So I have the night off so I decided to mix up my first batch of GB jerky with a recipe I put together. I will post later the ingredients and more pictures as the smoke goes on today.
I'm going to make sticks of this and put it in the DBS for 45 mins in the beginning to dry it at 140
then 2 hours of smoke at 160 (not sure whether or not I'm going to use hickory or cherry as the smoke)
I will then transfer over to my Cabelas 80L dehydrator for 4-5 hours at 140. I will monitor this closely since it is the first time I am using the dehydrator as well as making GB.
The mix before it went into the fridge overnight. The color may look a little off but the lighting sucks and well, it's my iPhone taking the pictures.
(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg129/Consooger/Jerky004.jpg)
this is 90/10 but after mixing it and pulling all the fat off my hands and the container it's much leaner than that.
ONTO MY SURPRISE...So me and the future wife just moved into the place we (I) have been working on since December. It's been me basically every spare hour I have had after work and my days off painting the whole place, and making sure everything was ready for our move in this last weekend. Anyways, I kept telling her I wanted to get a Weber Smokey Mountain grill/smoker more for smoking and I was going to try and talk my way into a grill as well at a later date. She said I had a surprise but would see it Saturday afternoon. Well as I was carrying more clothes and boxes in around the corner pulled a large delivery truck and off rolled this baby. Shocked....surprised.....words cannot describe. Her reasoning, I worked hard and she "didn't think I needed another damn smoker" HAH!!!!! I think I have a keeper here! With her as well as the new grill.
More jerky updates later today...
(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg129/Consooger/Jerky002.jpg)
(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg129/Consooger/Jerky001.jpg)
-Sugar
What a gal! That first photo brought back memories of my army days. :D
She is a keeper for sure, you are a lucky man...
She is amazing, now I have to cook her dinner tonight and smoke her turkey breast! Hah it's all worth it tho!
That grill will last the lifetime of this house and your next one and your next one.......
There's awhole lot of GOOD eating in that unit.Your future wife is just like mine.WATCH HER,LOL
Nice score!
The Weber Genesis is a quality made grill. You will be passing it on to your grand kids ;)
That is a very nice surprise
The surprise was awesome. Used it twice already and it cookc amazingly!
Now onto the jerky. Lets just say that if GB jerky is like this moving forward I will just stick to muscle.
Few problems I had with it:
Very fatty after sitting overnight and pushing out of the jerky blaster. I used 90/10 (Unless the store I got it from advertised wrong and sold me 70/30 but this stuff was shooting out fat when the meat was coming out. It was the same color as the mix that I had added to the meat and it was just very frustrating.
While I was shooting through the jerky gun the mixture I added to the mead was dripping out of the gun. Now the mixture was mixed very well into the mean but I figure that this was due to the constant force/pressure through the jerky gun that this was why it happened.
I put in the DBS for about an hour at 145 to dry it and then smoked it with cherry for 2 hours at 165. I then put it into the dehydrator for 3 hours at 140. I kept peeking into the dehrdrator and half way through I looked to see how it was progressing and it was still very flimsy and didn't seem to be done yet. I had the jerky on the from mats and first of all the jerky would not come off the mats and when I tried to pull to test if it would bend or break it just broke apart. This was just 2 hours into it. After 3 + hours in the dehydrator I ended up tasting it and it just didn't seem right. The taste wasn't what I was expecting nor was the consistency. It seemed as if I had a crumpled up sandy texture to it. Nothing like what I was expecting. It did however take on the smoke very well and the bbq taste as well, but overall I was not impressed. It did not turn out as well as many others that I have seen on here.
To top it off it was a messy procedure mixing, putting into the jerky blaster, etc etc etc....Stick to muscle, I think I may. Just very turned off on this. Maybe one day I will give it a try again. Maybe I could use a "pep talk" on how I do my GB jerky.
-Sugar
For the most part I make GB jerky instead of muscle. I use Costco GB and it is advertised as 88/12 but who knows. I do the Kirby trick AKA Pikeman. http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=25768.0 I use 1/2 TBL of vinegar per 1 pound of GB. The night before I want to smoke I defat it and I find that 3 or 4 passes of swirling it around in a plastic tub gets a lot of the fat out. Then I mix it up and put a lid on the container and let it rest in the fridge over night. Next morning I shoot it on frog mats. Never had grease or fat shooting out like you describe. I do have a collection of fat on the bottom of the plastic tub but that is a good thing (got more fat out of the jerkey). I have the Bradley set at 150 and smoke for 2 to 3 hours. I keep rotating the trays every hour even though I have a fan. Takes about 10 hours give or take. Never had a sandy texture. She bends but don't break. Thing is, one has to let it firm up before trying to pick it up to put it on other trays for a dehydrator. After about 3 hours the jerky is firm enough for me to flip them on the frog mats and to spread them out more.
Matter of fact I gots a 5 pound load going on now and they went on at 8am. Will post some shots later.
Just came out of the Bradley after 10.5 hrs. OH MY ;D How about that Chris? Consooger, the texture is not sandy grain at all. Flavor is fantastic. I used one sheet of Bounty to dab the tops of surface grease sweat. The Kirby trick with removing grease is fantastic.
When I shot these the edges were touching the end rail and they were touching each other so got lots of green weight loss which is what jerky is spose to do.
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/jcompton1/100_2506.jpg)
All lined up and cooling then a slumber party in the fridge in a paper sack and will vac them tomorrow.
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/jcompton1/100_2505.jpg)
That's some good looking jerky.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Consooger what was your mix that you used? Was it a wet mix?
I have used the backwoods mixes with great results. Could have been a batch of ground beef that was previously frozen. Maybe it changed the texture.
When I do ground beef jerky I start at 150F during the smoke and then every half hour bump up five degrees to 170F. I use 85/15 and no casings. Just mix and then shoot out the gun.
My Bradley does have a convection fan and that does make a big difference when making jerky.
My jerky looked nothing like that. Next time I will add the vinegar to it and pull out as much fat as I can. I used some spices and 1.5 cup of a BBQ sauce I picked up that I liked and added it the night before. I did pull a lot of fat off the sides of the mixing bowl and my gloves when mixing it up by hand. Maybe it was just a bad mixture that I used, maybe that's what has me turned off. I may try this one more time but next time I run it through I may just run it through the bradley, but I hate having to do that since I just picked up this brand new nice and shiny dehydrator.
I'll give it a go again I'm sure it was just discouraging the first time around, but I look at it this way at least it wasn't something like ribs or a brisket then I would be really pissed. Trial and error and try again I guess.
Consooger
Did you use any meat cure in your mix. In order to make GB jerky you should first need to do the defatting trick. In case you didn't,t open the link I am attaching it again.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=25768.0
The meat cure breaks down the meat protein and the heat of smoking or dehydrating recombines them into a solid sheet that does not crumble. First do the extraction process to remove as much fat as you can. Now you can add the meat cure and spices mix very well and shoot with your gun as fast as you can. Do not refrigerate or let sit before you try to shoot the mixture as it will become very stiff and hard to shoot. This is why I use a jerky board as the stiffness does not matter. It is not necessary to let the jerky to have time to cure in the fridge overnight unless you just don't have time to get smoking. Now here is what you have to accomplish in the smoker or the dehydrator. You will need to get the jerky over 155* but do not go up above 170 as you do not want to cook but to just dehydrate the jerky. The 155* is needed to kick off the cure and cause it to re jell the meat protein. You will know when the process has happened as the meat will go from brown to pink. You will find after it has turned pink it is much easier to handle and does not fall apart. If it does not turn pink then you are not running your equipment hot enough. I like to give it a couple of hours of good solid smoke and then finish it in the dehydrator. Try this blend with about 10-12 pounds of GB and let me know if you don't think it is dang good.
10-12 pounds of GB as lean as you can afford and then Defat this as far as you can.
1/2 cup white vinegar to the fresh meat to change the pH and defatt the meat
after defatting add 3.3 oz SOY VAY Veri Veri Teriyaki per each pound of defatted meat.
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp of cure # 1 [1 tsp/5 pounds] adjust to what ever weight you end up with after defatting
3 TBS crushed red pepper. [ grind it even finer in a blender or coffee mill if you have one.]
remember as soon as you mix the spices and cure shoot the mixture. Make sure that you give the mixture a very good mixing. It is important to have the meat cure well mixed in.
Pikeman,
Based on your ideas below here's where I think I maye have gone wrong. I did add the vinegar to the 90/10 and beat it around the container I had it in and not much of the fat came out of it. I then added the spices and the bbq sauce that i picked out along with the cure. When mixing this by hand is when I had a lot of the fat come out of the beef. I had to let this sit in the fridge for the night as I had to go to work and I came home to make the jerky after work. I did let the mixture sit out for about 2 hours so it wouldnt be as stiff when shooting out of the gun and it wasn't as bad as I thought except for the issues I listed above.
I think either there was something worng with the mixture, with the batch of meat, or just the whole process all together. I think I am going to give this a go one more time but I am not a fan of the whole jerky gun to be honest. Where did you get or how did you make your jerky board? I see raves about these things and unfortunately right now I don't have the time to make one, but I will see to it that I do if I must.
Thanks so much for the help. I think I'm going to give this a go one more time next week with the advice you posted.
Thanks
-Sugar
Quote from: pikeman_95 on May 16, 2012, 09:07:41 AM
Consooger
Did you use any meat cure in your mix. In order to make GB jerky you should first need to do the defatting trick. In case you didn't,t open the link I am attaching it again.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=25768.0
The meat cure breaks down the meat protein and the heat of smoking or dehydrating recombines them into a solid sheet that does not crumble. First do the extraction process to remove as much fat as you can. Now you can add the meat cure and spices mix very well and shoot with your gun as fast as you can. Do not refrigerate or let sit before you try to shoot the mixture as it will become very stiff and hard to shoot. This is why I use a jerky board as the stiffness does not matter. It is not necessary to let the jerky to have time to cure in the fridge overnight unless you just don't have time to get smoking. Now here is what you have to accomplish in the smoker or the dehydrator. You will need to get the jerky over 155* but do not go up above 170 as you do not want to cook but to just dehydrate the jerky. The 155* is needed to kick off the cure and cause it to re jell the meat protein. You will know when the process has happened as the meat will go from brown to pink. You will find after it has turned pink it is much easier to handle and does not fall apart. If it does not turn pink then you are not running your equipment hot enough. I like to give it a couple of hours of good solid smoke and then finish it in the dehydrator. Try this blend with about 10-12 pounds of GB and let me know if you don't think it is dang good.
10-12 pounds of GB as lean as you can afford and then Defat this as far as you can.
1/2 cup white vinegar to the fresh meat to change the pH and defatt the meat
after defatting add 3.3 oz SOY VAY Veri Veri Teriyaki per each pound of defatted meat.
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp of cure # 1 [1 tsp/5 pounds] adjust to what ever weight you end up with after defatting
3 TBS crushed red pepper. [ grind it even finer in a blender or coffee mill if you have one.]
remember as soon as you mix the spices and cure shoot the mixture. Make sure that you give the mixture a very good mixing. It is important to have the meat cure well mixed in.
My jerky board is made from formice covered plywood. I used the cut out for a kitchen sink that I got from a friend that does cabinet work. They have these all time as they cover the complete counter top with formice and then cut it out with a router. I just squared it up with a table saw. The strips are made out of high density poly. I got some scraps from a local plastic manufacturing outfit. You could use some strips of oak or find a plastics place near you. Just have them cut some strips that are 1/4 inch thick and about 3/4 wide. You might work on the spacing between the strips to match your smoker screens. I have stainless sheets but heavy duty aluminum foil would work well in the place of my sheets. You just need something to hold the meat strips until they Jell.
Reading you note you indicate that you did put meat cure in your GB. Yet you indicate that it was crumbly. This makes me believe that at some time in you process that it got way too hot. If you take the GB jerky up to a temperature that causes the water in the meat to boil and the fat to sizzle it will become crumbly. [ you are cooking the meat and not dehydrating it] You only want the meat to reach a temperature of 155*. It will turn from brown to pink. The pink should be even and if it is not you are not mixing in the cure evenly enough. At no time would I go over 175* measured at the surface of the meat and not on the cabinet door or as a setting on a control. Give it another try and consider giving the spice suggestion I gave to you earlier. This make some of the best jerky that I have ever produced. At some point you might be interested on one of my 2 gallon mixers as they will thoroughly mix a batch of meat is less then a minute.