ground meat jerky, sticks, & questions on the art of jerky ;)

[Stargazer]

I don't know if this helps or not, but I only got two slicers.

one being an old hand crank I actually grew up using that works well with this, and an electric chef's choice 610. It's like lowest on their line but I'm happy with it.

7 inch blade and not sure about the horsepower, nothing in the manual about that believe it or not. But cuts the frozen ground jerky like butter for me with this electric chefs choice. I don't know how yours compairs to this that I got, but just search for chefs choice 610 and if anything close, you wont have any problems at all. Even taking it slow and easy is faster then jerky cannons. And almost no mess to clean up after.

However it might surprise you. Here is a picture of my old hand crank and worked with this until I got my chef choice...



It did take alittle effort with the hand crank, but did the job alot easier then I originally thought. As long as you dont keep the meat in the freezer more then 24 hours it keeps a sort of softness to a certain point is best I can explain.

But now since I got the electric... heh...

I may have alot of Kentucky backwoods in me one one side of the family, and Amish/Mennonite on the other side of the family... but they ain't takin my electricity from me until they can pry it from my cold dead fingers  8)

... or um... electrocutes the holy bejeezels out of me first while in my hands  :o

Added: ... Thinking about this, more, if you don't think your slicer has enough power for slicing a block of meat from the freezer for 24 hours, you could probally keep in for 15 hours maybe or even less?

Freezing is only to stiffen just enough to keep firm only to beable to slice only. Heck, might even get away with 10 or 12 hours. The freezing serves no other purpose then just firming up the ground meats to beable to slice.

But honestly, I haven't found any problems with 24 hours, I just wouldnt take it past that mark.

Hope this helps out :D

[josbocc]

Stargazer,

That looks exactly like my first slicer.  Any idea who the manufacturer was?  That blade is sharp as sharp gets..., but after slicing about 20 lbs. of canadian bacon that I smoked a couple of months ago, I went to a decent electric slicer as well.  After doing that CB, my right forearm looked like popeye's.

I am assuming that you are freezing your GB about 1 1/2 - 2 inches thick, then slicing your strips into that thickness, correct?  I've got the LEM jerky cannon, and have done over 600 lbs. with that device, but I am always looking for a better way.  I see that LEM has come up with a cordless, battery powered cannon, but I'll be da**ed if I'm gonna spend $500 for it.

Gotta go!!! Just got my new sausage stuffer today.  Gonna do some snack sticks in the DBS6.  Also got 15 lbs. of Inferno blend jerky that needs to get in the dehydrator. 

Thanks for the idea,

Jeff

[Mr Walleye]

Thanks Stargazer, I don't see why my slicer won't work... I guess all I can do is try it some time. My slicer is the Waring Pro Professional Food Slicer with a &.5 inch blade. Here's a link...

http://www.waringproducts.com/ret/catalog/product.php?product_id=27&cat_id=3

Mike

PS

I'm also interested in the depth of the meat in the pans. I would assume the depth would be whatever the width you want the jerky to be such as 1 or 1 & 1/2 inches.

[Stargazer]

The hand cranked slicer I think is made by a company called Danish Hostess or something. I am currently at my fathers right now and the slicer is back at my place. When I get home Ill look, I do remember it being stamped on it and checking it out before. I grew up slicing lots of bologna and sausages with this when living in Lexington and Owenton Kentucky.

Mr Walleye, your slicer should be fine. If your more comfortable, just freeze the meat and keep an eye on it until just firm enough to slice. After doing this you'll quickly find a routine that suits you and your gear perfectly.

As for the depth, I just make it about 1.5 maybe 2 inch thick. But 1 inch would work just as easy too. The depth will end up being the jerky's width after sliced so what ever your preference is would work.

Basically what ever the thickness is will be the width of your jerky, so if you want more narrow width jerky slices just press down thinner in the pan.

I dont know how well this will post but Ill try...

Say this is your pan with * being the top level of your meat pressed in looking at the side of the pan...

^
|Top of pan
|
|
*top of meat
|
|_______>bottom of pan and meat

Your total width when slicing will come out as this...

___________>length
|                   <-----------looking down actual jerky strip
|___________> length

And just make the length as long as you wish. Basically just what ever you want for jerky width and what you can manage in your smoker or dehydrator.

We just like them alittle wider to have something to gnaw on while watching old westerns or a ball game :D

But either way can't go wrong.

Hope this helps out.

Added: Thickness, I say roughly about 1/8 inch approximately or what ever your taste is. You don't want it sliced too thin or it will dry out way to fast, but being ground jerky a thicker slice is alot more manageable then whole muscle meat cuts.

As for the dehydrating, basically right now I have the cheapest of the cheapest of dehydrators you can get until I can get a new upgrade. There is no thermostat or anything, no low med high even. Just an on/off switch. But basically what I found with ground jerky making this way, I dehydrate until the bloom starts to show.

That would be a real nice deep rich reddish color. Sort of a poor mans version of dry curing I guess?  ??? but has worked so far...

Then from there after the bloom has been obtained I watch it until it's dehydrated to where I want it. Sorry I can't be of more help on that part, but if anyone has a better dehydrator or smoker and wishes to try this method up to the cooking part please let me know so when I get some jerky racks for my Bradley or another dehydrator I can fine tune it more so with the actual smoking/dehydrating please :D

[nickld]

Stargazer I think that's a great idea for ground meat jerky! I've always made whole muscle jerky but want to make something for my brother who has false teeth. I have always used a wet marinade/brine for my jerky but I am interested in a good dry seasoning/cure recipe for ground meat if anyone would like to share.   ;)

I plan on trimming and grinding some top round I have in the freezer as the price of lean ground beef is unbelievable. I get top round london broil when its on sale for $2.29 to $2.49 a pound and freeze it for jerky. Got a few pounds I should use up soon.

~Nick

[josbocc]

Stargazer,

Thanks for the reply.  I thought that was where you were going with the thickness issue..., but wasn't 100% certain.  My dehydrator holds about 13 1/2 - 14 lbs. of ground meat when doing jerky, so I'm assuming that I might need more than one cake pan.   ;D

If you are going to upgrade your dehydrator, here's a few tips:

1)  The excalibur series (available at most Gander Mts, and elsewhere) did me very well.  Adjustable temp., three, five, or nine tray models, rear heating element.  Downside is that they are plastic, and the housing has a tendency to crack.  (My own experience as well as from others).

2)  LEM products.  Not sure about their plastic models, but I upgraded from the excalibur to the 10 tray LEM stainless steel model.  More drying space, adjustable temp, and a timer.  Downside is that once your meat starts to get dry, the metal-on-metal design starts to sound like a Farmall tractor that is running low on oil.  It's Noisy!!!

3)  Cabelas 80 liter and 160 liter.  These look like the way to go.  Have heard good things about the 80l model, and I think that is what I will eventually settle with.  The 160 liter model is HUGE.  However, this appears to necessitate some rotating when drying.  I'm not a big fan of rotating my trays.  I want to set the temp, the time, and come back when it's done.

Good Luck, and again, Thanks for the info. :D

Jeff

[Mr Walleye]

Nick

I've been using a commercial mix for the most part that I get from a local supplier here in Canada. It's very similar to Hi Mountain. I usually go with it, add additional various types of pepper depending on the taste I'm looking for. I usually mix the dry spices & cure into a mixture of soy sauce and water (Half & half) because I find it mixes easier into the ground meat.

Not much of a recipe but just what I've been doing lately.

Mike

[Mr Walleye]

Hi Jeff

I have the 80L Cabelas unit and I couldn't be happier with it. I've had as much as about 18 lbs in it and it wasn't full. I would think it will easily hold 20 lbs, this of course depends on how thick the pieces are.

I'm going to have to give the freezing in pans a shot. I'm interested in how it works out. Sounds simple enough.

Mike

[FLBentRider]

I slice my muscle meat fairly thin, and I'll admit I don't spent alot of time "puzzling" it together, I've gotten 15lbs in my 80L.

What is your rotation plan ?

So far, I just take the lower racks out sooner, and put the thicker "odds and ends" on the bottom shelf.

[Mr Walleye]

FLB

I'm with you, I've never rotated racks I just pull out whatever is done when I'm checking on it. I can't say that I've really noticed the lower racks drying quicker. Do you notice much of a difference?

Mike

[FLBentRider]

The lower racks will get done an hour or two before the top ones.

[Mr Walleye]

The lower racks will get done an hour or two before the top ones.

I'll have to pay more attention to it. I usually apply 1 hr and 20 minutes of smoke in the Bradley then throw them in the dehydrator. I usually do a couple of back to back loads in the Bradley using inverted racks. This may be why I really have never noticed a difference on the lower racks because there is 1 hr & 20 minutes before I add the next load from the Bradley.

Mike

[Brisket Lover]

All I have to say is wow to you guys who do 15-20 lbs at a time. Thats some serious jerky making!

I do about 1lb a week in my nesco and couldn't be happier.  Its just me and the wife to be so that lasts us pretty good.  We keep it in the fridge but I would be afraid to make more than a few pounds because I wouldn't want it to go bad.  Now when I get a family, or feel like making some for the friends I will be wishing I had the big units.

My dehydrator came with a small jerky gun which works ok.  I usually have to load it 3 times for a 1lb of GB.  I made the snack sticks the last time and those came out good.  Took about 2 hours longer than the normal jerky but taste great!

[Stargazer]

All I have to say is wow to you guys who do 15-20 lbs at a time. Thats some serious jerky making!

Heh, me and my dad are more like brothers or best friends then father and son... but we live like true bachelors though. Dinner in front of the TV and all.

We bbq alot, but some nights, all we like is just chomp down on some jerky for supper and drink some suds watching sports games  8)

Jerky goes real fast here, but makes for some nice evenings :D

I guess its good thing I never married, my wife would make me sit up at the table and eat those things called veggies  :o

[NePaSmoKer]

I dont rotate the racks in my 80L either.



nepas