Jerky: The Topic

rotuts · June 1, 2015

Id reconsider Alton Brown's box fan technique cheap than a dehydrator and can be used 'plain' when it Hot Inside !

**ElsieD** · June 1, 2015

Id reconsider Alton Brown's box fan technique cheap than a dehydrator and can be used 'plain' when it Hot Inside !

Thanks, but not very practical as I live in a condo. I have room to set it up but then storage becomes an issue. Course, the same could be said for a purchased dehydrator but as it happens, the oven worked well.

**ElsieD** · June 2, 2015

Update on the jerky: I had been feeding my husband warm bits of jerky during the drying process and he said it wasn't jerky. It has since cooled down and when he tried it he said "now that's jerky"! So he says it's really good and he's happy with it. Just need to slice it thinner next time to improve the texture.

dcarch · June 2, 2015

If you can keep your oven temperature low enough, below 180F perhaps. you can try to put an electric fan inside to make dehydration much better.

Make sure you use an induction motor or a shaded pole AC motor driven fan. Don't use a computer "muffin" type fan. Those are "brush-less" electronic fans which are heat sensitive.

dcarch

**ElsieD** · June 2, 2015

If you can keep your oven temperature low enough, below 180F perhaps. you can try to put an electric fan inside to make dehydration much better.

Make sure you use an induction motor or a shaded pole AC motor driven fan. Don't use a computer "muffin" type fan. Those are "brush-less" electronic fans which are heat sensitive.

dcarch

The main oven will go as low as 170F and the Breville 120F. Both are convection. I thought 185 was the right temperature based on what I read but are you saying I should go lower? Are you suggesting that I use a fan in lieu of or in addition to the the convection setting?

dcarch · June 2, 2015

The main oven will go as low as 170F and the Breville 120F. Both are convection. I thought 185 was the right temperature based on what I read but are you saying I should go lower? Are you suggesting that I use a fan in lieu of or in addition to the the convection setting?

All ovens are designed not to ventilate very well to conserve energy. Only ventilate enough to keep certain controls not to overheat. Therefore for dehydrating, it's a good idea to keep the door slightly open to vent moisture.

A convection fan in a convection oven does not move air as well as a regular fan.

dcarch

**ChrisTaylor** · November 13, 2015

I bought a cheap dehydrator and decided biltong would be a good starting point. I'm making a batch each of beef and 'roo biltong. The meat was rubbed in rock salt and set aside for a couple hours, given a bath in cider vin and rubbed it with black pepper and coriander. I'll see what it's like in the morning.

image.jpg1_zps0vyzvf0h.jpg

Simon Lewinson · November 13, 2015

Chris, I am in the middle of a few batches of venison jerky at the moment and your post reminded me that I need to make some biltong too. I will see if I can find my recipe and post it up.

In my experience, by using the dehydrator you will not get real biltong if the temperature is above ambient as it needs to dry slowly and continue to cure as well. I have a box for drying biltong that has a few computer fans to move the air. When I get home I will take some photos of it.

Was the beef brined? I start mine with corned beef, coat it with the rub and let it marinate for 24 hours then rinse in diluted vinegar before drying.

Simon

**ChrisTaylor** · November 13, 2015

I followed this method: http://www.selfsufficientme.com/sustainability/how-to-make-biltong-using-an-excalibur-dehydrator

Simon Lewinson · November 14, 2015

Chris, I will be interested to hear how it goes with that method.

Here is my recipe.

Recipe - Biltong

2 tsp ground cumin

2tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda

1/2 tsp Chilli powder

1/2 tsp pepper

4 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and crushed

8 tsp soft brown sugar

2.5Kg corned beef, point cut, sliced 10mm thick

Sprinkle slices liberally with rub, lay in plastic container and sprinkle with vinegar, add rest of meat in layers. Refrigerate for 24 hrs

Rinse lightly in 25% vinegar solution and air dry (can rake up to a week).

Simon

Simon Lewinson · November 14, 2015

Here is one of my favorite jerky recipes that I use with venison.

Massaman curry Jerky

2 tbsp Massaman curry paste

2 tbsp soft brown sugar

40ml soy sauce

40ml Thai fish sauce

40ml water

1/3 packet powdered coconut cream

METHOD

Mix sliced meat with marinade, cover and refrigerate for 8-16 hours.

Remove excess marinade and lay meat in dehydrator trays. Dry for 8-12 hours at 50-55 degrees C.

Okanagancook · August 11, 2016

On February 7, 2014 at 9:17 AM, TylerK said:

Agreed about the soy. Unless I'm making an asian flavoured jerky I leave it out. My favourite spice mix is below:

Grind in spice grinder:

5 chipotles

2 ancho chillies.

1 tsp peppercor

1 tsp allspice berries

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 inch cinnamon stick

Add:

1tsp onion powder

1tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp smoked paprika

2 tbsp brown sugar

I coat the meat in this and then add enough salt to make up about 1% of the weight of the meat and let it cure for a couple days before dehydrating..

With my new Excalibur drier I am making jerky. 6 1/2 lbs in all.

Today a bought some round steaks, quite lean.

Made five recipes. It was hot outside so decided to stay indoors.

I made Biltong from Chris Taylor's website above. I have never tried it before but most recipes have the same procedure: Cut 1/2" thick; salt for an hour; scrape off salt; dip in cider vinegar for 3 minutes; coat in coarsely crushed whole coriander seeds and coarse cracked black pepper; with the Excalibur I hung the strip from hooks; drying at 104F for 24 hours. First three pictures.

Next up was the Masaman Curry Jerky in the post above. Smells good. Marinating overnight. Fourth picture

The jerky posted by TylerK quoted above. This one is going to be spicy. Fifth and sixth picture

Thai Jerky from thebaldchef which has lemon grass, brown sugar, thai chili, black pepper and fish sauce, seventh pic

Jerky from Serious Eats: Cook the Book. Contains Worchestership sauce, chipotle, pepper and a few other items. no pic

Should be interesting. I sealed them in the vac sealer and threw them in the fridge.

I used a carpaccio meat mallet to flatten the strips. Worked a treat. Last two pictures.

Anna N · August 12, 2016

@Okanagancook

bought 1/4 lb of biltong from south African butcher on Wednesday -almost $7! Just saying. And it languishes in my refrigerator because I had to leave home unexpectedly. It is refrigerated in a paper bag as recommended by the Butcher because it is the moister version. We used to have a member, @gsquared, from South Africa who sent me a recipe but I was never successful in making it. It was introduced to me by some South African friends who I have also lost track of. Love me some biltong.

Okanagancook · August 12, 2016

The Biltong turned out nice. You can see in the picture the doneness of the meat (the piece top right). It was in at 104F for 20 hours.

Never eaten it before. I nice pepper-heat after it's been chewed awhile. 9_9 It's a bit messy though. An outdoor snack, not for on the couch or in bed! :wacko:

Anna N · August 12, 2016

@Okanagancook

I expect to be home sometime tomorrow when I will post a photograph of the biltong from the south African butcher in Oakville. Just for comparison purposes.

JohnT · August 13, 2016

21 hours ago, Anna N said:

I expect to be home sometime tomorrow when I will post a photograph of the biltong from the south African butcher in Oakville. Just for comparison purposes.

@Anna N Is your billies from Florence Meats? If so, next time you are there buy a small pack of smoked snoek, remove the bones and make a "Snoek Pâté". Simple and quick to do and it goes well with fresh bread or toast.

Anna N · August 13, 2016

55 minutes ago, JohnT said:

@Anna N Is your billies from Florence Meats? If so, next time you are there buy a small pack of smoked snoek, remove the bones and make a "Snoek Pâté". Simple and quick to do and it goes well with fresh bread or toast.

That's the place! Shall need to research snoek as I am not in the least familiar with it.

Anna N · August 13, 2016

Photos of biltong as promised.

JohnT · August 13, 2016

8 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Photos of biltong as promised.

Good billies that! I used to make my own for years but have not done so for the last few years. I do quite a bit of baked goods for my butcher now and he makes about 200kg of beef biltong and about 100kg of "droëwors" (dried sausage) each week, with me being a regular customer! His "droëwors" is too salty for me but his biltong is really good. I prefer it not too dry with a good side of fat and cut very thin. The stuff is addictive! Hope you enjoy it - it is good with a nice cold larger or even a cold cider.

Anna N · August 13, 2016

I much prefer biltong to any other jerky I have ever tried. It is not nearly so salty and I am dentally challenged so it's not nearly so difficult to chew and enjoy.

Captain · December 14, 2016

I have always preferred Biltong to Jerky. So I made some just recently.

Only a small batch as a test.

Very easy & great tasty results. I can't wait to get a large batch hanging.

Thanks for looking

Edited December 14, 2016 by Captain
spelling. (log)

Captain · January 5, 2017

Another batch. I have so much trouble stopping once I start eating this.

YvetteMT · June 14

A successful waterfowl season and crap weather this weekend means I'll be making a batch of jerky over the next few days.

And yes, I said waterfowl. Not everyone in my house is willing to eat medium rare breasts so, jerky it is. Specifically from these guys

(Thats a Canada goose for those unaware.) I make several batches over the year, usually when I realize I need more freezer space, and we eat jerky year long. Any trip one of us goes on, we take jerky- vacation, fishing, snowmobiling, hunting.

I'll do my best to capture all the steps this weekend and share as it happens.