Anyone have experience with making gound beef jerky?

@blind99 I forgot to add in my list of ingredients, the ratio recipe I was following, listed brown sugar.  I normally eschew sugah in my jerky, but it does wonders in the way it looks and the surface texture.  So in the spirit of that, I added a big squirt (probably a couple ounces) of agave sugar. 

In conclusion, if I didn't state it earlier, I was very pleased with the final result.  Good tenderness, spice, perhaps a tad on the salty side, but perfectly acceptable.  The only thing I would changes is maybe a tablespoon less of salt and it lacks the heat to keep the wusses from eating more than once piece, and that's usually trademark for me. 

I think it took about 5.5 hours, give or take, in the dehydrator.  I set the timer for 4 in case I forgot about it, then checked it and at one point it was off, turned on again and kept checking every 30 minutes (I think I ate a couple ounces during this phase) until I thought it was done.

As we all hear, and nothing is more true, time and temp is totally the wrong way to check if something's done.  Eat some of it.  It's done when you think it's done. Jerky is one of those things where you want uniform thickness so you don't have to pick some out before other stuff.  If you're in the ballpark, it will equalize in storage after the dehydration step.  But you can't have a lot of variation in thickness because wet meat does not store well.

OhioEgger said:

nolaegghead said:

PS PS - and for some heresy - I put in a couple ounces of applewood liquid smoke. 

Agree. Jerky is one of the few (IMHO) legitimate uses for liquid smoke. It definitely improves the product.

Me too. For years now I have made a favorite BBQ sauce recipe called Wild Boar Soul Sauce. It is NOT my recipe, just one I have shared! Amongst the many ingredients it calls for a mere one half cup of liquid smoke in a sauce that  ultimately cooks down to a mere 2 quarts. In the many years and times sharing that recipe I recall one dude who went ballistic saying he would NEVER use that ingredient nor follow ANY recipe that had that nor EVER even taste it! 

Guess maybe he's one of those crazy uncles we have somewhere on this forum from time to time!

nolaegghead said:

Indeed.  Many time's I've needed/wanted some viscous goop-injection tool.  I have a SS injector but it has a needle.  Injecting bread, pasta like manicotti, chicken breasts with cheese/prosciutto/mushroom glop, etc.  Seems like a 1.5 pound capacity tool that I'd really use for other stuff that I normally wouldn't have the tech to do.  I'm buying one today. 

viscous goop-injection tool sounds like a punk band name. Just saying.

That looks really good.  You must eat a bunch of jerky.

@nolaegghead would foodsavering it and storing in the fridge be good?