Beef jerky thread

[KevinLoveFan]

We need one of these.

I inherited a tendency from my dad to like both vegetables as well as sodium-laden meat food, like hot dogs and bacon.

For years, I tried to figure out how to make this work while still being relatively healthy.

Recently, I found organic beef jerky from Aldi that is seemingly free of nitrites. It still has a truckload of sodium and a fair amount of sweetness, but sheesh it's good.

The great thing about beef jerky is, unlike bacon, you don't even need to warm it up. I think it's a wonderful satiating snack.

I'm not Moose from Saved by the Bell, I promise.

 

[Deezus]

You need to try making your own! You can do it with a regular oven (preferably gas), but a food dehydrator works the best. You can control the sodium/flavor, will be guaranteed no nitrates, and eliminate preservatives.

Here's the one I have. We make beef jerky, turkey jerky, and dried banana chips/apricots/etc

Amazon.com

 

[Deezus]

***sorry for the double post***

Funny story: back in like 2014 @The Oi bragged to @Damage @bushwick_bill and I on our text thread about some "Filet Mignon Beef Jerky" he'd bought.

Hilarity ensued...

1.) Why the hell would you purposely dry out filet mignon?! The point of filet is for it to be cooked rare/med-rare and to stay melt-in-your-mouth tender. Truly stupid!
2.) The product cost like $15+ for each 2oz bag!
3.) The reviews are legendary... with many of them saying there was mold on the jerky and how rancid and terrible it tasted.
4.) @The Oi signed up for a recurring yearly order of this and bragged about it!

Check out some of these reviews on the link below... pretty sure this is leftover stock and the company went out of business.

Amazon.com

 

[DJTJ]

I’m a massive fan of poultry jerky. Feel like it holds up to the funky flavors better.

While I’d love to make it, raw poultry touching is required and also disgusting. Very adverse.

 

[Randolphkeys]

I think it's worth mentioning that beef jerky was an answer to the problem of a lack of refrigeration. For thousands of years, your ancestors put the jerked meat back into water and made a stew out of the salted meat. They had no choice!

If they were alive today they'd wonder what the hell you nutcases are doing. They would slap the jerky out of your hands before it touched your mouths. They would instead cram your deep freezers full of wild game.

 

[The Oi]

***sorry for the double post***

Funny story: back in like 2014 @The Oi bragged to @Damage @bushwick_bill and I on our text thread about some "Filet Mignon Beef Jerky" he'd bought.

Hilarity ensued...

1.) Why the hell would you purposely dry out filet mignon?! The point of filet is for it to be cooked rare/med-rare and to stay melt-in-your-mouth tender. Truly stupid!
2.) The product cost like $15+ for each 2oz bag!
3.) The reviews are legendary... with many of them saying there was mold on the jerky and how rancid and terrible it tasted.
4.) @The Oi signed up for a recurring yearly order of this and bragged about it!

Check out some of these reviews on the link below... pretty sure this is leftover stock and the company went out of business.

Amazon.com

I was so excited about it.

 

[Criznit]

I love this brand and it seems to be showing up in more and more places around the country.. I prefer the "dried/stringy/chewy" type stuff, none of that "moist/tender" Jack Links nonsense.

If it's "ripple cut" style, I usually dig it.

 

[MikeOC33]

There is a really nice meat shop near me that has bacon jerky... and it is freaking awesome. Great by itself, and makes awesome BLTs. $19/lb, which I think is in line with jerky cost.

 

[The Oi]

 

[buzzdog]

I used to hunt deer and elk (plus I caught a crapload of trout) back over the 25-30 years that I lived in Wyoming and Montana. I really like the taste of elk but eating venison from Mule deer and antelope over the years got old to the point where I pretty much made everything into 100% jerky except for the backstraps. Back then you could get multiple tags so there was always 2-3 deer, and some years 2-3 antelope. The elk were never a sure thing, it depended on what tags you could draw in what areas. Making the jerky was a lot of work, days and days of trimming and cutting, then soaking/seasoning and drying.

My kids were raised on a fair amount of jerky and they ate it like candy. But the way it was made it was pretty healthy protein that we could take on outings and hikes. You'd be amazed at how little jerky you get off a whole mule deer, maybe 4 or 5 of the giant Ziplock bags. It never lasted long. The antelope was the best.

I miss that stuff, but I don't miss all the work that went into it.

 

[PIP]

I was just at last week a weird chinese buffet in Fort Myers Florida that featured some interesting meats on the buffet…

They have a pond in the middle of the buffet that has unique fish swimming in it. Some appeared to be no longer with us.

I noticed the sushi was strange as well. When I went up to the buffet they had just brought some tender looking beef— when I went back around it started to form into jerky..

Fantastic chicken wings however.

 

[pr26]

As someone who has very annoying food allergies (gluten/dairy), jerky is my go-to food anytime I’m traveling. Some really good jerky in the Pacific Northwest, both local shops and regional brands. As far as national brands, those little Dukes short sausages always hit the spot. The hatch green chili flavor is my jam.

I once tried kangaroo jerky…never again. Looked like my dogs red-rocket.

 

[Otsego Mar]

This thread inspired me to make my own. Just did my first batch of pork loin jerky in a dehydrater - sliced with the grain - in a marinade of soy/worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, crushed garlic, pepper, and chili paste.

Pretty good.

 

[Otsego Mar]

Just tried the same recipe but cutting against the grain.... definitely a lot less chewy. I read a lot about people preferring the traditional "chewier" cut, but I'm undecided.