I usually process all the deer myself, but a friend says she'll make me some jerky this year. What's the best part of the deer to make jerky from?

Front quarters and rib/neck meat.

if your able to sacrifice a backstrap, nothing better than dryed, seasoned jerky meat sticks in the stand to pass the time....

I usually have a ham turned into one

I have used everything from hams to backstrap.. i tend to leave the backstrap for steaks but it also makes for some great jerky.

I have never heard of using other than hams or back strap for jerkey, if you send her rib and neck meat she is just going to look at you funny. Rib and neck meat is for sausage or ground meat.

matt

redchevy is right for mucle meat. For jerky, you need either whole muscle meats that doesn't have much fat. Or you can grind up the rib & neck meat and use a jerky shooter. I make jerky both ways, and the ground meat is easier & quicker to make because the ground meat will cure much quicker than whole muscle. You simply need to ask your friend how she plans to make your jerky, and if she has a preference. In either case, you need to remove as much fat as possible to get the best tasting jerky.


Just FYI, a jerky shooter is much easier for making jerky strips out of ground meat, but if you don't have one. Hers's another way. Remove as much fat as possible, then grind up all want to use, and then mix in the jerky cure. I usually let that sit in fridge for about 4 to 6 hours then I lay out a couple of strips of freezer paper on the table. I spread the meat out as thin as possible, then lay another strip of freezer paper on top of that. Then use a roller to roll out the meat until it's about a 1/4" thick. Then take a knife and slice up the jerky strips, peel the wax paper from each side, and either put in a dehydrator or a smoker.

Thought I'd throw this recipe out there. Works great - give it a try:

PREPARING THE MEAT
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Use approximately 1.5 to 2 pounds of meat (top round, flank steak or venison).

For easier slicing, meat should be slightly frozen.

Slice meat WITH the grain as thin as possible.


PREPARING THE BRINE
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Mix the following ingredients into a very large re-sealable plastic ziplock bag:

- 2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2/3 cup soy sauce
- 3 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 tablespoon honey


MARINATING
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Place the meat strips into the brine. Move the meat around so that the brine is evenly distributed. Try to remove as much air as possible from the ziplock bag.

Lay bag flat in the refrigerator for about 4 to 5 hours.

Remove meat from brine and pat dry with clean dish cloth or paper towels.


DEHYDRATING
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Place meat strips on the dehydrator racks evenly. You can fill the racks completely; just make sure the meat strips do not overlap each other.

Turn dehydrator on ‘Jerky or Meat Setting’. Which I believe is about 150 degrees.

Rotate racks every hour or so until jerky has reached desired consistency. Thicker pieces should be left on longer.

Place finished jerky on paper towels and allow to air dry for about an hour before storing.

Enjoy!

Thanks everybody for the tips, probably give her a ham, assuming something drops this season

Does anyone have a good recipe for ground deer meat? I tried the store stuff and it is not that great. I love the jerky shooter. With these homemade recipes do you still have to get some sort of curing salt?

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Does anyone have a good recipe for ground deer meat? I tried the store stuff and it is not that great. I love the jerky shooter. With these homemade recipes do you still have to get some sort of curing salt?

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It depends on the store bought stuff your talking about. I've tried several, and Hi Mountain is definitely the best I've used. It's available at most Wal-Mart's, and I've also seen it at Academy and Gander Mountain. I've tried home made recipes similar to the one above, and other store bought stuff, and today, the only thing I use is the Hi Mountain. My family's favorite is the Hickory blend. As for your question about the curing salt, I would recommend you always use some sort of curing salt. There's nothing in the recipe above to kill any bacteria that could cause illness. I'm sure it's overkill on my part, but before I make jerky, I always make sure my meat has been frozen for a minimum of 30 days, I always add a curing salt and let it set for 24 to 36 hours, and after drying, I heat up my jerky, especially the thicker slices, in the oven at 165-170 for 30-35 minutes. The freezing & curing will kill any bacteria, and help prevent any new bacteria growth, and the oven heating is just an extra safety step. After removing from the oven, be sure to keep stored in an air tight container or zip-loc bag.

I will look into the High Mountain. I forget the name of the stuff that I was using before but it sucked. Did not have enough flavor. Tasted like an old shoe(or what I think an old shoe would taste like )

Man I love me some deer jerky..

which is better.......a dehydreator or a smoker for jerky

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which is better.......a dehydreator or a smoker for jerky

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For me, I like the dehydrator a little better. As much as I love smoked meats, and love cooking on my smoker, when I threw some jerky on the smoker a few weeks back, it didn't turn out as good as what I make using the dehydrator. It seemed the smoke flavor sorta clashed with the seasoning that I was using and made for a real smokey taste. I also may of had too much smoke for such thin slices of meat.

Post deleted by dgilbert