Making Jerky and other dehydrated foods

[user 6393]

i had been content with the Wusthofs my mom would bring back from Germany when she went home for visits, until this...

https://knifewear.com/collections/kotetsu

I got to play with the petty and the mid length ko-bunka and now am ruined...

 

[Knifemaker]

I think Wostof blades are comparable to Henkel blades. If you look at the background shot of one of my knife racks in post #21, you can see I have a few Henkel blades, and a few other odd knives there. Good steel is important, but also proper care and knowing how to put a good edge on a blade make a difference too.

The black Chefs knife pictured there is a fairly cheap knife. The teflon coated blade however takes a quick edge, and between that and the Santuko next to it are my choices for everyday veggie cutting. I actually like "rescuing" old steel knives at flea markets and refurbishing them. Yes, carbon steel. Yes it can rust, but if you take care of them they can be great kitchen knives. I just redid a 50 year old Swedish knife I bought for $3 and it works well.

I have a thin bladed Chinese carbon steel cleaver that I use to chop veggies, and cut pizza with that came with a wok I bought. Again, knowing how to put a working edge on a blade and how to maintain it is more important than how much you spend on your steel. If your blade dulls and you don't know how to sharpen it properly you've wasted your money....

So...back on topic...

My meat went for about 4-1/2 hours in the dehydrator, came out great:

Not as spicy hot as the last batch, which was my intent. Although a different cut of meat, texture and chewyness about the same. (And before you tell me I could have the pieces closer together, they were...they just shrunk during the drying)

Going to try using ground meat next batch. Will take at least a week to consume this batch...

 

[Knifemaker]

Went ahead the other day and made some jerky using 2.3 pounds of lean ground (97% / 3%) beef. I got three packets of "Original" jerky seasoning with three "cure" packets when I bought the dehydrator, so decided to try them out. Used 2 of each. My son gave me his jerky gun as he said he preferred to just use a rolling pin, and he had problems using the gun (air pockets).

I had no issues, the flavored ground meat extruded perfectly, just had to use some kitchen shears to cut the strips as I went along. As mentioned by someone here, the curing salt did make the jerky a bit salty...but it was not objectionable at all. I would have thought using ground meat that the pieces would be less chewy or easier to tear, but they weren't. Not sure if this was just do to the leanness of the meat, or if I over dried it. The pieces cracked when bent but didn't break, with fine hair-like fibers visible when they were torn....all indicators of properly done jerky. And all the pieces were a nice uniform 1-1/4" strips and all seem to be the exact same consistency....which was kinda cool.

Taste wise, no complaints here. Seemed to be an exact copy of Jack Links "original" jerky flavor wise, which isn't a bad thing.

Next time I think I'll use my own spices, and perhaps leave out the curing salt. I did like the consistency of using the jerky gun, so my thinking now is to start grinding my own meat....

 

[user 6393]

that ground stuff always reminds me of dog treats, dunnowhy....

 

[HotRodZilla]

that ground stuff always reminds me of dog treats, dunnowhy....

Because, essentially, they are. Just with less lips and anus mixed in. Haha...still tastes good, so screw it. I've never made jerky from ground meat, but that sounds awesome and anus free!!

 

[user 6393]

that ground stuff always reminds me of dog treats, dunnowhy....

Because, essentially, they are. Just with less lips and anus mixed in. Haha...still tastes good, so screw it. I've never made jerky from ground meat, but that sounds awesome and anus free!!

anus free? I am not sure you can verify that LOL

 

[SacramentoMike]

I think the USDA standard is less than 50% anus. Enjoy.

 

[Knifemaker]

Dog jerky treats aren't even good for dogs....

https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation/ucm360951.htm

I heard they also made them from cow lung. But then, even generic "ground beef" in this country contains stuff you don't want to know about. ..which is why I don't eat fast food burgers anymore

 

[eflyguy]

I rarely make burgers but if I do, I grind meat myself..

 

[gregory]

Got some London broil to smoke this weekend.

Pretty much gonna be sticking to Knifemaker's base marinade

 

[Knifemaker]

Retrying the ground meat jerky.

This time made my own marinade, no curing salt. 2.3 pounds of extra lean ground meat, mixed with:

* 2tbsp Soy sauce

* 3 tsp liquid smoke (hickory)

* 1 tbsp Worcester sauce

* 3 tbsp brown sugar

* 1 tsp kosher salt

* 2 tsp garlic powder

* 2 tsp onion powder

* 2 tsp ground black pepper

* 1 tsp ground ginger

* 1/4-1 tsp cayenne pepper....depending on how hot you like . I used 1/2 tsp.

* 2 tsp smoked paprika

In the dehydrator now. Let you know how it turns out....

Edit...by the way, I am also reheating the last slab of smoked baby back ribs we had for dinner..you have no idea how ******* awesome the smell in our house is now....

The 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper along with the paprika turned out to make this batch rather HOT...hotter than I like. As my son loves hot/spicy stuff I am going to freeze this and give it to him for Christmas.