Is it true that you have a beef jerky problem? You enjoy it, but you don’t care for the phony chemical flavorings and high sodium content of many packaged products. Your problem can be solved in one of two ways. One option is to order a new gourmet brand from the comfort of your own home, such as Three JerksTM Jerky’s Chipotle Adobo. The other alternative is to make your own delectable jerky using some basic techniques and your preferred recipe.
DIY jerky may appear scary, but this step-by-step guide will walk you through a simple home project that will provide you with a new type of treat to enjoy with family and friends. After all, there’s no rule that says you can’t make your own and enjoy the gourmet brand at the same time. Somewhere in there, there’s a themed party idea.
Make sure the kitchen is clean.
Specifically, make sure there’s a clear path from your counter or work space to the oven-marinated jerky. A word of caution: keep Fido and Fluffy locked away in another room of the house to safeguard both your pets (raw garlic and peppers can’t be good for them) and your jerky! After all, you’ll be waving raw meat around, and they’ll be sure to notice…
After that, slice the meat.
There are two stages to this process. Stage one: Depending on the size of your cut of meat, you might wish to cut it in half or more sections. Remember to keep them long so that you may cut them into long, thin slices. Place the large pieces in the freezer after wrapping them in plastic wrap or a sturdy zip-lock freezer bag. You don’t want it to be completely frozen; you simply want it to be solid enough to slice thinly. In the freezer, one to two hours should be plenty. Stage two: cut small strips of 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.
From the chewiness to the meaty flavor, there’s a lot to admire about beef jerky, but nothing beats the pungent blend of spicy and savory/sweet goodness for keeping you coming back for more. It should be salty and rich, with a strong flavor profile of spices and seasonings. You can change the flavors to fit your preferences, mood, or season. Pick a decent, basic recipe first, and then start experimenting with subsequent batches.
- Choose a combination of soy sauce, tamari sauce, apple cider vinegar, beer, Worcestershire sauce, teriyaki sauce, or balsamic vinegar for the liquid base and acids.
- Seasonings, flavorings, and spices: Combine garlic powder, onion powder, salt of choice, fish sauce, Dijon mustard, liquid smoke or smoked paprika (or both), sesame oil, cayenne pepper, turmeric, or freshly cracked black pepper in a mixing bowl.
- Sweet: Nothing brings out savory flavors like a dash of sweetness, and sugars open up a whole new world of culinary possibilities. Brown sugar is used in most recipes; others include honey, dark corn syrup, or blackstrap molasses.
Put the pork strips in a large ziplock bag, pour in the marinade, and give it a good, thorough bath. Place the entire bag in the fridge for up to 24 hours, but no less than 4 hours, to marinate thoroughly. The longer you marinate, the more flavorful and tenderizing your meat will be. The most convenient method is to simply chill overnight before beginning the drying process the next day.
Before turning on the oven, remove the oven racks. To catch drips and make clean-up easier, line the bottom of your oven with aluminum foil. Preheat the oven to 160 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit after that. Arrange racks on a work surface over paper towels. Place marinated pork strips across the racks, flattening them out. Make sure the strips are not touching and that there is enough space between them for air to circulate. Some people recommend wiping the strips on paper towels beforehand to allow the extra liquid to drain, but jerky fans disagree.
If you want to maximize your outputin other words, if you want to fit as many jerky strips as possible into your oven in one batch, consider a different setup. Thread bamboo skewers through one end of each strip before suspending them from your oven racks.
Place the beef strips on the racks and place them in the oven, ideally with the door cracked open. To hold the door open just enough, use a wooden spoon or a wadded-up aluminum foil ball in the opening. The goal is dehydration, or the removal of water from meals, so make sure the hot air is moving and circulating to dry the meat. 1 If the oven is too hot or there isn’t enough circulating air, the meat will cook rather than dry, resulting in a disappointing result.
Depending on the thickness and size of your strips, most recipes call for a total of 7 or 8 hours in the oven. Remember to flip the slices halfway through to ensure that both sides dry equally. You’ll need to keep an eye on your oven, but you’ll have the rest of the day to do anything you want.
How do you tell if your gourmet beef jerky you created at home is indeed jerky? There is only one way to find out, and that is through a taste test. To bend a nice bit, choose a nice bit. It will fracture and break if it becomes too dry. It’s ready to eat if it’s simple to bend and tear off a bite! To avoid overdrying the meat, try this at roughly 6 hours. If it isn’t ready yet, wait an hour or so and test it again.
Remove the jerky from the oven after it’s done cooking and set it out to cool and dry. After the jerky has completely cooled, put it in an airtight container and enjoy your delectable, handcrafted gourmet treat for months (but no more than 4 to 6). It’s likely to have vanished long before you need to be concerned about a “expiration date.”
Is it necessary to marinade the jerky before dehydrating it?
Marinate for 6 to 24 hours in the refrigerator for maximum flavor, the longer the better. This meat was marinated for 18 hours in the refrigerator. Step 6 – Drain and pat dry the jerky strips after marinating to remove any excess marinade before dehydrating. This aids in the acceleration of the dehydration process.
Is it true that pickle juice tenderizes meat?
Here are 15 of our favorite uses for the salty brine:
Simply re-use it! Hard-boiled eggs, onions, garlic, and other soft vegetables can all be brined (soft canned vegetables work well too, like canned artichokes).
Pickle juice helps to tenderize meat. It’s great for marinating pork chops or steaks.
Potatoes that have been boiled can make you snore. Add a healthy amount of pickle juice to the water to make them less boringit will give those potatoes a vinegary zing. (It’s also in our potato salads.)
If store-bought barbecue sauce isn’t doing it for you, try adding a tablespoon of pickle juice to taste.
With a dab of pickle juice, macaroni and cheese is given a new lease on life. Make this Pimiento Mac and Cheese or use it in your favorite recipe.
With a spoonful of pickle juice, add some pucker to your Michelada or Bloody Mary.
Add some pickle juice to your meatloaf recipe, as if it didn’t have enough condiments already.
Because the dough is strengthened with a little pickle juice, we call it “Jewish Deli Bread.”
Make a “pickleback,” which is a shot of pickle brine served after a shot of (typically) not-so-high-end whiskey. The flavors are surprisingly complementary, which explains why pickleback is served at a variety of hipster and non-hipster bars.
You don’t want to eat it? Cleaning copper cookware is a pain, but you can make them glitter by scrubbing them with pickle juice.
Weeds are a pain, so get rid of them in your garden by smothering them in pickle juice. They take a beating from the vinegar and salt.
What is the best way to dehydrate dill pickles?
- Pickles should be sliced into 1/8 to 1/4″ thick circles. The narrower the slice, the better it dehydrates; the more constant the slice, the more evenly it dries.
- Spread the sliced pickles on your dehydrator trays in a single layer, allowing a tiny gap between each round for enhanced ventilation and drying efficiency.
- Dehydrate the pickles for 4-6 hours at 135F. This is merely an estimate based on my circumstances; yours may take longer or shorter. Around the three-hour mark, check the pickles for doneness. Remove one or two slices from the dehydrator to check the pickles, let them cool to room temperature, then bend them. They are not done if the pickle bends. You’re in business if the pickle snaps!
- Remove the dehydrator trays from the dehydrator once the pickles have reached the brittle stage and cool to room temperature before storing.
What is the purpose of curing salt in jerky?
Unlike conventional table salt, which is used to season a range of dishes, curing salt has a specialized purpose: it’s used to take poisons out of raw meat products, allowing them to be stored at room temperature.
While fast-curing salts are used to season meats that will be smoked or cooked in the future, such as beef jerky, a second type of slow-curing salts is used for sausages and cured hams that can be eaten raw (salami and prosciutto are two examples). It’s critical to get the right kind because the ratio of sodium nitrate to sodium nitrate varies significantly between them. Fortunately, remembering which type you’re looking for is simple: Premium Prague powder #1 is used to identify fast-curing salts, whereas premium Prague powder #2 is used to identify slow-curing salts.
When you use a curing salt on your beef jerky, it will help to add that savory flavor that is so appealing in dried or smoked meat products. Your meat nibbles will have a pleasing reddish tint if you use a pink curing salt.
Do you chop jerky against the grain or with it?
- Chewy (with the grain):
- The meat’s natural lines are followed by the knife’s blade.
- When eating the finished product, the eater must chew through the fibers.
- Jerky (or steak) cut against the grain will be chewy and rough.
- Contrary to popular belief:
- The meat’s natural lines are intersected by the knife’s blade.
- Before the product is consumed, the hard work has already been completed.
- Cut against the grain, jerky (or steak) is reasonably easy to eat.
This is a personal choice when it comes to jerky. KOOEE! Jerky, like any well-prepared steak, is always cut against the grain. However, we anticipate that our product will be consumed while on the road. A fishing trip, beers in front of the TV, punishing your pals with an extremely hot chilli, and so on are all situations when a chewy jerky would be absolutely fine.
Which cut of beef is best for beef jerky?
Top Round, Bottom Round, Lifter, and Pectoral are the greatest cuts of meat for beef jerky, although other cuts like as Flank Steak and Skirt Steak can also be utilized. These cuts of beef are inexpensive, lean, and flavorful, making them ideal for beef jerky.
What happens if you let jerky to marinate for too long?
Beef can be marinated in the fridge for up to 48 hours, according to the USDA. Though it can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days, the end outcome may not be satisfactory. For optimum results, most recipes recommend marinating for 4 to 24 hours.
You won’t get the tastes you want if you marinate the beef for too little time, and if you marinate it for too long, the marinade may destroy the protein structure of the meat and turn it mushy.
Place the marinated meat in freezer bags or airtight glass containers at all times.
Aluminum ones are not suggested because they react with the acid, resulting in strange hues and flavors.
The length of time you can marinate depends on the dish you’re looking at.
Is it necessary to boil beef jerky before dehydrating it?
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Place the beef strips in a shallow pan and pour the marinade over them. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or overnight, covered. Some people dislike the saltiness of products that have been marinated for several hours. If you want to reduce the danger of foodborne illness, boil the meat before drying it. Do it at the end of the marination time. To heat the strips, bring them to a boil with the marinade and cook for 5 minutes before draining and drying them. If the strips are thicker than a quarter-inch, the cooking time may need to be adjusted. If feasible, use a metal stem-type thermometer to check the temperature of many strips to see if they have reached 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
