Tips & Instructions

By North Star



1. Jerky needs to be dried at a temperature between 140 and 150 degrees for at least four hours to keep it from spoiling.
Uniform thickness & size are very important if you want that perfect batch of jerky. The slices should be no larger than 5 inches long by 2 inches wide and 1/4' thick. Cut thin slices against the grain. This is really important for lean cuts of meat. Otherwise some will be like leather, others like paper and some ok.
Take the time to get rid of all tendons & gristle. They're impossible to chew all dried up. Trim all visible fat, it can prevent the jerky from drying properly and can go rancid. Be careful with pepper. It dehydrates, too YEOW.

2. Marinades make all the difference. This approach works best for me: Marinate the meat up to 8 hrs in the refrigerator, poking it well with a fork, then partially freeze it before you slice it thinly against the grain. You don't necessarily have to marinate the meat before drying it-it will do that as it dries. The leanest cuts benefit most from the above procedure.

3. Always turn and rearrange the slices in the marinade several times.

4. If you over dry your jerky add 2 slices of bread to it in a plastic bag . The moister from the bread goes into the jerky. It makes it soft again.
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