With help from this forum, my jerky is getting better and better. As others try it though, they tell me it is still just a little chewy. I would like to have some opinions on how to fix this. I have been using Angus eye of round cuts. My jerky board for cutting is 1/4" but I have added a couple of plastic sheets and now I am cutting it at 3/16" thick. I use Hunter's Blend seasoning from HiMountain jerky. After cut in strips and seasonings applied, I vacuum out the air and seal the bag. I keep this in the refridgerator for at least 24 hours. Here are my smoking steps in my BDS with dual elements, fan mod and Auber PID:
130F for 1 hour
140 for 1.2 hours with hickory smoke
145 for 1.3 hours with hickory smoke
150 for 1 hour
155 for 1 hour
160 for .5 to 1 hour
Do I need to keep in the smoker a shorter time or a longer time so that it is less chewy? I have tried the bending method to determine when it is done but I still don't quite get it. If I leave it in longer till it breaks just a couple of fibers when I bend it the batch seems to turn out too hard when it finally cools down. The last batch I tried bending it and looking for the white fibers to appear as I read here on this forum. I found them at about 6 hours. What would you suggest to be less chewy? Thanks
Make sure that you are cutting across the grain of the meat.