Why do dehydration times vary so drastically?
Drying times vary due to several factors. The thicker the cut of beef the longer it is going to take to reach the desired result. Different methods of drying also vary the time. A dehydrator that circulates the air will work faster than an oven that does not. Different brands of dehydrators or smokers will also vary in performance which will affect drying time.
Do I need to buy a dehydrator to make jerky?
No. There are several different ways to make jerky. If you are just starting out, using the oven is a great way to start. You can also make jerky with a smoker. If you do want to buy a dehydrator, start with my reviews here on the Best Dehydrator for Making Beef Jerky.
Why is some jerky really tough and others tender?
This depends on how you prepare and slice your meat before making jerky. Visit my Slicing Meat for Beef Jerky page to learn more.
How long will jerky last before going bad?
It varies, anywhere from one week to several months. I have covered this in more depth in this post titled: Storing Beef Jerky
Can all of your recipes be used when making ground meat jerky?
Not every one, but a lot of them! I would use a recipe that does NOT have much liquid ingredients (soy sauce, worcestershire, vinegar…) Dos Pepper Jerky would be a good one to try. If the recipe calls for water, omit the water since you are using ground beef. I would also recommend using cure when making ground jerky since it will be handled more than whole muscle jerky (mixing the spices in by hand). Lastly, ground beef jerky sometimes requires more spices than whole meat jerky since you are mixing the spices into the meat instead of on the outside. If your first batch doesn’t have a really strong taste, increase the amount of spice for the second batch!
I also have more info on my How to Make Ground Beef Jerky page.
Can I substitute deer instead of beef on the beef jerky recipes?
Definitely! Deer would work great on these recipes. Feel free to switch out the beef for venison on any of them!
Why do some recipes have curing salt and others don't?
I do about half my recipes with curing salt and half without to show that you do NOT need curing salt to make any jerky recipe. Cure makes the jerky last longer, gives it that red color, and also gives it that common “jerky flavor”. If you choose not to use cure, make sure that you heat the jerky to a temperature of 160F to kill any bacteria and eat the jerky within a couple of days. With that said, I do recommend using cure when making ground meat jerky because the meat has been handled and processed, making it more susceptible to having bacteria. So in short… No jerky recipe NEEDS cure as long as the meat is heated to 160F. But it is another line of defense to kill bacteria and allows your jerky to last longer. You can read more information on my Jerky Safety Page.
If using curing salt, how much table salt do I add to a recipe?
If the recipe includes curing salt, make the recipe as stated. If the recipe does NOT include curing salt and you WANT to use curing salt; subtract the amount of curing salt used from the amount of regular salt listed. Example: If a 1 pound jerky recipe calls for 1tsp of table salt and NO curing salt but you want to ADD Prague Powder #1 curing salt. (1/4tsp Prague Powder #1 per 1 pound of meat). Use 1/4tsp of Prague Powder #1 & 3/4tsp of table salt.
I want to make low sodium jerky, do I have to use salt or can I leave it out?
You can leave it out. The salt does add to the flavor, helps prevent bacteria growth, which in turn helps the jerky last longer after it is finished drying; but is not NEEDED. If you leave sea salt or curing salt out of your recipe, make sure to eat the jerky within a couple of days. Also make sure to heat the jerky to an internal temperature of 160°F to kill any bacteria. Storing in the fridge would also help it last longer. I have found that spicy jerky still tastes great without salt.
Should the jerky meat be cooked before drying?
This depends. For jerky to be safe, it should be heated to 160°F for beef and 165°F for turkey jerky. This is best to do at the beginning of the drying process in an oven, not after it is finished drying. If you have a dehydrator that will heat jerky to this temperature, you can bypass this initial heating stage. I have tested dehydrators and list which ones were able to get beef jerky strips to 160°F, you can check it out here. If your dehydrator does not get to 160°F, pre-heat the meat in an oven. I always pre-heat any turkey jerky I make as well as use curing salt to make sure it is safe to eat. I like being as safe as possible when using fowl.
I have found that to pre-heat 1/4" slices of beef to 160°F, it takes about 10-12 minutes in a 300°F oven. To pre-heat 1/4" slices of turkey to 165F, about 8 minutes at 300°F does the job. This time can vary if you are heating the strips directly on a baking sheet (will heat faster) than if heated while on a rack or hanging in the oven (will take longer). I have also seen that it takes longer at my house in Colorado than it does when I make jerky at work in Oklahoma. I recommend folding a strip of meat around an oven thermometer while heating so that you can take it out exactly when it reaches the correct temperature.
Why do you pat dry the jerky strips before drying?
It comes down to personal preference with patting down the jerky. On most recipes, I pat the jerky strips dry as long as it won’t rub off most of the ingredients. The reason I pat it dry is because I hate having jerky that is sticky and messy. I don’t want to have to lick my fingers or have a napkin near by after taking a piece of jerky. It also cuts down on the drying time by having less liquid to dry on the surface of the jerky strips.
Can I use one of your photo's on my website or blog?
Sure! The only thing I ask is that you credit the photo with two links. One linking back to the recipe post and one linking back to Jerkyholic.com
Thank you for your great recipes. The Malaysian pork and Korean BBQ beef are my favorites. They both were a hit at fish camp. Question i have is if making 5lb at a time is it right to just multiply ingredients by 5 ???. I have a smokehouse that can take that much, or 5gal bucket of fish fillets when smoking. Fish jerky will be my next to try. Thanks cbunker
Those are definitely some great recipes that always tend to be a hit! Yeah, just multiply the ingredients by 5 and you should be good to go. Let me know how the fish jerky turns out!
Hey Will! Thanks for all good recipes. I just bought my smoker and I found your website. I'm very happy to find this because I love Jerky. I already smoked jerky and I wanted to try new recipes.
Sometimes in your recipes it's written that «Liquid smoke» is optional and sometime it's not. If I use my smoker to dry my jerky, do I have to had «liquid smoke» if it's not written «optional» ? Maybe you will say it's my choice but I would like to know your opinion.
Thanks for your help!
Congrats on the new smoker! If you are using a smoker the liquid smoke is not necessary. That smoker will give you all the smoke flavor you will need!
Will absolutely love the site thank you for doing this. I just started making jerky this past March with my smoker the kids bought me a couple years back. Everyone who has tried my jerky wants to know why I haven't been doing this all along and how'd I learn. No good answer to the first, but I tell them about your site and book.
I've been using the cuts you've mentioned, but just tried using some flank. I know you mention trimming the fat to protect against spoilage but as you know flank has pretty good marbling. I used Prague Powder, marinated 24 hours, heated to 170 and dried to the right texture. Anything I need to be looking out for so I don't wind up with a bad batch?
By the way, Kentucky Bourbon was the recipe and smoked with hickory chips, taste and texture is fantastic.
That's a fantastic present they got you!!! Sounds like you are doing everything right with the flank. It does have a little more marbling, no real way of trimming the fat. Some of the outside you can trim, but nothing you can do about the marbling. Just keep doing what you're doing and it should always turn out great!
Hey Will,
I make jerky 2-3 times a week. I've been considering making my marinades in bulk, so when I need some, I can just measure out the correct amount and be on my way. Have you ever tried this? If so, how long do you think an average marinade would last sealed up in the fridge?
Thanks for making this page by the way. I started making jerky around a year ago and your page was always the first place I would look for information when I was starting out. Now, I'm building and tweaking my own recipes, and have a small arsenal of jerky equipment filling up my cabinets (your recipe book included!)
Nice! Thanks for buying the book too, glad the site has helped. I have never made pre made marinade before and kept it in the fridge. I think it would last several months as long as the marinade doesn’t include peppers or any other fresh ingredient. If you do this let me know how long it lasts and how it turns out! I’m going to try storing some as well.
Hello, Found your website last year and these recipes are amazing especially the Fireball Whiskey, however recent life change means I have to count my carbs and control my sugar levels, I notice you have the nutritional facts on each page and this is great however it does not seems to show what the serving size is which makes it impossible to be accurate, would you add this or post here on how you based your nutritional facts? Preferably by weight since everyone would slice there jerky slightly different. If you would do this, you would be a beyond awesome, the diabetic diet needs more flavor options.
So the serving size works more in portions than weight. It is normally 5 servings per 1lb of meat BEFORE it’s dehydrated. The meat loses different amounts of weight depending on how long it’s dehydrated and type of meat, so 1/5th of your finished jerky (if making 1lb) is a serving. Keep in mind that the nutrition facts don’t take into account the amount of marinade you strain before drying. Hope that helps!
Amazing site, it is my go to for recipes. It would be great though if you had a section for recipes without soy sauce. Searching for "no soy sauce" does not work that well.
;-P
Thanks Ashley! I am doing a site re-design this winter and will keep that in mind!
I have been using Hi Mountain Seasoning a lot but find my self using their cure packets and not their seasoning and making my own flavors (Frank's Red Hot is the bomb).
I was going to try Prague #1 in stead of hi mountain cure but read some pretty scary things about it online. How do you spread it evenly on all your meat without over using it? Let's say 1 pound of meat to X amount of Prague #1 to make it simple.
Making your own recipes and flavors is the best! As long as it is used properly it is totally safe. Double check the brand you buy, but it is normally 1tsp of prague powder to 5lbs of meat. When making a marinade, add the curing salt to the marinade and then place the meat into the marinade. If using ground meat, dissolve the curing salt in whatever liquid ingredients that are called for in the recipe. If there are not any liquid ingredients, dissolve it in a couple tbsp of water and then work it into the meat by hand along with the other recipe ingredients.
Love your site! Thank you!
What is your marinating technique? I've been using a large Ziplock to marinate about 3Lbs of eye of round but after 24hrs and several times of moving the meat around I still find bare spots where the marinade has not reached. Is that ok? Some of the meat ends up brown, some red.
Thanks,
Ron
Thanks Ron! I do the same, use a ziplock bag and mix it up several times while marinating around 18-24 hours. Sometimes I will have some meat stick together and will have some bare spots, but for the most part it is equally marinated. The brown meat is normally from another piece of meat being stuck to it, that is normal and fine. Sounds like you are doing everything right!