Jerky cure time, is my batch ruined?

1. You (probably) won't die, from eating the 'jerky" any way.

2. Learn to follow the instructions "until" you "know" a better way.

3. The "dehydrator" is just that - a machine that dehydrates food (i.e., removes the moisture)

4. Removing moisture has nothing to do with "curing the meat."

5. Your "salt cure" is what "cures" the meat.

6. Germs can live in most any environment, wet or dry.

Store what you've made in the fridge or freezer. DO NOT allow it to be stored anywhere else.

Do some research via the "find" function here on the forum. Lots of good recipes you can use in your dehydrator. DO MESS WITH THE CURE! We use it for a reason. Be safe & have fun!

Thanks wheelz.

I know I come off as a noob, rightfully so. But i'm a longtime user of forums of other hobbies.

I threw the jerky in the oven at 180 degrees for a half hour or so to kill whatever mightve been there. Thoughts?

Even after such a short soak in the marinate the meat turned out pretty salty. The oven overdried it.

I can't imagine what 12 hours of that bath would taste like. Most of what I find here is for smokers not dehydrators.

Thing is, once you have it cured it doesn't matter whether or mot you use a smoker or dehydrator - You are basically drying the meat.

You might try a couple of cold water baths/soaks to remove some of the saltiness.

Also, take a look at High Mountain Jerky. They have all kinds of flavors. I like the original hickory. You might find something there more to your liking.

Have fun!!

Wheelz, thank you again.

I will try some things from that site. In the long run, I really want to make my own flavors. Is there a general rule of thumb so I can just go about curing the meat so I can then flavor my way?

You can buy bulk cure from High Mountain and add your own seasonings. That's what I'm planning on doing once I use the 4 cures/seasonings I already bought from them.

I see it on the site. Maybe i'll try the variety pack and some extra cure. try doing it by the book before I change things.

its a lot of work and its going to take some trial and error I see.

Munching the london jerky now. Its kinda dry due to putting it in the oven to finish. But at least its safe lol.

If you have a Bass Pro Shop close by, they carry most of the Hi Mountain Products and you can save on the shipping. I am off to Bass Pro in a few minutes to get a few packages of their original jerky seasoning. Will do 4-1/2 lbs tomorrow that has been curing sincel yesterday afternoon. Good luck on your jerky!!

As "Wheelz" already mentioned, germs can live in almost any environment, however they need a moist environment in order to breed, therefore it is better to get the meat as dry as possible, and don't skip using the cure, as this will help prevent germ growth. Some people make jerky from mince, however this takes the bacteria from the surface of the meat and mixes it throughout the whole thing, so the meat must be cured very well and dried very thoroughly in order to be considered safe. This being said, I have made it from mice before and none of us got sick on it. You can buy the mince gun on the Hi Mountain website. It's a bit more work, but somewhat cheaper than jerky made from steak strips.

Cheers,

Micah

I tried curing my jerky last fall inside one of those Drybags (drybagsteak.com). I just sealed the strips with a marinate inside the bag, spread out the strips flat and let it sit on the fridge rack for three days. The moisture vanished from the bag and the flavor of the marinate was deep in the meat. When I smoked them off, I got the richest tasting jerky ever. Great for spicing up camp stews!

Yesterday I completed another batch of jerky. I enjoy nibbling on jerky for a snack much more than cookies, chips, ice cream or candy. Healthier, especially if you're watching your blood sugar. Here's the recipe I found on the internet and tried:

Ingredients:

* 5 pounds of eye of round
* 15 ounces of Lea & Perrins
* 15 - 20 ounces of teriyaki sauce
* 15 - 20 ounces of soy sauce
* 2 - 4 Tb. of garlic powder
* 2 - 4 Tb. of dark brown sugar
* 2 - 4 Tb. of onion powder
* 2 - 4 ounces of molasses OR dark corn syrup
* 2 - 4 tsp. of cayenne pepper

Cut meat and mix ingredients for marinade. I used the lower quantites except for the garlic powder, onion powder, and molasses. Put meat in the refrigerator and let marinate for 48 hours(recipe called for 24 hours but I golfed Sunday). Used the GLH method with jerky rods. Placed the meat in the smoker with about 5 oz of hickory(all new pieces ). Smoked it for 5 hours.

It turned out absolutely delicious, and the texture was right on. Since it wasn't cured, I placed half in the refrigerator in a plastic bag and froze the rest.

If you try this, I hope you enjoy. We sure have. The first half was gone in 2 days. I'm now thawing the rest.

Curing takes one leg of the triangle out. No moisture, no sickness. Nitrates/Nitrites inhibit growth of the nasties which would otherwise thrive in the danger temp zone. I would suggest a "small" cure into any marinade for any length of time and adjust salt to taste vs. leaving out. Dehydrated or smoked/heat, I think you will end up with a more appealing end product w/cure. Cure will add a "texture" that you can't duplicate. My 2 cents. Jamey

That makes sense. Just bought some Tenderquick for the next jerky marinade.

Thanks to you guys, i've come a long way!

Yesterday I received my high mountain jerky makers variety pack & cure. I have also made friendly with my grocers butcher. I had him slice 4 lbs of 1/4" thick top round london broil. Last night, I made up seasonings/cure for 2 lbs each, hickory (looking forward to your recommendation Wheelz!) and cajun (which I added a little extra ground red pepper to for kick).

By 8pm tonight i'll be 24hrs cured and moving to phase 2- the dehydrator. I can barely wait!

I'll let you know how it turns out. Surely not as good as your smokers would make it, but anything is better than 7-11 junk.

I'll let you know how it turns out. Surely not as good as your smokers would make it, but anything is better than 7-11 junk.[/QUOTE]

You're on the right track. Enjoy and let us know how it turns out.

yum. Wheelz, the hickory is better than the cajun. Good stuff.

Came out great. I overdried it a little, but i'm learning. My first batch with my own seasonings was still the best. Now that i've tried HMJ products, I can dabble around, cure correctly, and experiment away!

Thanks a lot guys!

Good job! Glad you liked it.

Experimenting is half the fun.

Enjoy that jerky.

Awesome. I'm looking forward to finishing my HMJ so I can "experiment" also.

Enjoy the jerky. Makes for great nibbling.

I almost alway use my dehydrator for jerky anymore, as I have tried several times in the smoker, and could never get the results i wanted

I made jerky and cut it thick,(3/16in), and smoked it. It was cured, and I smoked till the color was right. It was very bendable. My grandmother called it "kippered". You couldn't get away with this if you don't cure. I cured for 48HOURS, then smoked. I wish I could tell you how long it lasts. It was gone in a week. Store in an open paper bag instead of a zip lock. Whole point is to keep moisture to a minimum. It store better this way IMHO. Jamey

I have now found that a cure is the answer to what I think is good jerky. Been doing jerky for years in both a dehydrator and a CS and although it was always good, it didn't look like the store bought stuff (from a good butcher) or had the color/consistancy. Was more like cooked meat, albeit with a great flavor.

I recently tried some High Mtn mix for the first time and the major difference was that it includes a cure. Have had TQ on hand all this time but had never used it.

The High Mtn jerky came out very good with the right color and all else... don't know how long it would hold out of the fridge but I suspect it would do good. (it went fast)

Will not make jerky again without using TQ.

Also,Nesco.com has jerky cure&seasoning.You can use it following directions to make meat strips jerky or hamburger strip jerky.They have a variety of flavors.Use 1 pouch of cure and 1 pouch of seasoning for 1 pound of meat.Up to you if you need to add garlic powder,soy sauce or cayenne pepper powder to suit youre tastebuds!Enjoy.