Heat or no heat that is the question

Maybe you mean to say you want to smoke the jerky meat before you dry it in the dehydrator? It is a fairly common method. Do you have a smoker?

No I mean cook it, I usually use a brine or other method to cook the meat. I just want to know if heat is needed to dry. I think heat would speed the drying process up but is it necessary?

Someone else will need to answer that. I don't think of making jerky as cooking it. I reckon it is cooking as it is smoked at 180* for 3 hours.

Do you enjoy smoked meats/foods?

Maybe a little more detail, not sure what you're trying to achive.

You can "cure" meat with a sufficient brine, but you're not making jerky exactly.

If you're cooking it wet, you'll need to dry it.

True jerky is a dry smoked product.

I would like to cook the meat entirely and then dry it. This may not be conventinal jerky making but just exploring differnt ways of doing things.
In the end is a heat source needed in the drying stage if the meat is entirly cooked entering the drying stage?
Thanks for all of the input.

Northwoods -- Let me see if I am understanding you: You want to make already cooked meat into jerky...?

If so, why not just continue to cook the meat until it reaches the texture/dryness you desire?

If your meat is cooked to your desired doneness I suppose you could put it in your dehydrator and dry it but there is a concern for spoilage if left unrefrigerated/frozen. And, without a proper "cure" it going to go bad on you in a few days after taking it out of whichever cooler you choose.

I'm still not sure we understand you goal. Don't give up. May just take some more dialogue.

I am concerned with the temprature of a dehydrator not reaching an appropriate temperature to make the meat safe to eat. If I were to cook the meat and then dehydrate, I would feel much safer about the end product. I guess if this is just crazy let me know.

here is a side note, even my state extension office recommends cooking meat before dehyrating it.

Ok! Now we are getting somewhere. You are concerned about food safety.

When you use a "cure" you actually preserve the meat and cooking "after curing" (taking the meat temp above 140*) destroys the nasties.

Visit High Mountain Jerky and look around. Also look thru this Jerky Forum and read some of the posts on making jerky. It's really not that difficult and I've yet to hear of anyone getting ill.

I think curing is the key and High Mountain has been making & distributing cures for quite some time. Once you've started making your own jerky it's difficult to go back to the store-bought stuff.

Read around and come back with questions. I know I had reservations about making my first batch about a year ago. Now I make it quite often with no regrets and no trips to the ER.

quote:

Originally posted by northwoodsice:
here is a side note, even my state extension office recommends cooking meat before dehyrating it.

Well, that means a lot...not. If they're not jerky experts, then they need to leave it to the pros. Just my 2 cents.

FYI, NO company out there, that I'm aware of, "cooks" their jerky.

They use cures and the nitrates in the cures take care of it. Cold smoke (low temp) has long been used as a way of preserving food safety. Plus the act of dehydrating it makes a difference.

I'm not sure that cooking it won't change the texture to a point you don't like it.

I am thinking about jumping into the "making Jerky" scene. I was surfing the internet and read a recipe of folks that said to boil the meat strips in the marinade before you dry the strips in the smoker. Sounded odd to me, but I believe it was an extension office recipe as northwoodsice says. Sounded odd to me, not that I agree, I am just wanting you all to know that the guy isnt crazy. I did come across some folks preaching the "cook it first" method.

I'm goin with the "GLH" method first, haha

When I picked up my dehydrator (Cabelas) it had recipes with it, I had made jery previously using chicken and turkey. It said to bake the sliced and marinated turkey breast to for a specified time, and then dry. It was messy and wasn't very good.

If you have a curing solution or additive in the meat I wouldn't worry about being unsafe so much.

Thanks for all the advice.