Comments on: Charcuterie at Home: Beef Jerky

By: Michelle@TastyThailand

Michelle@TastyThailand — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:43:57 +0000

If I got that much jerky, I’d think I’d died and gone to heaven. Here in Bangkok, you can get pretty much anything, but beef jerky doesn’t seem to be one of them – at least not any I actually like the taste of.

By: clappy

clappy — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:50:23 +0000

another good option is to use wood skewers and put the meat slices on the skewers, then drape the skewers across your top oven rack so that the meat pieces hang in between the wires on the rack. i’ve had great success with this method at about 140 degrees for only 3-4 hours.

By: BrianV

BrianV — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:56:38 +0000

Try your local flea market on any Sunday, you should be able to pick up a used stackable tray type electric dehydrator for less than ten bucks. Shine it up and your ready for anything from jerky to cinnamon apple chips in the fall as well as drying your garden herbs.

By: Casey Angelova

Casey Angelova — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 05:18:52 +0000

I personally hate beef jerky, but when I tell you why you will understand. I have a younger brother and when we were young, he would consume copious amounts of jerky then feel the need to burp and blow it in my direction or directly at me. So, the smell just puts me off.

Moving on, I feel attempting this recipe might be a cathartic exercise.

By: ruhlman

ruhlman — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:59:34 +0000

can do with pork!

By: ruhlman

ruhlman — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:59:05 +0000

i store in plastic at room temp. should keep indefinitely if dried properly.

By: ruhlman

ruhlman — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:58:35 +0000

just make sure there’s good circulation.

By: Charlotte

Charlotte — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 00:34:22 +0000

I was just going to post how here in MT, most jerky is game — antelope is particularly delicious. There are always odd bits of the animal left, and well, you CAN’T throw them out …

By: phageghost

phageghost — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:55:53 +0000

Oh, BTW I sourced all the grass-fed meat and fat for the project from Slanker's Grass-Fed Meats. Wonderful people to deal with and the selection is top-notch.

By: phageghost

phageghost — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:49:35 +0000

I made about 45 pounds of grass-fed buffalo jerky last summer, mostly to turn into pemmican. Used a cheap home-made jerky dehydrator based on these plans. Keeping the temperature low makes a fantastic improvement over store-bought stuff, which by law has to be cooked at 150 F, rather than simply dried. Based on my experience with that method: 1. Be dilligent in trimming off any fat from the outside of the roast. If you use a lean cut to begin with (I used top round and eye of round), that should prevent any spoilage due to rancid fat. 2. Slice across the grain unless you really like chewing. 3. Blood dripping off the slices when you first hang them makes a big mess; you're left with puddles of dried blood at the bottom, which isn't too bad since it's a sheet of aluminum foil, but they get all over the light bulb and base as well. In one case the heat shock shattered the light bulb. Maybe pre-curing them in the fridge, as Michael suggested, would minimize this? Sean, if you can find a really lean cut of pork, maybe. Give it a try!

By: jaybee

jaybee — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:23:14 +0000

I made jerky using this recipe a few months ago and it was spectacular … the day or two after I made it. I stored it in a couple airtight containers and, to my disappointment, whatever fat remained in it quickly started to turn rancid. I’m assuming I should have refrigerated it, but tips on storage would be appreciated.

By: Sean

Sean — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 20:33:55 +0000

Amazing! After a long road trip with truly sub-par jerky I had to try to make my own. Unfortunately the old hot box only goes down to 170 so this might be tricky. I imagine the 90 degree HUMID days we get in DC won’t cut it.

On another note, can you do this with pork?

By: Sweet Harvest

Sweet Harvest — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:16:41 +0000

Great post! How long would you say the jerky would ‘keep’ for? Do you have a recommended storage method?

By: Gael

Gael — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:05:20 +0000

I never made beef jerky before but now that I know that the temperature is 90F I know I can easily wait for the summer to do this.

I used to live in Houston and I know that the temperature is easily attainable however it is also extremely humid there. Is there a problem if it’s done in a humid environment?

By: Blake @ salt, teak & fog

Blake @ salt, teak & fog — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:19:59 +0000

Mmm, jerky. Growing up, we’d spend summers roughing it up in Montana, where my Dad would always hunt some deer. We’d return home to Southern California with the best souvenir: a few huge paper grocery bags full of peppery, salty deer jerky, made by a local guy. Back home, we’d snag a few pieces out of the kitchen closet each afternoon. All the neighborhood kids would beg for some.

Maybe it’s time to try my hand at it — looks dead simple and delicious.

By: Vivian

Vivian — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:51:41 +0000

I loved this when you first posted it and still do. Agree with you on the beef. How it is raised makes an incredible difference in the flavor.

By: laura

laura — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:39:28 +0000

Re: catching up on 5000 emails. From Seth Godin: “Cory [Doctorow] gets more email than you and me combined: When you go on vacation, set up an autoreply that says, ‘I’m on vacation until x/x/2010. When I get back, I’m going to delete all the email that arrived while I was gone, so if this note is important, please send it to me again after that date.’”

Can’t wait to see what you picked up in Italy.

By: Coco @ Opera Girl Cooks

Coco @ Opera Girl Cooks — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:37:29 +0000

Sounds great! I tried some spicy Thai beef jerky at a farmers’ market a few months back, and have been meaning to recreate it. I am almost positive my oven doesn’t go as low as 90F, but hopefully 100F will work okay.