Hi everyone, I was wondering if bacon needed to be marinated before making it into jerky? Also, I have been reading several techniques that used the oven, grill, and smoker. Any feedback on which worked the best? Thanks in advance.
Hi;
Welcome to the forum.
I've never made bacon jerky. I've always been concerned about the fats going rancid. There are plenty of recipes out there, and plenty of different companies making it, so I guess it works.
If it is bacon and not fresh belly, you can make jerky directly out of bacon without marinating it. If you want to additional flavors, then you can marinate it; if you want to do so.
I have made bacon jerky. Like Habs said, unless you just want to add additional flavor there is no need to use a marinade. I simply sprinkled some Head Country Rub on it and placed it in the dehydrator. Regardless of the method you use be prepared for it to take a long time due to the large fat content. The fat takes much longer to dry than the meat.
I ran the dehydrator at 150F and it took somewhere around 26 hours.
Good luck and keep us posted!