a store bought seasoning. When I smoke it it can be too strong for my family. I just have an old weber coals smoker though, and never got good using it.

I like High Mountain Seasoning. The blue package Mesquite flavor.

Just follow package directions, and let it marinade for at 24 hours. At least for the whole muscle.

I slice it, spread it all out, and season the daylights out of it, lol. Then stack it, and wrap it tightly in plastic, and then ziplock it for 24 hours in the fridge.

Then bake at 275 with the door cracked, and you can decide when to take it out depending on how dry you like it. I check it starting at about 45 minutes.

Store in a resealable jar. Although it never last long enough to go bad.

Good luck, although it's pretty easy. You'll be a pro in no time, and wonder why you didn't do it years ago.

[packman80]

Originally Posted by JWinn

Once you do this, you will never buy beef jerky at the store again.

Never ground and gunned it myself. I just prefer the sliced whole muscle style.

I got a friend who's a taxidermist, and he gives me a little every other year or so when he's got a freezer full of extra meat. So many hunters only want the mount.

I usually just do it in the oven, using a store bought seasoning. When I smoke it it can be too strong for my family. I just have an old weber coals smoker though, and never got good using it.

I like High Mountain Seasoning. The blue package Mesquite flavor.

Just follow package directions, and let it marinade for at 24 hours. At least for the whole muscle.

I slice it, spread it all out, and season the daylights out of it, lol. Then stack it, and wrap it tightly in plastic, and then ziplock it for 24 hours in the fridge.

Then bake at 275 with the door cracked, and you can decide when to take it out depending on how dry you like it. I check it starting at about 45 minutes.

Store in a resealable jar. Although it never last long enough to go bad.

Good luck, although it's pretty easy. You'll be a pro in no time, and wonder why you didn't do it years ago.

So far I have just done some flank steak and pounded thin as I could.

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 TBLsps sea salt
2 TBLsps brown sugar
2 TBLsps blackstrap molasses
1 TBLsps cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion power
half a bottle dark beer

That is what I do for a marinade and let it sit at least 12 hours

I then go 180 in the smoker for about 3 hours. Though I am thinking of getting a jerky gun because mine still turns out pretty thick strips.

I sometimes some hot sauce to it to the marinade to try to add a little kick.

But always on the lookout for new ways.

[JWinn]

Originally Posted by packman80

So far I have just done some flank steak and pounded thin as I could.

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 TBLsps sea salt
2 TBLsps brown sugar
2 TBLsps blackstrap molasses
1 TBLsps cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion power
half a bottle dark beer

That is what I do for a marinade and let it sit at least 12 hours

I then go 180 in the smoker for about 3 hours. Though I am thinking of getting a jerky gun because mine still turns out pretty thick strips.

I sometimes some hot sauce to it to the marinade to try to add a little kick.

But always on the lookout for new ways.

OK, that sounds pretty good!

I've never tried my own marinade. Just the dry rub out of the box. You are way ahead of me, lol.

I haven't done it in a couple of years, as I have not been able to go up for what used to be an annual ice fishing trip at my buddies house. It's just been Mule Deer and a little Elk for me. Never tried making jerky from beef.

I only do it because my wife won't eat Venison, and it makes for a great snack I get to have all for myself.

Now that the kids are grown and gone, that is. They ate it as fast as I could make it.

[Deathgate]

I switched to whole strips for my jerky a while back, but if you are using ground meat, the gun is definitely the way to go, the results are so much more even. I had a little $10 plastic one that worked fine, but $30 sounds a little pricey for plastic, I'd probably spend the extra $20 on the metal one.

[caster513]

I like to use top or bottom round roast when I can find it on sale. Slicing against the grain will be more tender and slicing with with the grain will be tougher, harder to chew. Pro tip, use a fillet knife like you would use for fish and put the meat in the freeze for 30 minutes or so just enough to make it firm, way easier to slice thin strips.

You have inspired me to dust off the dehydrator and make some this weekend!

My Marinade:

5lbs Top/Bottom Round Roast
1/3 cup soy sauce
5 tblsp pineapple juice
1/2 cup worcestershire sauce
2 tblsp liquid smoke
1/3 cup brown sugar packed
2 tsp salt & pep
3 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp onion powder
3 tsp paprika
2 1/2 tsp meat tenderizer
3 tsp red pepper flake

Marinate 12-24 hours

[kerg]

Originally Posted by caster513

Pro tip, use a fillet knife like you would use for fish and put the meat in the freeze for 30 minutes or so just enough to make it firm, way easier to slice thin strips.

If something that you are going to continually do, I'd invest in some type of slicer to make sure your cuts are consistent especially if your knife skills aren't the greatest. I don't use a gun because I'm not a fan of that type of consistency on jerky, prefer the cuts rather than shaped jerky.

[clarkzac]

Originally Posted by JWinn

Once you do this, you will never buy beef jerky at the store again.

Never ground and gunned it myself. I just prefer the sliced whole muscle style.

I got a friend who's a taxidermist, and he gives me a little every other year or so when he's got a freezer full of extra meat. So many hunters only want the mount.

I usually just do it in the oven, using a store bought seasoning. When I smoke it it can be too strong for my family. I just have an old weber coals smoker though, and never got good using it.

I like High Mountain Seasoning. The blue package Mesquite flavor.

Just follow package directions, and let it marinade for at 24 hours. At least for the whole muscle.

I slice it, spread it all out, and season the daylights out of it, lol. Then stack it, and wrap it tightly in plastic, and then ziplock it for 24 hours in the fridge.

Then bake at 275 with the door cracked, and you can decide when to take it out depending on how dry you like it. I check it starting at about 45 minutes.

Store in a resealable jar. Although it never last long enough to go bad.

Good luck, although it's pretty easy. You'll be a pro in no time, and wonder why you didn't do it years ago.

45 minutes is all!? We do ours in the oven as well, but it's usually an all day process for us. Turn the oven on to the lowest possible setting, hang the jerky using toothpicks on the racks, and crack the door. Generally takes 6+ hours to dry down enough. And that's using a meat slicer to slice it to a nice, uniform consistency.

[Brian48]

I make beef jerky all the time. I like it semi-crunchy so I always dry it good in my dehydrator. My recommendation, keep it simple. You don't need heavy marinades or anything like that in my opinion. Just a little bit of salt and pepper is all you need. Beef already has a natural flavor that's very tasty and doesn't need to be covered up by too many spices.

[shanks25]

Originally Posted by JWinn

So many hunters only want the mount.

This is a false and baseless statement. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nearly all hunters cherish the meat that hunting provides and like sharing their bounty with others.

[Siberian13]

Originally Posted by shanks25

This is a false and baseless statement. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nearly all hunters cherish the meat that hunting provides and like sharing their bounty with others.

You kill it, you might as well eat it. Just like fishing. As long as you’re following the rules provided by the state you’re in.

[JWinn]

Originally Posted by shanks25

This is a false and baseless statement. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nearly all hunters cherish the meat that hunting provides and like sharing their bounty with others.

Not in my experience, which is limited, and only from one taxidermist.

He always talks about how hunters from out of state only want the mount. And he always, always has a freezer full of extra meat to prove it. There is rarely even room for a fish in there.

It's just one taxidermists experience. Nothing to get upset over.

Heck, a lot of them make a deposit, and then blow him off when the mount is ready. He gets stuck with several every year.

He's always got a wall of finished mounts waiting to go to the owners who cannot pay.

Sells em to hunting shops, sports stores, wherever he can.

But he never goes hungry, lol.

[JWinn]

Originally Posted by Siberian13

You kill it, you might as well eat it. Just like fishing. As long as you’re following the rules provided by the state you’re in.

You would think so.

He's got lots of stories of hunters who come up, splurge, take a bull elk, make a huge deposit, and then he never hears from them again. The wife won't have that on the wall, they wont eat the meat, whatever.

Happens every year. A hunter walks away from an expensive weekend with nothing to show for it. No mount, no food, just the experience.

More jerky for me......

[Siberian13]

Originally Posted by JWinn

You would think so.

He's got lots of stories of hunters who come up, splurge, take a bull elk, make a huge deposit, and then he never hears from them again. The wife won't have that on the wall, they wont eat the meat, whatever.

Happens every year. A hunter walks away from an expensive weekend with nothing to show for it. No mount, no food, just the experience.

More jerky for me......

Well sounds like most isn’t going to waste at least

[JWinn]

Originally Posted by Siberian13

Well sounds like most isn’t going to waste at least

Oh no! No way.

About ten years ago he calls me and asks if I would like a leg from an elk. I had to drive up to almost Steamboat to get it, and I took it to a butcher in Simla Colorado as nobody else would do it for me without the tag.

Almost twenty pounds of Summer Sausage my kids went thru at light speed. Plus a few steaks from it.

It's usually two or three of us that go up for an ice fishing weekend, and he gives us all as much as we are willing to take. Already butcher wrapped. Loins, rounds, filets. There's only been a few years when he didn't have extra meat.

He once served us all an entire elk tenderloin after a day on the ice. Well, his wife did.

He like the Paul Prudome (sp) seasoning on the elk. It's awesome!

[MossDC4L]

Haven't made some in a while but this thread is making me want to start again, gonna pull out the old dehydrator and make some this weekend. I also slice my own but usually stick it in the freezer first to help make the cuts easier and as for marinade, it is usually whatever I can find quick, haven't found one I will stick with yet

[packman80]

Got lucky co-worker has a Cabela's jerky gun he no longer uses and going to sell to me so get a quality one for like half the price.

[packman80]

Did some spicy jerky today. Used the high mountain. Last time I did it came out more like Hamburger then jerky following the High Mountain directions so this time I double the seasoning they said to use and even added more cajun season out of a shaker. Then used soy sauce instead of the water they said to use and doubled the smoke time from 1 1/2 hours to 3. It came out much better this time and has nice little kick to it.