whats better for jerky making

[cochranenite]

hey just asking which is better for jerky making, the jerky gun style or the food deyh. way? and which one uses less sodium?

thanks I am looking into getting into making jerky and sauasges in the new year

thanks



Maybe i thought this fourm could use a recipe/ cooking section?

CN

Gun and smoker!

[mattrab_86]

I agree

a gun and smoker is the way to go

[mtnhunter]

I prefer sliced and smoker

[Rockymtnx]

It depends on the day for me. I make about 50% ground jerky and 50% sliced.
Either way all jerky should be made in a smoker.

I actually have batch #4 of sliced jerky for this season in the smoker right now.

[honda450]

To quote another member.........."Google is your friend" Lots of forums out there that talk bout BBQ,smoking jerky and sausage making.

[Scottie]

Been doing it for a few years now, first off I started with the bradly smoker and strips which is good but takes alot of time...fast forward 5 years and I now have 3 jerky guns and a 12 tray deyh that can do 15 plus pounds at a time. I grind all the meat and then add spices and let them sit for 24-48 hours, best spices I've found are from butchers and packers in Edmonton, Pepper is by far the best and at 6 bucks a bag for 25lbs of meat you can't go wrong. I'm no expert but I find this works the best for large amounts of jerky, I've made over 100lbs so far this year and everyone loves it.

Good Luck

[Piker]

My preference is whole muscle meat premixed spices and a dehi as you can control the temp very easy. I have a Nesco so you do not have to rotate trays. A full load of 6 trays takes 4 hrs. Saves a lot of running to the smoking shed and back. I have a O.B.S. and it is great for some things such as a whole chicken,brisket and bacon. I just made a batch in the dehi with Himountain teriyaki seasoning that lasted about one day. thks Piker

[pintailslammer]

I make mine with both whole meat and ground. I use the convection oven in the house, 2 hrs for 4 trays of jerkey. Kids and the wife like it.
I Use the Hi-mountain kits

Pin

[Donny Bear]

Just put the smoker away and replaced it with a dehydrator love it and have used the gun for years would never go back to slices.

[bardfromedson]

sliced and smoker is the way to go. also wet brined for 24 hrs is way better then just spices imo. did 30 pounds of deer last week in the bradley digital. don't forget to cure if your not getting it up to 160 deg c. lots of recipes say you can dehyderte without cure and you are playing with fire. always cure in my opinion. as far as sodium if you use cure you can get away with using no salt if you want or just enough for taste. my crew likes sweet more than salty so sodium is low. best way to go is mix your wet brine and keep trying it until you get it right. once it taste right add your cure and meat. put it in plastic container overnight

[Mountain Guy]

Originally Posted by Scottie

Been doing it for a few years now, first off I started with the bradly smoker and strips which is good but takes alot of time...fast forward 5 years and I now have 3 jerky guns and a 12 tray deyh that can do 15 plus pounds at a time. I grind all the meat and then add spices and let them sit for 24-48 hours, best spices I've found are from butchers and packers in Edmonton, Pepper is by far the best and at 6 bucks a bag for 25lbs of meat you can't go wrong. I'm no expert but I find this works the best for large amounts of jerky, I've made over 100lbs so far this year and everyone loves it.

Good Luck

X2
Prep and clean up is way easier.
Temp and weather is always nice in the kitchen..

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by cochranenite

hey just asking which is better for jerky making, the jerky gun style or the food deyh. way? CN

I had a jerky gun but I got rid of it out of frustration. Any little piece of grizzle would clog the end and the berger would come out funny and not in perfect strips. I now have a kit that has 2 pieces of aluminum that squishes the meat together to form the strip. It works allot better for me.

You lay one piece of aluminum down, place a small piece of plastic over it, put a meatball on it, fold the plastic over top and then squish it down with the top piece. It works great and doesn't take much more effort than the gun.

I've done both spiced berger type jerky and marinated meat cuts on the dehydrator. The berger type has a bit more flavor throughout it but the meat cuts are chewer if it's sliced with the grain. The meat cuts aren't as chewy if you cut them across the grain. I don't have one preference over the other, to each his own.

I've got to buy or make myself one of those smokers though!

[Jimboy]

Been usein coyote meat for jerky lately , its great , taste just like chickin

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by Jimboy

Been usein coyote meat for jerky lately , its great , taste just like chickin

Ya using the fresh stuff or the roadkill stuff?

[Wolf Medicine]

For low sodium you are gonna have to smoke or de-hy asap. Can freeze if you like to do it later. but if you are aging the meat then you best cure it. And if you do not know it all ready The cure is sodium. Or salt.. The smoke or the de-hy is no different done properly. but your sodium tends towards A high end de-hy if you need the control.

WM.

[BigRackLover]

Originally Posted by sheephunter

Gun and smoker!

gun & smoke baby!!!! all the way

[dcutter]

Another vote for sliced and smoker here. I don't like the texture out of the gun.

[FrostedFur]

Hello
I don't know if this helps much in your situation, but to help add flavor, control bacteria and to help shorten brine time. I add alcohol to my brine. Not enough to get anyone drunk by any means (especially when dry, and not enough to cook the meat. But at times, up to half the water in a brine will get replaced. I find by doing this,r it definitely helps to flavor the final product. What gets added to the meat depends on what's getting turning in to jerky. With moose and bison try whiskey. Elk, and grouse get ether gin or vodka. And just about anything, including red wine and dark beer with deer and rabbit. As well it drys a bit faster as I have replaced a small part of the water with alcohol. I prefer this method for my dehydrator when stuck in the city and cant use my smoker. I have passed this on to a few people who have given me great feedback and very tasty jerky.
Peace out

[FallAirFever]

When you guys are making jerky are you using all game meat or do you mix in Pork like you would sausage? I see a jerky gun, racks for my smoker and some spice mixes from CTR in my future!!

Also what wood are you guys using for smoke, I have some mequite but might pick up some hickory too.

[ward]

I think jerky should be tough and stringy so I prefer the slice and smoke method. Soaking it in a brine solution and then sprinkling on black pepper before it goes in the smoker gives it lot's of flavor.

[aulrich]

I do ground, but no gun I roll it out between sheets of plastic wrap.

But if I remember the instructions from the spice pack ground uses more of the cure than whole meat and it all stays. Whole meat absorbs alot but some is left behind.

And smoked.

[Rockymtnx]

Originally Posted by FallAirFever

When you guys are making jerky are you using all game meat or do you mix in Pork like you would sausage?

Nope game meat only. NO PORK

Originally Posted by FallAirFever

Also what wood are you guys using for smoke, I have some mequite but might pick up some hickory too.

I use a lot of diamond willow for smoking jerky, fish, sausage, and turkeys.

[CNP]

I've never done it myself. But there is a 12 shelf dehydrator working away in my house right now. My Sweetheart marinades the meat, slices it (from roasts or steak), and dries it on the dehydrator. The smell is all through the house right now..........12 shelves of Christmoose lol.

[Mountain Guy]

Originally Posted by FallAirFever

When you guys are making jerky are you using all game meat or do you mix in Pork like you would sausage? I see a jerky gun, racks for my smoker and some spice mixes from CTR in my future!!

Also what wood are you guys using for smoke, I have some mequite but might pick up some hickory too.

I wouldn't add any pork as that would introduce some fat into the jerky. Fat and jerky don't go together. Would turn rancid quicker if it has fat. Jerky is supposed to be dry unlike sausage which could use some fat