or.. i guess any meat would work, we don't have to limit it to just beef. i have a dehydrator, now what? :grin: thanks, guys! or should this go in the "sportsman's paradise" section? :huh:
If you don't heat it to at least 160 you better be sure to use sodium nitrate. Read up on the wonderful stuff that you can get if you don't.
I have found that london broil works well. Try to find a roast that is about 2" thick. A lot of the meat departments will slice it for you for free. Make sure you explain to them very clearly that you want it sliced along the short side like a block of bacon. You want the thickness about the same as the thick cut bacon too so that is a good reference for the meat guy. For some reason they mess up a lot and slice it long ways like deli cuts even after I explain what I want. For marinade I've don't many things. For a basic jerky I use liquid smoke, Dales marinade and some Tony's. Throw it all in a gallon ziplock with the beef slices for a couple hours. I've experimented with many different marinades though. Teriyaki is always a good one too.
thanks for the tip on the cut of meat, pharpe. that has been my biggest challenge. i have a marinade in mind, but was wondering about the cut of meat, and whether i should use a dry marinade (since the point of jerky is drying it out,) or if i should use a dehydrator or the oven.
I use a wet marinade so that it absorbs into the meat. Once the jerky is ready all the moister will be gone. I used the oven before I got my dehydrator. It works but it's more of a pain and makes a mess. Plus it needs to be on for like 8 hours and I really don't like to leave the house with the oven on. The way I did it in the oven was using shish kabob skewers. (Or you could use coat hangers) I would slide each strip on about an inch apart and let them hang down. Put the oven grate on the very top and pull it out as far as you can. Take the skewers and place them on the oven rake letting the meat hang down through. Make sure you put some foil below to catch any drips. Put the oven on the lowest setting and keep the door cracked. The dehydrator works the best. You just lay the meat on the trays and turn it on. Much quicker to load, you can control the drying speed a lot better, much easier to clean up, and safer to leave alone. With the oven you can't control the temp very well and it can dry them too quick sometimes and that makes them brittle and crunchy.
