Unable to get TQ--How can I do jerky?

Hi Micah,

Not sure what kind of smoker you are using, but this method works great for me. Wonder if Hi Mountain would ship some cure down your way.. here's a link to QDogg's method that i have used dozen's of times without failure..

QDogg's Jerky 101

Hope this helps ya, it's the only way i've done it so i'm not sure of other methods. Even with the Hi Mntn seasonings you still have to keep the Jerky in the refrigerator when done..

Hi micah,

Go to Joe Ames ,tell him you are with the Cookshack forum,and ask him what to do.

He can ship,change ingredients,or give you a preservative recipe to get you going.

He is one of the best around.

Joe Ames Ingredient Store

Hello, I do jerky without any cure but have to fridge it.

Is tenderquick or a cure like sub. the answer to not having to fridge it? How long can it lasat out in the norm room tempo before a cured piece goes bad?

I did one that must be refrig'd but has a great flavor.

1/3 cup burbon
1 cup Soy sauce
2/3 - 3/4 cup sugar
2 - 3 tbl fresh squeeze orange

YUM. I used 1 cup sugar and it was a little sticky when done. I also used standard sugar.

By far a great taste. I used flank steak. I have also used this to do flank steak on the grill. GReat flavor. I marinate for 2 days either way I do it. gets more mix of the flavors at the 2 day point

I have been making beef jerky in my dehydrator for years without tenderquick. I use a basic marinade of two parts soy sauce, one part apple cider vinegar, and one part worcestershire sauce. I add dried peppers and spices to bring up the heat and flavor. I have discussed this on the forums before, so some caveats:

I do not do commercial, I distribute to a select group of a dozen or so friends and family. I have never had a reported illness, complaint, or return;

I do not use wild game, just good clean, lean rump roast. I would not do this with venison;

I am not trying to achieve long-term preservation, just concentrated flavor and good jerky. My small batches never have to keep for more than four weeks because we eat them faster than that;

I used to think my dehydrator was not cooking the meat, but I recently read the exit temperature at 160 degrees f. If the meat is in there for twenty hours plus it is getting cooked.

That being said, my local butcher will slice a three to four pound rump roast for me, thin and against the grain for an easy chew. I make a marinade of 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup worcestershire, 1 cup soy and a tablespoon black pepper. Trim about two to three pounds of meat into the marinade, leave in at least 18 hours, then go straight to the dehydrator. I dry it down till it is barely pliable and mostly breaks. I have tried smoking then dehydrating, works just as well.

What I believe is that the initial acidic content of the marinade 'cooks' or converts the proteins of the meat while killing any bugs that might be present, and the high sodium content acts as a preservative. My apologies to the tenderquick distributors, but a decent dehydrated beef snack can be made without their cure. I handle it carefully at all stages and treat it as a raw food product, even though it is cooked by acid and heat. I have kept it in zip-loc plastic bags for just over a month, never saw any signs of mold or rot. Over two dozen batches and I am very happy with my technique.

Sounds good.

Why would you not use venison?

Why would you not use venison?

I am familiar with the risks of eating undercooked beef, I don't have much knowledge of wild game. I am sure that some people genuinely like the flavor of venison, but I mostly associate it with a hunter who has a large supply of free meat and has to find a way to eat it. I always find the aftertaste a little too gamey for me.

I hope someone else posts, I didn't realize I was taking part in a conversation that ended three and a half years ago.

I just has a medium-rare steak tonight. I also like my venison medium rare. Do you consider that undercooked? What are the risks? I think you have never eaten good venison. I haven't encountered an aftertaste.

It's OK to re-fire an old thread!

with the high salt content of soy and whatsthatthere,ha ha sause, would that be preservative enough not to have to refrig?
paul

I think jerky really should be stored in the fridge if not the freezer unless it is really dried stuff. (which I think is pretty hard to eat and not as tasty) A local meat market smokes their own jerky but it gets moldly in less than a week even in the fridge. So when I make my own, I freeze what won't be eaten right away.

Here's a Teriyaki sauce I use. My wife likes to add maple syrup to this and also some red papper flakes.

Teriyaki Marinade
=======================
Use for 3 to 4 lbs of beef or poultry

1 C. soy sauce
2 crushed garlic cloves
2 tsp crushed or ground ginger root
2 tbl brown sugar
1 tsp pepper

I like the high salt content, high acid marinade. I believe that it is enough to make the beef safe for a few weeks without refrigeration. The only other thing which the commercial cures add are the nitrites, still just another salt.

My test is this: cut your beef and marinade it for 12 to 18 hours. Take a piece and put in your microwave for about 30 seconds. When it is still too hot to eat, eat it. Did you die? If not, eat a piece straight from the marinade. Do you like the flavor, and did you die? If yes and no, put it in the dehydrator until it looks and tastes good.

Try not to get too hung up on the preservation aspect; dehydration preserves food, but it also concentrates flavor. In this day and age, the flavor part is what it is all about.