My first experiment with Beef Jerky

[Country Smoke]

Hey guys. I`ve got a DBS - 4, here`s a little overview of my first Jerky experiment, please post your advice or comments:

I used a 2.6 kg(5.7lbs) piece of Eye of Round, made a brine containing mostly soy sauce, water, brown sugar, a bit of bourbon and spices, I also added some curing salt since I was planning on smoking it at around 150°F. I let the beef strips marinate for around 19 hrs, this was my first time using curing salt I was a little concerned with it, so after marinating I rinsed all the meat in cold water to get rid of the excess curing salt. I then made a quick soy/brown sugar marinade, just enough to coat the meat.(could have skipped or modified this step, the jerky ended up a little on the salty side)

I put everything on 5 racks, let stand for 1/2 hour. Started the smoking process with apple wood at around 150°F.
Had a hard time maintaining the temp the smoker was going from 145° to 180°, it was -7°C and windy.
Anyway making an average of everything I probably ended up smoking at around 160°-170° most of the time
Smoked my smaller pieces for 8 hrs and the bigger ones for 9 hrs.

I was a little concerned with the look of the Jerky when it came out, it looked like tree bark and was dry but after an over night stay in the fridge it got darker and better looking.  (There should be pics below)

It has a rougher look and is a little saltier than I like but all in all I`m pretty satisfied, any hints on how to get that leathery almost translucent Jerky. I`m sure thickness, temperature and smoke time have a lot to do with it.

Well that`s my story, here are a few pics. Thanks!

Before


Just after


Next Day

[Country Smoke]

After trimming probably had a little over 2 Kg of meat left. After smoking ended up with 2 and a half jars like bellow. 

[Gizmo]

Hi Country Smoke.
Don't feel bad.  The first time I did jerky with curing Salts I had a similar result but I wasn't using a liquid marnade and actually didn't get the meat rinsed enough.  I had always done wet marinades previous.  For my first cured and seasoned, I actually realized I used too much tender quick and did not getting a real good soaking after the cure... well I threw the whole batch out.

Since I don't know exactly what you used, form the pictures, this is my take on it.

Too much curing salts.
Might try using a kit or make sure you are real dialed in on the usage of the cure.
Soy sauce is very salty.  Use low sodium especially if you use curing salt.

I usually do not use cure when using a wet marinade for jerky.

You only need 1 hour to 2 hours of actual smoke.  You mentioned 8 hours of smoke but you may have meant the total cook time was 8 hours. 

Overly dry.  Reduce the time you have the jerky drying.  The jerky should bend and if it just starts to crack, it is done.  I almost think it is better to error on the say of not dry enough than too dry, especially if it is cured.

Rotate the racks top to bottom and front to back.  This will help with more even drying.  Bottom rack towards the back is closest to the heating element so will feal the full effect of the heater where the top will be as much as 20 degrees cooler depending on load.

I use a dehydrator now after the 1 hour and 40 minutes of smoke.  The dehydrator is much easier to keep an eye on how the job is progressing and rotating racks is easy, no recovery time from opening doors either.  Hopefully this helps.
   

[Country Smoke]

Thanks Gizmo!

Most of the jerky passes the bending test(There`s a few brittle smaller pieces). I`ve had a few pieces so far and as far as texture it came out pretty good, like I said before, a little too salty and I did over do it on the smoke (7 hrs).   Some fine tuning to do, that`s for sure.

I`m from Montreal Canada, so getting some Pot here is easier than getting curing salts, it seems to be a controlled substance up here. After checking the internet and over 10 stores I went to a farmers market and got a "Charcutier" (Sausage, Ham, Pâté maker...) to sell me some. We don`t seem to have Tender Quick or Instacure here, what I got was called nitrated salt (Sel Nitrité) I didn`t get the brand name, I got it in a plastic container, but the guy gave me the ratio 1g to 1Kg (Approx. 1/5 teaspoon to 2.2 lbs) To air on the safe side I ended up using around 1/4 teaspoon for 5 lbs, I figured some people don`t use it at all so using less shouldn`t be a problem.

I`m thinking next time instead of just rinsing the meat, maybe giving it a 1 hour soak in cold water could help.

Thanks again.

[Gizmo]

Not an expert here on cures or the language but if sel nitrite is actually nitrate or cure number 2, it is NOT the product you should be using.  I believe you would want sel rose or pink salt which is nitrite.
 

[Habanero Smoker]

I believe sel rose is saltpeter with coloring and additional salt added. Sel nitrite translates into salt nitrite or nitrite salt, but I can find out if it is pure sodium nitrite; or formulated the same as cure #1 (pink salt) which is 93.75% salt and 6.25% sodium nitrite.

I would ask the person you obtained the curing salt from for directions on how to use it.

[Smoking Duck]

So, would you smoke the pot ?   ;D ;D  Anyone else get the double entendre there?  Hee Hee.  Now you know why I giggle like a school girl.  Ok, that's not why......never touch the stuff but it would be nice to have a sane reason as to why I gigle like a school girl.

[Country Smoke]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Well I went back to the store that sold me the "Sel Nitrité", the guy could not give all the details about the % nitrite/nitrate etc...he didn`t have the original packaging, he only knew that it was 1g per Kg, but he did give me his suppliers name and number, after calling them they confirmed that it was nitrite salt; 6.4% nitrite the rest salt.

-So if I understand correctly, at 6.4% it`s pretty much the same as cure #1.
-Is the ratio he gave me good, 1g for 1Kg (1/5 teaspoon to 2.2 lbs)
-I also read that he normal curing rate is about 1/4 inch per 24 hrs, so a 1/4 inch slice of meat(for Jerky) would be around 12 hrs curing time.
-Does the meat take on more nitrite the longer you leave it in a brine or is it a thing where once it`s cured it can`t take on more.

it looks like in Canada since the product isn`t generally available to the public it is not colored pink, that`s a US regulation for safety. The wholesaler that I contacted for the info does sell to private individuals but it`s 1 Kg minimum.

Thanks again.

P.S. Hey Duck. I`m allowed to have guns, if I get caught with an ounce of weed I get a fine, kind of like you would get for speeding with a car, but it took me 4 days to find curing salt. 

[Habanero Smoker]

-So if I understand correctly, at 6.4% it`s pretty much the same as cure #1.
Yes! That is close; if it is just sodium nitrite and salt.

-Is the ratio he gave me good, 1g for 1Kg (1/5 teaspoon to 2.2 lbs)
Amount to use depends on what you are using it for. In sausage making for small amounts Cure #1 is used at 1/4 teaspoon/pound. When you get to increments of 5 pounds, use 1 teaspoon for each 5 pounds. For a dry cure on solid muscle it should be alright to follow the recipe that calls for Cure #1; or mix a batch of the Basic Dry Cure and use one tablespoon per pound.

-I also read that he normal curing rate is about 1/4 inch per 24 hrs, so a 1/4 inch slice of meat(for Jerky) would be around 12 hrs curing time.
I can't answer this one, I don't make jerky that often, and when I do I don't use a sodium nitrite. I'm sure one of the jerky gurus can answer that.

-Does the meat take on more nitrite the longer you leave it in a brine or is it a thing where once it`s cured it can`t take on more.
Extended curing time will increase both the amount of salt and sodium nitrite (which is also a salt). When using a wet brine, during osmosis, there is a point at which both the liquid in the brine and the liquid in the cells will be equal.

I'm not 100% sure of the following statement. If using a dry cure (brine) there is a saturation point,  the meat will continue to absorb salt, at which point the water in the cells cannot absorb any more salt.

[Country Smoke]

Thanks a lot Hab.

Personally I`d skip the curing for Jerky, just on a health basis but on the other hand I`ve read a few articles where people where pretty adamant about curing if you were drying meat at or below 150°. 

[FLBentRider]

I use hi mtn for my jerky, it has cure in it.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Country Smoke;

With jerky I feel safe not using a cure, because it is thinly cut, dries rather quickly and my marinades have enough salt to protect it from bacteria. Almost anything else that is cold smoke I will use a cure.

I was doing some calculations and for all practical purposes they are the same.

• Your cure mixture contains approximately 1.01 ounce of sodium nitrite per 1 pound of salt; which is 6.40%
• Cure #1 has 1 ounce of sodium nitrite per 1 pound of salt; with is 6.25%.

[josbocc]

Country Smoke,

I concur with the FLBentRider..., Hi-Mtn seasonings are great.  My first attempts at jerky were with whole muscle meat and a wet marinade.  I now use ground meat, dry seasonings, and a "jerky cannon."  To the best of my recollection, I never used a cure with the wet marinade, but there was always enough salt in it.  Hi-Mtn seasonings take the guess-work out of it.

One observation I can make (and this is by no means criticism, and may be totally incorrect), from the pictures your jerky looks a little thick.  The thinner the cut, and more consistent thickness throughout your whole batch, will definitely yield better results.  The other guys nailed it on the head.  The jerky should crack when bent, but not break.  Best way to achieve a consistent, thin cut is to use a meat slicer, but if you don't have access to one of those, leave your meat slightly frozen when slicing.  It's easier to achieve a more consistent cut that way.

Another suggestion that a buddy of mine tried with good results is to add some honey to the marinade.  This seemed to take away that dry/crusty look, and give the jerky a more "glazed" look.

Good Luck, and Keep Plugging Away,

Jeff

[Country Smoke]

Thanks guys. You`re right josbocc, it was a little thick. The jerky ended up evolving after a few days and it now has a darker more shinny finish, it looks much better, most pieces pass the bending test, smaller pieces are dryer. I don`t mind the taste and texture, but I did over smoke, over dry and over salt.

I`m a little forgiving of jerky, I`m like a dog the tougher it is the longer I can gnaw on it.

When it comes to using a kit it kind of goes against my philosophy, half the fun is developing a recipe; If we use pasta as an example, I could use store bought sauce but I enjoy making my own.

I will have to adjust a few things for the next jerky experiment. I`ll need to reduce pretty much at every step; thiner meat, less marinade time, less salt, less smoke and less dry time, I`ll keep in mind the honey, witch should balance the salt and give a nice finish.

Thanks a lot for all the info.

[josbocc]

Country,

After some long thought, I do recall that there was some "cure" (if you want to call it that) in my wet marinade.  The recipe called for a couple Tbs. of Accent.  This is a brand name available at most supermarkets, but it is better known as MSG.  After I figured out what the stuff really was, I've tried to avoid using it.

Homemade stuff is great, I can't agree with you more.  Unfortunately, once they guys at work got a hold of some of my jerky, I was getting dozens of requests, especially around the holidays.  Using the pre-packaged seasonings just made more sense, and was a lot more convenient.

I am doing my own recipes for the snack-sticks.  Still experimenting, as I haven't quite met my own expectations yet.

Jeff