How to make good beef jerky?

[Bobdelasmoke]

Title says it. I want to try jerky for the first time and from the search I made on the forum, info differs from post to post.

I just got Hi mountain jerky cure so I'll use the cure/seasonning as directed. What's the best cut of beef for jerky? and what thickness you guys recommend?

For the smoking part, going with hickory is a sure shot I guess? How much time should I smoke and what temp should I aim for? From what I read the temp is increased gradually but from what to what? And should I rotate the racks during the process?

Finally, how long can I keep it if it's vacsealed? and do I need to keep it frozen?

Lots of questions but I don't want to screw up. Thanks in advance.

[smoker pete]

Bob,  Here is a link with photos that will answer some of your questions about Jerky.  I used my OBS to Hickory smoke 10 lbs of ¼" sliced Top Sirloin for the Jerky.  I rotated the racks every hour ... top to bottom, front to back.  The method I used was borrowed and tweaked from NePas:

• 140º for an hour with NO smoke
• 150º for 1.6 hours with Hickory (5 biskquettes) smoke
• 175º till done

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=21585.msg262673#msg262673

[ghost9mm]

Pete has you covered here, top sirloin is real good, my son brought a vension backstrap over this morning and wants jerky made, it's marinating in the fridge right now...

[devo]

Your first mistake is Hi mountain jerky cure. I bought lots of that 0, and after four or five trys with it I can say its just pure poop. I have had better results with just mixiing my own spices for jerky. Their cure is very powerfull stuff....stay away from it is what I say. Anything i made with Hi mountain jerky cure I just feed to the dog and he needed I big bowl of water to wash it down.

[muebe]

I like to use soy vay veri veri teriyaki and cure #1 for my jerky marinade. Then some Bradley smoke for a couple of hours and then finished in the dehydrator ;D
Here is a picture of the last jerky nuggets I made using soy vay. I got another load for tonight :D

[GBIceman]

I like Stubb's beef marinade with cure #1, let it sit for day and a half, smoke for 4 hours at 150, than shift to the dehydrator till done. My son just took 6 # to summer camp, he wanted to be the popular kid. Enjoy

[Bobdelasmoke]

Many thanks guys for the replies.

Pete that's some killer pix and really good info, exactly what I needed.

Devo thanks for sharing, I was expecting a good product from the reviews I read. At least I bought only 1 package.

Any idea on how long can I keep jerky when it's vacsealed?

[wthr_dude]

I have to agree and disagree on the high mountain mix.  I have made countless pounds of ground venison into jerky using High mountain, but be very careful on the cure recomendations, after many tries we finally found that if you use only about 1/3 of the cure amount then its edible.  I've never tried it for sliced muscle jerky, for that I always mix up my own brine.

[NePaSmoKer]

Yup on the HM.....It sux

My homemade mix is far more superior.