Just finished my 1st batch of beef Jerky. Started with a 6lb eye of round from Costco. After trimming fat and silver skin I ended up with 5 lbs that I sliced myself into strips on the heavy side of 1/4 inch. Put it all into a Mesquite kit from the Sausage Maker and marinated for 24 hours. Then proceeded to hang from rack on paper clips, easier said than done. I did not rinse after removing from marinade (saw no direction to do so), into the smoker at 145 for 2 hours to dry a little, then 3 hours of mesquite smoke followed by another 5 hours at 145. It was now midnight so I reprammed PID to 60F for the night and went to bed. Jerky seemed done at this point. In the morning I vac packed in 4 oz batches with a desiccant in case there was any residual moisture. My questions are 2. When I initially cut a piece in half, the center of the jerky had a dark pink color, but tasted great. I forgot to take a picture at the time, and today the meat appears uniformally dark. Still nice and chewy. I froze most, but left 2 packages on the kitchen sink for a couple to days checking for any possible moisture. This morning I noticed a grease buildup in the package, so I cut it open and it was indeed quite oily. Smelled and tasted great. Question 1. Is this common? BTW, I netted 2lbs 4 Oz from the original 5 lbs. Question 2. Is that about right.
Here is a shot coming out of the smoker
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd375/Robert_Loring/IMG_3565_zps0bffe95a.jpg)
Here is a closeup today, you can see how shiny (oily) it is, but the pinkish color is gone now.
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd375/Robert_Loring/IMG_3569_zps45c83240.jpg)