What cut makes te best jerky?

I use any of the round. Whatever is on sale. Flank is WAY too pricey in Ohio. First choice is eye sliced on the diagonal, brined for 36+ hours. I do 18-20 pounds at a time layed flat on "seafood type" racks. Smoked for 8 - 10 hours with oak and apple. Have done 2-300 pounds of elk, plenty of venison and beef, turkey breast and even tried pork loin.

Don,

Just curious as to why you would brine something you were going to dry or dehydrate? Maybe spices in the brine? Expound if you would.

Thanks!

I use whatever is cheapest at the time and trim off any fat.

I use a recipe out of Luhr Jensen book that includes soy sauce, water,wine, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, brown sugar, salt (I use tender quick). I have used this for 15 years and everyone tells me DONT CHANGE.......It does take longer to dry out but I am happy with the end result.

quote:

Originally posted by Wheelz:
Don,

Just curious as to why you would brine something you were going to dry or dehydrate? Maybe spices in the brine? Expound if you would.

Thanks!

I have tried many cuts of beef for Jerky and now use Eye of the Round exclusively.

It is the most cost effective in my market area due to almost no fat waste.
I cut the round into 3/4" thick slices, then lay the slices down and re-slice to 1/4" strips.
Gives a wonderful texture to the Jerky.
I do not need to use (nor clean ) my slicer anymore

Just one approach, but it works for me.

TIM

Rump roast, since my butcher offered to slice it for me. Out of a four pound rump I get about two and a half to three pounds of meat suitable for jerky, the fattier pieces I set aside for soup, stew, or fajitas.
Isn't brine (another word for salt cure) then dehydrate the basic recipe for jerky?

For the last 10 years I have always used ground chuck.Out of 5 pounds of meat I usually get about 140 strips.And its cheaper and not quite so hard to bite or chew.It does turn out kinda tough but not as tough as what I sample from others using eye of round or other cuts.Started out using my dehydrater and as of 6 months ago started using my SmokinTex to do the jerky.Faster than dehydrater!

You cannot make jerky from ground meat. You are making beef sticks. Jerky is made from whole lean muscle meat, cut into strips along the grain.

Jerky is supposed to be tough, ain't it ?

I have used eye of round on 4 batches with great success. Virtually no waste, easy to slice up, and less shrinkage. A little trick I stumbled on is to buy a cheap fish filet knife (around 5 bucks)at your local sporting goods store. Even a cheap knife will be razor sharp when brand new. I have used mine 4 times, and think its got a few more uses left. At less than a buck a use (slicing 8-12 lbs. of meat per use) I have no problem chucking it and buying a new one when needed. Of course it helps to freeze your meat slightly before slicing. BTW I have 8 lbs. of a sweet teriyaki/brown sugar jerky ready to smoke tomorrow. All my other batches have been a cajun style spicy jerky. Everyone loved it, but I want to try a sweet version.

GLH makes a good point. There is a difference, at least in my opinion, between jerky and beef-sticks. If I want something that is going to last a while I will do jerky. A beef-stick is kind of like dessert; chew it, swallow it and it's gone.

Not knocking beef-sticks at all. They are good and have their place. The poll was about jerky.

Peace!

Excuse me for intruding as the poll had a spot for"other".I guess I misunderstood.

By the way,I hold no ill will to anyone in this post at all and respect them for their input.I do tend to do other ground meat jerkys as wellby experimentation.Turkey,beef,pork,ostrich and buffulo.Some ground up and put in strips or sliced and marinated.This is the best forum online and I am glad to participate when I can.Thank you all.