I was a jerky making machine today.

[gsganzer]

I was going through my game freezer to gauge my stock and noticed I had 6 venison roasts. So, I thawed 4 of them and made some jerky today. It took 3-hours a batch on the pellet grill.

Afterward, I put them in portions in vacuum seal bags. One thing I learned is that "Meat!" brand vacuum bags that come in a roll are junk. I bought them at Academy Sports when they were on sale at the end of deer season. I bet I had close to a 60% failure rate of them holding a vacuum after sealing. Upon inspection, they're much thinner than the LEM pre-cut bags I typically use. Also, the roll has lots of wrinkles and is really poor quality. I rebagged all the failed bags with LEM bags and had no issues at all.

I'll be sticking with the LEM pint, quart and gallon bags for all future vacuum seal needs. The LEM bags also have a place to write with a sharpie and a notch to facilitate tearing them open.

I might try my hand at making African Biltong next time.

 

[old and tired]

I might try my hand at making African Biltong next time.

Never heard of that before... now I'm interested!

 

[gsganzer]

There's a "Bretts Biltong" store in Llano, TX, near my deer lease. I'll stop in and buy $20- $30 worth for the 4.5 hour drive home. I'll devour every last scrap during that drive. They also sell meat pies. I grab some of those from time to time, along with some Windhoek beer.

Bretts Biltong website

 

[old and tired]

Yea, I found a place that makes it in NC but can't find a store - only mail order.

Brooklyn Biltong... Biltong. Your new favorite beef jerky.

Have to check and look for it in Costco.....

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Really cool. Homemade jerky is so much better.

Are you using oxygen-absorbing packets to protect the meat?

 

[gsganzer]

Really cool. Homemade jerky is so much better.

Are you using oxygen-absorbing packets to protect the meat?

I did not use those packets, but I might on future batches. I vacuum bagged them and then put them in our spare refrigerator. I doubt this jerky will even be around long enough to go bad. I already ate a bag this morning.

 

[gsganzer]

Yea, I found a place that makes it in NC but can't find a store - only mail order.

Brooklyn Biltong... Biltong. Your new favorite beef jerky.

Have to check and look for it in Costco.....

Brett's Biltong sells a couple of different flavors. I always buy the "Angry Biltong", it's the spiciest.

They also sell Droewors. They're like a dried honeycomb sausage. Incredibly addicting!

 

[gsganzer]

I have 2 more venison roasts thawing. I'm going to make this chipotle venison jerky recipe, this time. I bought some more LEM vac bags and also some of those oxygen absorbing packets.

Chipotle Deer Jerky

 

[domin]

African Biltong is the best ever! Cranking out jerky like that is impressive. The smell alone probably beats walking past a burger king. Homemade jerky has this deep satisfaction because it ties together patience, seasoning, and that primal joy of preserving your own food. Few store-bought snacks can compare once you’ve made your own.

 

[nickel plate]

gsganzer,
I hear you on the wrinkled bag roll problem, I used to buy the Nesco brand as I have a Nesco vac machine. No more, full of wrinkles=faulty seal and lots of waste.
If you're ever around a Target store, they carry the "FoodSaver" brand in 8" and 12" rolls. Smooth side 3mil, textured side 11.5mil, sharp objects toward the textured side. Safe for microwave, freezer, fridge, pantry and sous vide. A very slight chance for an occasional wrinkle but down near the end of the rolls. 100% better than Nesco.

 

[gsganzer]

I'm putty the jerky machine into full gear tomorrow. I sliced up 5lbs of venison roasts this morning and have had the sliced meat marinating all day. I'll fire up the pellet grill in the morning. I expect it will take 2 or 3 batches to get it all done.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

LOVE beef jerky!!! Some years I have thought about killing an extra deer just to make it all into jerky. One of these years I will!

 

[anomad]

I'm putty the jerky machine into full gear tomorrow. I sliced up 5lbs of venison roasts this morning and have had the sliced meat marinating all day. I'll fire up the pellet grill in the morning. I expect it will take 2 or 3 batches to get it all done.

How do you marinate and smoke the meat? General recipe...

I just got a freezer full of meat from a family member that moved out of state. So I have a bunch of extra beef and pork. Some of it I will just eat as steak. But making some jerky sounds fun. Closest thing I have done is dehydrating meat for camping trips. My wife is a vegetarian, so the difficult task of eating all this is up to me - LOL!

 

[gsganzer]

How do you marinate and smoke the meat? General recipe...

I just got a freezer full of meat from a family member that moved out of state. So I have a bunch of extra beef and pork. Some of it I will just eat as steak. But making some jerky sounds fun. Closest thing I have done is dehydrating meat for camping trips. My wife is a vegetarian, so the difficult task of eating all this is up to me - LOL!

I've tried a lot of different recipes. The Chipotle pepper I posted earlier in the thread is good. But lately, I've been starting with the recipe from "Hey Grill Hey!" and then tweak it. I've been adding 3 teaspoons of red pepper, one teaspoon of cayenne and 3 teaspoons of smoked paprika. I also use low sodium soy, but I add 1 teaspoon of curing salt (to 5 lbs.). I like a really deep, rich flavor, so I marinate for 24 hours. Mixing the meat in the marinade at least 4-5 times.

I'm always willing to try other recipes. The experimenting and anticipation are half the fun.

As far as drying the jerky. You want to dry it at around 170F. You can do this in the oven with the door cracked, a dehydrator or a pellet grill. If I'm drying it in the oven or the dehydrator, then I add some liquid smoke to the marinade.

 

[RayIN]

LOVE beef jerky!!! Some years I have thought about killing an extra deer just to make it all into jerky. One of these years I will!

Now that's delicious! We made a deer into jerky one winter. I put my half into a pillow case and hung it in the garage. My friend put his in an old 5G lard can and sealed the lid on, when he opened it the deer jerky was molded. It's gotta get fresh air.
We dried it the old way, on wood racks in front of an open fire, and in full sun. I think it took 3 days for one rack to dry enough.