Easy jerky

[Shane]

Sorry, y'all. I forgot to check back on this thread.

I like it I've made jerky before using some kind of jerky kit. It was WAY to salty. I even followed the directions and everything. Simpler is better in my book.

How do you cut the meat thin enough for jerky? Use a slicer or what?

I just used a sharp knife and a cutting board. I hold my left hand on top of the meat and slice the bottom part of the meat closest to the cutting board. It's dangerous, especially when you get to the last part where you're basically just splitting the meat in half for the last 2 pieces. Be careful!

Also, did you then just lay out on the regular oven racks and put foil under to catch drippage?

I put foil on the bottom of the oven. I laid the meat out on the top rack, with that rack near the top of the oven. Then I moved the bottom rack to just under the top rack and hung strips of meat off of that rack. Use toothpicks or string through the tip of the strip of meat to hang off the rack.

Try slicing the meat when it is stilla little frozen cheez. Use a good sharp knife and it will slice REALLY thin for you.

For me, it's actually easier when the meat is thawed out good. I use a knife that's shaving sharp though. Gotta be CAREFUL.

I can never get all the strips the same thickness. I'm sure there's some kind of slicing tool somewhere that would help. The really thin pieces get done sooner, of course, so I have to take those out of the oven before the thicker pieces are done. I like the thicker jerky best, but I always end up with some thin pieces.

[Outdoor Man 2]

That looks pretty good Shane. I'm a big Tony Chachere's fan too. I'll have to try your recipe. Good luck on the Matador hunt! Let us know how you do.

[Shane]

That looks pretty good Shane. I'm a big Tony Chachere's fan too. I'll have to try your recipe. Good luck on the Matador hunt! Let us know how you do.

The Matador hunt was last week. Here's the recap: Zach's first bow deer

We fought the urge to eat all the jerky on Day 1. With careful rationing, we ate the last bits of jerky while driving back home on Friday after a week-long hunt.

[Michael]

How do you cut the meat thin enough for jerky? Use a slicer or what?

If you can remember to check it before it freezes solid, put it in the freezer until it's just barely frozen, yet still easy to slice.

[primative]

I tried your oven method with some different seasonings and it turned out great. Off of a 2 1/2 year old spike I shot 2 yesterday. Thank you for posting this, it allows me to cut down cost as a college student instead of getting it processed. Thanks again.

[shunter14]

tried the oven idea as well, always used a dehydrator but since it was broke and i read this i figured i would give it a shot, came out awesome, thanks for the idea

[Roy]

Thanks for this idea! I tried this last night with a ham and some Tony's. I wished I would have just went to the store for some mesquite smoke. My oven could only go down to 200 so I only kept the meat in there for about 2 hours. It came out pretty darn good for my first try- and the amount of jerky one ham makes is awesome! No more processors for me!

[jwn83]

nicholsons jerky out there in mertzon,tx is pretty good stuff, might want to talk to that guy, they do a great job.

[bluemule]

sounds easy

[Matt2006Martin]

A Caveman can Do This !!! and I think we All have A Little caveman In Us !! looks awesome with your meat !!

[Bowtech2004]

Has anybody tried box fan jerky with ac filters? got two hams im fixin to try it on.

[gjennings]

That looks good. I'm gonna try some.

[ksebesta23]

Will cooking the meat in the oven this way work for hog meat?

[Wiley719]

Heck ya shot a buck yesterday gonna try it out tonight

[Shane]

I've never made hog jerky, but I'm sure it would work. The concern would be trichinosis, of course.

You'd just need to make sure you get the meat hot enough for long enough to kill the bacteria. Here's a chart that shows how to do that. I don't know if it's accurate, but it says that it comes from the USDA:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichinosis

°F °C Minimum Time
120 49 21 hours
122 50.0 9.5 hours
124 51.1 4.5hours
126 52.2 2 hours
128 53.4 1 hours
130 54.5 30 minutes
132 55.6 15 minutes
134 56.7 6 minutes
136 57.8 3 minutes
138 58.9 2 minutes
140 60.0 1 minute
142 61.1 1 minute
144 62.2 Instant

Make your own decisions about pork.