Home-Made Jerky? (Idea Sharing)

[Xenorak]

Who all has ever made some tasty meat sticks at home to share or horde for themselves? I'm currently working on my second batch, used to be a thing my old man did in the winter but died off, since I moved out ages ago I decided to experiment a bit. This batch is intended to be Teriyaki and a separate test of using reduced Honey Whiskey + Honey (to even it out), I used a basic Soy and Worcestershire sauce base on the first batch I made and put some black pepper on before drying, it turned out okay but not as strong a flavor as I wanted likely due to the amount of meat in the marinade.

So what have you guys tried or suggest trying for future batches? I got a few 3 day weekends coming up and plan to use them for more testing (I take roughly 3 days per batch)

 

[Sirus7264]

@Montoya didnt you have a post on this once?

 

[Xenorak]

Yup, seems he did and my genius self at 2AM didnt use the search function... Again.

 

[Printimus]

PICS OR IT DIDNT HAPPEN

 

[Heartwood]

Hey there!

I just checked out Montoya's clip on self made Jerky meat and can only offer minimal additional input:

The lazy student method

Buy a drying machine for 40-80€. That plastic layered thing fans in warm air into multiple layers of plastic rings on which you can put your meat. Takes about 9-12h.

For the meat, i took cheap "roulade" of beef or pork. In Germany, we have those pre packed and it's basically a flat long piece of lean meat, rolled up.

I cut it in small stripes and marinade with honey & spices + some acid to soften the meat.

You can also use the dryer for fruit rings, if the wife wants some more "healthy" meals.

 

[Thalstan]

I refer you to one of my favorite shows

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/beef-jerky-recipe-2103581

He also uses a similar method for drying herbs

Note, the air filters are PAPER, not fiberglass. In his words...Fiberglass is not good eats.

 

[Thalstan]

Hey there!

I just checked out Montoya's clip on self made Jerky meat and can only offer minimal additional input:

The lazy student method

Buy a drying machine for 40-80€. That plastic layered thing fans in warm air into multiple layers of plastic rings on which you can put your meat. Takes about 9-12h.

For the meat, i took cheap "roulade" of beef or pork. In Germany, we have those pre packed and it's basically a flat long piece of lean meat, rolled up.

I cut it in small stripes and marinade with honey & spices + some acid to soften the meat.

You can also use the dryer for fruit rings, if the wife wants some more "healthy" meals.

The problem with drying machines is they also tend to cook the meet instead of just drying it. This changes the texture

 

[Heartwood]

I have done 3-4 batches with different temperatures; 1 with 60°C, 1 with 90°C and the other with 70-80°C.
The 60° was barely done after 12h and had the most taste, but texture was not quite there yet (too soft)
The 80° was the most balanced. Would do that again.
The 90° was too hot and made the texture really hard.

The dryer was a reduced offer for 70€ but did cost 120 originally. Quality may differ greatly with cheaper products.

 

[Montoya]

@Montoya didnt you have a post on this once?

Yeah, I make the South African version of jerky we call biltong.

I have tried many versions of jerky and none can compare.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8puHn6oIRU

 

[Deroth]

If you don't hunt, or know anyone that does, there are legit sites where you can order wild meats (deer, elk, etc.)
They're extremely lean (great for jerky), but getting it that way can be expensive and not all countries permit it.

 

[Ammorn]

You can also use the dryer for fruit rings, if the wife wants some more "healthy" meals.

That's not food, that's what food eats!

 

[Ammorn]

Yeah, I make the South African version of jerky we call biltong.

I have tried many versions of jerky and none can compare.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8puHn6oIRU

Have you tried putting a tap on the bottom corner and setting the box at an angle to collect the drippings? You could spike it and make biltong shots.

 

[Agent_Mothman]

I make my own jerky as well, I bought a dehydrator for it. I generally wing the recipes, but I love to use sriracha as a flavor. I rarely use soy sauce, and instead, use Worcester sauce,

 

[Bambooza]

Worcester sauce

That's because those rotten anchovies and onions makes everything taste better.

 

[Xenorak]

That's because those rotten anchovies and onions makes everything taste better.

Damn right they do lol

I was planning to start dehydrating tonight but am opting to let it sit for another 12 hours or so and will do it tomorrow. Because Im lazy.
I'll have to add the results once its done to.

 

[maynard]

Who all has ever made some tasty meat sticks at home to share or horde for themselves?

you must be new here

search the site for 'biltong'

 

[Xenorak]

you must be new here

search the site for 'biltong'

We established on the second post that there was a prior thread on this, It was also 2AM and sleep deprivation does stuff

 

[Deroth]

We established on the second post that there was a prior thread on this, It was also 2AM and sleep deprivation does stuff

There are some things there can never be enough threads for, beer and meat are just two of those things.

 

[Xenorak]

Results:

Spoiler

So the Honey Whiskey was, in my opinion, a bad choice, it retained more alcohol flavor than I anticipated and the honey content used to try and balance the flavor created a sort of candy coating. While initially sweet and balanced the bite of the Whiskey quickly takes over making larger pieces a bit to much, so I cut everything into tiny pieces.

This comprised roughly half the meat used.

The attempted teriyaki bore similar results with a rather over-bearing flavor, as well as notable salt content due to co-use of soy in an equal amount to the teriyaki. Personally I find it to be a better outcome but still cut it up to mitigate things.

Some pieces weren't quite done of course due to my shitty thick hand cuts. Thankfully these batches being basically opposites allows me to eat a sweet/bitter H.Whiskey bit and then a Teriyaki, so it's not a total screw-up.

TL;DR: Marginal success, polar opposite batches, 7/10 may try again.

 

[Hybus]

my preferred meat stick around here is the dried sausage we make every year. Typically end of Jan, beginning of Feb when pork goes on sale. Just ground up pork butts, casings, hanging in the cold room for 6-8 weeks. My only hard rule is 35g of salt per 1kg of meat, other flavour additives are up to personal preference. Mine are usually some roasted red peppers, garlic and a pile of hot peppers. Of course, always do a test-fry before you start loading up the casings to ensure proper seasoning.