HELP: Need Beef or Turkey Jerky recipe

[Deleted User]

Can someone please point me to (or post) a good jerky recipe (AND BGE technique) suitable for making either beef or turkey jerky.

Specifics on doing it with the BGE would be most welcomed.

THANKS in advance.

WPB

fishlessman

easiest egg method is the mound method, its in wise ones original recipe book, river city jerkey, by gfw? i think wiseones book is on the naked whiz site. with the mound method you just pile it up and cook around 200 degrees and move the stack around several times flipping everything and rearranging it. the river city recipe is a great recipe

fishlessman

Gfw’s River City Jerky
Submitted by Gfw
Recipe not mine, but from a friend named Ken.
Philosophy: Experiment... Measure Nothing... Season until it tastes good!
Ingredients:
Ÿ 3-5LB beef brisket sliced thin (1/8” or so) with the grain
Ÿ 1 cup Soy Sauce
Ÿ ¾ cup Brown Sugar
Ÿ ¼ cup Dark Molasses
Ÿ 1 tsp Onion Powder (or to taste)
Ÿ 1 tsp Garlic Powder (or to taste - don't use fresh garlic - it will make the jerky bitter)
Ÿ 1 tsp Black Pepper (or to taste)
Ÿ Dried Chilies Arbol chilies are my personal choice - cayenne are OK - avoid hot sauce
because of the vinegar
Directions:
Ÿ Marinade the beef (3-5 lbs sliced thin) at least 1 hour. I typically do it (12 hours) overnight.
Ÿ Smoke over low heat (dome temperature 160 to 180 degrees) until desired texture. It may take 12
or more hours. Turn it every couple of hours.
Ÿ The strips of beef are placed on the grill to create the mound - the grill is preheated to 160-180
using firebricks and drip pan - I let the mound cook for about 1¼ hours and flip the whole thing
using a 2nd grid - then it cooks for another hour - after 2¼ hours I'll take it off the grill and start to
separate all the pieces from the mound - as the day progresses, I'll use a pair of tongs to turn the
jerky about every hour and make sure that all the pieces get rotated.
A lot of work for something that doesn't last very long -- not because it won't keep, but it tastes
so good!

[Deleted User]

Can anyone clarify this....

"after 2¼ hours I'll take it off the grill and start to separate all the pieces from the mound - as the day progresses, I'll use a pair of tongs to turn the
jerky about every hour and make sure that all the pieces get rotated."

So "cook" for 2-1/4 hours total.. then when seperating... do these "seperated" pieces then GO BACK ON THE BGE and THEN get turned every hour?

Gracias!

P.S. Any suggestions on doing turkey specifically? And how thin does the meat need to be cut?

fishlessman

they go back on the grill, they start to stick in the beginning but keep moving the pieces and they start to dry out and not stick. if you see the temps spike up move them more often, this is the easiest method if your not used to holding temps between 140 and 17o, its more fogiving to higher temps. forget the 1 hour marinade, you want to go overnight with it

[Deleted User]

So if I tried this with turkey, should I partially freeze, for instance the breast, to make it easier to slice thinly?

And how "thin" should "thin" be?

fishlessman

never tried it with turkey, might back off on the sugars just a little, add some fish sauce (not much), go thicker like a quarter inch, i think it will cook quicker. you need to have lots of samples, as you cook you need to take a piece out and let it cool and sample so as not to get it too dry, the test sample needs to cool down. ive used that recipe with beef plenty of times and usually hang it through a raised grid skewered on top but the temps have to stay way down. have also used the recipe to make salmon jerkey, candy, with more sugars added.

fishlessman

would definatly do the partial freeze. scott just started a thread so he is online, i would also email him, he knows more about jerkey than anyone here

nuynai

OK, here's my opinion and recipe. I use mostly Venison or game, as it's more tasty.

5 lbs. of meat
1 tbsp+2 tsp salt
1+2/3 Tsp Prague powder No.1-Commercial preservative
1+2/3 tsp onion powder
1+2/3 tsp garlic powder
1+2/3 tsp ground black pepper
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. liquid smoke, no more.
1 tbsp. Cajun Seasoning I have my own recipe.

Mix and marinade for 2 days in the fridge, mixing once a day. If you're using beef, use 90% lean, as it's the fat that causes it to go bad. Ground turkey is very bland and needs more seasoning to get it going and taste good.
I disagree with all those that say 200 degrees is the way to go. If you do your homework, Jerky is dried meat. Anything over 165%, you're cooking, not drying. The final product will be different than what you may want. Your call. The Prague Powder will prevent any bacterial growth in the meat.
Check out sausagemaker.com for more info. All their products, recipes, etc are good quality and highly recommend them. The Sausagemaker has a Jerky gun. It's basically a caulking gun and all the pieces come out uniform. That's why all the stuff in the stores are the same shape and size. Works for me. It works great.
Personally, unless you can keep the BGE at 165%, you may want to go with a dehydrator, as air flow is important to the drying process.
Please post pics as you go along and the final product. Good luck.

ChokeOnSmoke

My technique and recipe:

http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=1046776&catid=1#