Homemade Beef Jerky

Everyone should make their own beef jerky. I have been a connoisseur of beef jerky all my life. The various Polish, German, Czech etc meat markets around Texas do a very good job. You can't drive by Prasek's Market and not stop, not if you have any sense. Prasek's has a huge selection of jerky and beef sticks and it is all great! My buddy in Northern California has been consistently turning out beef jerky superior to anything I have ever tasted. The Northern California climate is very favorable to the production of beef jerky. The low humidity is the exact opposite of the climate here in Southeast Texas.

The method:

I carefully laid out strips of grass fed beef roast sliced thin. I then sprinkled with garlic powder, black pepper, salt, sucanat (natural sugar cane crystals) , red pepper both pulverized and whole. I then mixed up some soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, pulverized pineapple and sucant. I used a submersible blender and then painted it on with a paint brush. See photos ~

I laid everything out on sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil and then put the sheets in the sun on the counter of my bbq pit. The sheets dried up significantly in the sun. On this batch of jerky I smoked at 175 for a few hours way away from the firebox with only a small fire going. I will drop it down to 150 the next batch. I think a smaller fire will reduce the smoke and enable me to increase the draft and maintain the lower temperature. I started the aluminum foil sheets in the pit so the strips of jerky would dry a little more before direct contact with the grate. I then laid the strips out directly on the grate and smoked till dry. See photos ~

Looks great

Wow that is some great looking Jerky.

I just made some not to long ago but it was Elk Jerky..

Wow, thats a lot of red pepper !!!

Too much! I had to eat it all by myself! I'm doing another batch much more tame so my kids can enjoy ~

That looked hot as hell! I like some pepper on min but stay away fromt he red pepper.

That batch was hot as hell! I had to grow accustomed to it! This batch was far more tame, still hot as hell, but tolerable? My notes -

I have been experimenting with various flavors here lately. When it comes to citrus, I like the flavor and sweetness of the pineapple. Pineapple juice marinated jerky is very flavorful. I like to get my salt from soy sauce another of my favorite flavors that really goes well with jerky. So my thinking on this batch was to lower the heat by reducing the amount of red pepper. Keep in mind these are organic, Indian, red pepper flakes. Very hot to say the least. The sweetness would come from pure sugar cane crystals and the pineapple. The first thing I did was lay out the strips on the aluminum foil sheets. I then dusted with granulated garlic and granulated onion, fresh cracked Tellicherry black peppercorns and a little pink Himalayan sea salt. I then painted with a mixture of pineapple juice, soy and sugarcane crystals all over the meat. The final step was to sprinkle with red pepper flakes that I partially powderized in the spice mill. After everything is seasoned I place the sheets of meat in the hot sun until they were dry. I then cold smoked the meat for 4 hours in my smoker at 150 degrees. Homemade jerky is good stuff ~

Looks too hot for me but id have to atleast get me a taste

That is some Good stuff right there.
Hurry and come on Deerseason!!

I'm thinking about making some from Venison before season this yr....How much actual heat do you have on your pit...I have a 2'x
4' pipe pit w/floor gratings for a grill and a 3'x15"x24" firebox
and a temp guage...I can keep no heat or around 500 degrees for
about 4 or 5 hrs on a charge in the box..Don

Throw a few pieces of wood in the firebox and let it burn down. After it has burnt down throw one or two more pieces so it barely drafts. Keep the temp below 175, 150 for 3 or 4 hours dries it out just fine.

im now hungry

Yeah, sure. I've done that too. It guarantees your stash is safe.

Congratulations. I've never made it out of ground meat, only strips. I have to try that. It looks great.

The meat I used was grass-fed beef roast meat and I had the butcher at Whole Foods slice it thin. It worked out real good! But it definitely is not ground beef! Somehow I don't think that would work?

Looks great!

I mistook the pictures for strips produced by a Jerky Shooter. Dang old eyes. Yes, thin strips are what I've always used.

I'm curious to know if anyone had good results with a Jerky Shooter? You put your ground meat in a tube and squeeze it out in a ribbon shape. It seems it would fall apart with any handling. Maybe I should start a new thread.

Yours looks very tasty. I may have to use beef on my next batch. Deer season is still nearly 2 months away.

I'll definitely be making some jerky this weekend!

I am literally sitting here eating some jerky i made from ground venison while im reading this thread. Yes it works. Yes it is hard to keep together with any handling. Personally, i like the strips better. The ground meat gave this batch a weird texture. It sure tastes good though.

I'm going to try a cold smoke with hickory only. I bought 2 beef roasts. The last 2 batches I made were in the heat of the summer and I used the sun to dry out the meat before I cold smoked it. I'll post pics ~

I finally have a deer to process into jerky! Venison jerky is organic and delicious. I'll post pics ~

Love Venison jerky. Pics are making me jealous! Gotta get out next season.

Ping

Hmnnnn, deer jerky. I made a batch Sunday and another batch last night.

I use the dehydrater. I've done it on the grill too. Just have to keep an eye on it. That looks delish

so would it be better to make jerky on a dehydrator or a smoker? thought about one of those electric smokers

I think the dehydrator makes better jerky. It way more consistent.

I love a little smoke in the meat, but I prefer the dehydrator for making jerky. Made a few more batches of deer jerky last weekend. Made the usual peppered and then tried a batch of Sriracha. I am in love with the Sriracha, freakin awesome.

been wanting to try the sriracha. will give it a go next time.

I have never used a dehydrator for a job a smoker was designed to do! Why? And quantity, you can make many pounds in just one run.

It's jerky time!

Dehydrator no doubt makes a superior jerky and usually you can make a whole lot more at a time actually (you'd be very surprised). Good job on your jerky. Might try to marinade for 12-24 hrs on your next batch to see what you think.

Resurrection time.

Please PM and send a couple ounces of that to my home address. I will return the favor!

It's jerky time again...........

I think you need to send me a few pieces so I can give you my honest rating.
Pm for my address.