Dehydrating with The_blue - Easy beef Jerky

Stretch · 9 May 2012 at 03:00

Is it just me or does most of the Jerky in the thread look like it will be very dry and tough compared with the stuff you get in packets from the shop.

e.g. this kind of very think stuff

I'd love to make some but I prefer mine a bit softer. Is it this possible without running the risk of not curing properly? Do you just need to cut it very thinly.

robj20 · 15 May 2012 at 12:46

Im going to give it ago, but make my own dehydrator, big cardboard box, pc fan and a 100w bulb should do the trick.

What temperature is best for drying meat a lot of places say 145f is needed to safely kill any bacteria.

The_blue · 15 May 2012 at 15:08

Stretch said:
Do you just need to cut it very thinly.

Yes.

It's not tough as long as you cut against the grain. Cutting with the grain makes long stringy bits.

The_blue · 15 May 2012 at 15:10

robj20 said:
Im going to give it ago, but make my own dehydrator, big cardboard box, pc fan and a 100w bulb should do the trick.

What temperature is best for drying meat a lot of places say 145f is needed to safely kill any bacteria.

145f is about 63c. I wouldn't got higher as your gonacook it not dry.

FrenchTart · 15 May 2012 at 15:26

Damn this thread. I've decided I can't resist any longer and will be making another batch of both jerky and biltong tonight.

Anybody ever made bakkwa before? Looks interesting and I may well give making it a try.

Stretch · 15 May 2012 at 15:41

The_blue said:
Yes.

It's not tough as long as you cut against the grain. Cutting with the grain makes long stringy bits.

Cool. Has anyone tried slicing the meat after a couple of hours in the freezer? I want to get it really thin.

FrenchTart · 15 May 2012 at 15:46

Stretch said:
Cool. Has anyone tried slicing the meat after a couple of hours in the freezer? I want to get it really thin.

That's definitely the best way to cut it. You want the meat to be as cold as possible but not quite frozen. I'd not have it in there much longer than an hour personally.

robj20 · 15 May 2012 at 15:52

The_blue said:
145f is about 63c. I wouldn't got higher as your gonacook it not dry.

What would you say is a good temp.

robj20 · 18 May 2012 at 17:00

Well mine is on its way.

Got a 60w bulb in the bottom with a hole right below that to allow air in.
And a 140mm noctua fan at the top pulling air through.

Had the beef in the fridge for 48 hours in, some salt, cider vinegar, mushroom sauce and soy.

charlaph · 19 May 2012 at 21:44

Loving this thread. My eldest has been wanting to try jerky for a while but I baulk at spending ~£2 on the prepacked nastiness you find in the supermarket. I reckon a bit of that would be enough to put him off for life. I'll have a crack at DIYing it this week.

TehBluebear · 20 Jun 2012 at 09:23

Really want to try this, but I'm having bad bad thoughts about making a marinade with Blair's After Death chilli sauce

Not sure my mouth will forgive me

Glaucus · 10 Jan 2013 at 09:21

My venison arrived(see this months purchased thread

), just have to decide on marinade and get to work tomorrow, making it.

Voltar · 10 Jan 2013 at 12:36

Glaucus said:
My venison arrived(see this months purchased thread ), just have to decide on marinade and get to work tomorrow, making it.

Post pics please mate.

I'm considering having a bash at something like this having now re-read the thread.

I wonder whether Jerk jerky would work? I'm coming up with Jerk recipies at the moment and this could potentially work I think...

The_blue · 10 Jan 2013 at 15:35

Glaucus said:
My venison arrived(see this months purchased thread ), just have to decide on marinade and get to work tomorrow, making it.

I love venison!

fringey · 10 Jan 2013 at 15:38

ewww oh hell no .... just imagine what this will do to your intestines .. no thanks i do not eat red meat often due to its lack of nutrition , and this is just worse .

krooton · 10 Jan 2013 at 15:52

fringey said:
ewww oh hell no .... just imagine what this will do to your intestines .. no thanks i do not eat red meat often due to its lack of nutrition , and this is just worse .

Protein and iron are pretty nutritious

fringey · 10 Jan 2013 at 15:57

krooton said:
Protein and iron are pretty nutritious

if your a body builder yes lol .. however eating jerky due to protein is ridiculous there are a hundred other better sources for protein !

i can just imagine it staying in my stomach for days before digesting !

The_blue · 10 Jan 2013 at 15:59

Haters gona hate!

It's all about the taste, not the nutrition.

fringey · 10 Jan 2013 at 16:03

The_blue said:
Haters gona hate!

It's all about the taste, not the nutrition.

an acquired taste !

get it right

Glaucus · 10 Jan 2013 at 17:23

fringey said:
ewww oh hell no .... just imagine what this will do to your intestines .. no thanks i do not eat red meat often due to its lack of nutrition , and this is just worse .

What rubbish. What do you think we survived on for millions of years, also also extremely nutritious, especially if its not mass farmed.

Days in your stomach? Just what. It takes about 4-5 hours to leave the stomach.
And it's also a total myth it gets stuck and rots in your intestines.

Meat is an extremely good source of protein, fats and some vitamins.

And if you think saturated fat is an issue, you should start here, then go and look at all the reserch you can
http://experiencelife.com/article/a-big-fat-mistake/

On top of the official reserch, there's plenty of peoples blood samples, that go against what you think would happen on a high fat diet.