/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.10637645]

Let’s talk jerky, lads.

I recently started really getting into jerky. Not something I ever used to eat, but I can’t get enough of the shit now. Been trying all kinds of flavors, different meats, different brands. I think my favorites so far were the maple wild boar jerky, and peppered bison jerky.

What’s everyone’s favorite brand? Does anyone make their own jerky? I’m kinda thinking of trying it. Anyone know any good sites for ordering interesting jerky?

[Anonymous No.10637801]

>>10637645
Make my own. Making your own is better because you can keep some of the fat on it and it makes it amazingly delicious. Big producers can't keep the fat on it because it goes rancid if you store it for too long.

As for which brand/flavor is the best you actually posted it. Novelty/"interesting" jerky is a meme, don't bother with it

[Anonymous No.10637815]

>>10637801
I actually do generally like peppered jerky a lot.

I personally prefer tougher jerky, I like to feel like I’m chewing on old boot leather. Does more fat make it more tender? Because that would actually be a negative for me.

[Anonymous No.10637864]

>>10637815
If you make your own, you can make it as dry and tough as you want. To the point where you no-joke have to be careful not to hurt your teeth.

The fat won't dry out though. So yes, those bits will be more soft, but the flavor is unreal

[Anonymous No.10637890]

>>10637864
Cool, I’ll probably try it, then. Is a dehydrator a good investment, or is it easy to make in the oven without making a huge mess? I’m gonna be moving soon and will have a much larger kitchen and more storage, so I could very easily grab a dehydrator.

[Anonymous No.10637896]

>>10637890
There was an Good Eats episode where he basically rigs up some air filters and box fans to make a really good dehydrator. Most commercial ones use too much heat to make "true" jerkey. Haven't tried it yet myself, been meaning to.

[Anonymous No.10637913]

>>10637896
Well, it’d be that or an oven given that my new place is a condo downtown in a major city. They’re not gonna let me have a smokehouse in my unit.

[Anonymous No.10637916]

>>10637913
>They’re not gonna let me have a smokehouse in my unit
Just say you need it for islam or something.

[Anonymous No.10637918]

>>10637645
Never worth the money. Cant eat it.

[Anonymous No.10637930]

>>10637916
The board at my new building doesn’t give a fuck. They’re the most anal-retentive assholes I’ve ever had to deal with. I’ve owned the unit since October and probably won’t be moved in until September because of how much shit they made me go through to do some relatively minor renovations. No way in fuck they’d let me do something like that.

[Anonymous No.10637936]

>>10637918
Why can’t you eat it?

[Anonymous No.10638000]

>>10637890
Dehydrator for jerky is probably not worthwhile, unless you want to waste your time with puny little batches. I make mine in the oven and can easily make 6-10 pounds of finished jerky per batch.

Oven setup is pretty simple. Cover the bottom of the oven with aluminum foil, and hang the strips on skewers and arrange them so they fit properly into the grating of the oven grill thing. The platform? After you've hung all your strips, close the oven and turn it to like 120-140 degrees. Keep it like that for 6-9 hours. Maybe more if its a REALLY big batch.

You absolutely need to lay down the foil because that shit will drip like crazy in the first hour. And the heat from the bottom of the oven will cause that juice to burn, so keep your window open and beware of your smoke alarm. After the juice burns up and the strips stop dripping, there won't be any more smoke to worry about and you can remove the foil.

The messiest part is actually right at the beginning when you're loading up all the skewers into the oven. Lots of moisture, lots of dripping as you try to maneuver everything into place. But if you keep everything close to the oven it'll be a small area to clean.

[Anonymous No.10638016]

>>10638000
I’ve seen dehydrators where you can stack extra trays on top, so I could buy a bunch of extra trays and stack like 10 of them if I really wanted to. Having a ton of smoke is gonna be a problem, again, my condo board are a bunch of assholes, if I’m smoking up the place, especially if I’m causing the smoke detectors to go off, they’ll give me shit about it.

[Anonymous No.10638071]

>>10638016
if you have stacked trays you're going to end up with meat dripping onto the meat below it. It'll never get dry

[Anonymous No.10638126]

>>10638071
I found this: https://www.jerkyholic.com/how-to-make-beef-jerky-with-a-dehydrator/

Seems like as long as you pat off excess marinade, it shouldn’t be a problem.

[Anonymous No.10638143]

>>10637645
I used to eat Jerky like crazy
Pemmican was my favorite brand

I fucked my jaw up, nuts and jerky and other hard foods every day.
Caused serious TMJ and cant eat shit.

You need to slow down and watch it, your jaw isnt invincible. Eat it sparingly or eat the weird nugget shit that isnt hard.

[Anonymous No.10638147]

>>10638016
>take batteries out of smoke detector
>wet towel under the door
>open two windows
>box fan (like $14) facing so it pulls air inwards in one window
>box fan facing out so it pushes air out in the other
Problem solved?

[Anonymous No.10638172]

>>10638147
Well, the way the unit’s layout is, the only openable windows are on the opposite side from the kitchen, and it isn’t a small unit. There are also sprinklers in my unit, I’m not sure if too much smoke can cause those to go off.

[Anonymous No.10638181]

>>10638000
What would I have to ask the butcher for to get these kind of strips?

[Anonymous No.10638197]

Does anyone know how I could find really dry beef jerky? It seems like everything you can buy in the stores these days is all moist and chewy. If it doesn't make my jaw hurt I'm dissapointed.

[Anonymous No.10638224]

>>10638197
https://www.jerky.com/collections/all-jerky/tougher-to-chew

[Anonymous No.10638236]

How’s chicken or turkey jerky? Any good at all, or should I stick to red meats?

[Anonymous No.10638241]

>>10637936
Just a cash issue. Can buy 30X the grams of protein in chicken.

[Anonymous No.10638256]

>>10638241
Ah, yeah. I guess if you’re only concerned with protein and on a limited budget it wouldn’t be worth it.

[Anonymous No.10638424]

>>10638181
No idea. I buy it in large roast sizes and chop it up myself. Ideally youd want the strips to be .25 inches thick or thinner

[Anonymous No.10638465]

>>10638424
I wonder, I have an Asian market near me and they sell the Asian-style super thin beef slices. Would that work, or would it be too thin for jerky? Might have too much marbling, too.

[Anonymous No.10638467]

>>10638236
Turkey jerkey is a good cat treat.

[Anonymous No.10638472]

>>10638467
Ok, but is it fit for human consumption? I have no cat.

[Anonymous No.10638502]

>>10638465
Theres no such thing as too-thin for jerky. In fact thinner is better because theres more surface area to absorb the marinade. Plus you avoid the very real dental concerns that >>10638143 brought up. You dont want to fuck your jaw up or loosen your teeth just because you cant get enough of that sweet, sweet jerky

[Anonymous No.10638511]

>>10638502
Would Asian-style sliced beef have too much fat for jerky, though?

[Anonymous No.10638522]

>>10638511
I dont know. Jerky is technically supposed to be all or mostly lean meat but I dont abide by that. Some fat or marbling will be fine unless you plan on storing it for months and months

[Anonymous No.10638542]

>>10637645
most other brands just taste like rubber to me

[Anonymous No.10638616]

>>10638522
Well, Asian-style beef typically seems to have a pretty high amount of fat. How much fat would be too much?

[Anonymous No.10639127]

>>10638616
Pic related is doable

[Anonymous No.10639137]

>>10639127
Its doable but also might be on the threshold of too much. Its not an exact science anon, and you dont need to be super careful with making sure its lean unless you plan on storing it for more than a few weeks

[Anonymous No.10639173]

>>10637645
I make jerky using a dehydrator. Thinly sliced strip steak, with dry cajun and moroccan seasoning, in the dehydrator for 3.5 hours at 70C. I eat up to 1.5kg a week.

[Anonymous No.10639376]

>saw this thread
>gets me in mood for jerky
>live middle of nowhere in UK and can't buy it
>would be great for snacking in work
>just ordered 1.2kg of jerky and biltong in 8 different flavours
What am I in for?

[Anonymous No.10639388]

>>10639376
Flavours are original, peppered, bbq, garlic, teriyaki, peri peri, jalapeño and habanero. Not too keen on flavoured jerkys but thought fuck it. I'll try make some of my own when I have the time.

[Anonymous No.10640258]

Anyone ever tried biltong? Would you be able to viably make that at home? I understand the main difference is that they cure an entire slab of meat, THEN slice it.

[Anonymous No.10640976]

>>10639376
A good weekend.

[Anonymous No.10641096]

>>10639376
>>just ordered 1.2kg of jerky and biltong in 8 different flavours
britbong here, where did you buy it from?, planning on getting a beef roast and trying it meyself, already bought the skewers on ebay from >>10638000 idea

[Anonymous No.10641396]

>>10637645
>I'm Belgian , there is no jerky here
:/

[Anonymous No.10641510]

>>10641096
Just amazon mate. Worked out much cheaper than buying from the place nearest me (50 miles) which sells some.

[Anonymous No.10641538]

>>10641396
I know, m8. Whenever I go to Europe, I always have to go without muh jerky. Why haven’t you europeans figured out jerky technology yet?

[Anonymous No.10641574]

Enjoy eating your dried cancer carcass.

[Anonymous No.10641599]

>>10641574
Will do. Enjoy being a giant, insufferable pussy.

[Anonymous No.10641608]

>>10641538
its gaining popularity in the UK desu, most chain stores sell it now though its crap quality and expensive ($4 for 80g) to the stuff ive tried in the US.

[Anonymous No.10641609]

my dad and i go hunting once a year and we usually make deer jerky. we use the oven to make it.

it drives our dog fucking crazy, it must smell really good to her.

[Anonymous No.10641617]

>>10641538
I dont know, i found something similar once but it was extra sweet, Maybe something in the Jerky-making process isn't up to européean standarts or our market just dont like it. Obviously i rather have the européean food environement (variety/Price) than the american one but Jerky would be neat.

[Anonymous No.10641621]

>>10637645
is a slim jim considered jerky? if so, dukes is breddy fuggin good

[Anonymous No.10641628]

>>10641621
Slim Jims fall under the category of meat sticks, kind of a cousin of jerky. They’re not bad, but I usually avoid meat sticks since they tend to have a lot of fat/calories.

[Anonymous No.10641633]

>>10641621
I think slim jims are separated meat condensed into a stick. So it's not really the same.

[Anonymous No.10641651]

Just had a bag of Korean BBQ pork jerky. Fuck me! Where was this my whole life! I shotgunned the entire bag in like 3 minutes.

[Anonymous No.10641668]

I never understood jerky because all I've ever seen or smelled is the horrid unapetizing Jack Link's shit you find in gas stations and retardo "pepperoni" sticks.

it was ok. i now understand jerky but i wouldnt buy it myself. maybe it'd be fun to make if i hunted or something as a substitute for being actually able to butcher

>>10641608
canada is like this as well. hipsters love their jerky but for the most part it's just the shit in the OP and it's always like 4.69 a bag. i could understand it being a popular snack if it were cheaper but i may as well just get a sandwich or something that has non-dried meat in it at that price

[Anonymous No.10641689]

>>10641628
fair enough. i'm just saying.
dukes is new to my area and i think they've got a solid product.

[Anonymous No.10641693]

>>10641668
Yeah, I’m in Canada and the selection and pricing is kinda shit. Jack Link’s isn’t bad, though. The pepper flavour is pretty good. I mostly order better stuff online, but if I’m between shipments, Jack Link’s does in a pinch.

Does suck having to pay so much for it here, but I do ok for myself and I love it, so I’m buying it. Zero fucks given.

[Anonymous No.10641712]

>>10641633
i just mean the tubed, ready to eat meat situation. dukes are like one or two bite slim jims in that way. if you buy jerky, try dukes when they're on sale or something.

[Anonymous No.10641723]

i think other countries dont have much jerky in them because other countries aren't third world shitholes devoid of electricity or shelter or clean water and so meat can be preserved and cooked in ways other than drying it

[Anonymous No.10641733]

>>10641723

Or, they actually realized that eating meat will give you cancers and is morally wrong.

[Anonymous No.10641759]

>>10641733
((you))

[Anonymous No.10641783]

>>10641759

Fuck off back to /pol/ carni

[Anonymous No.10641792]

>>10641783
will do, /lgbt/ called for you btw

[Anonymous No.10641812]

>>10637645
if you have a loves in your area, the loves branded jerky is da bomb. I don't like the thick chewy jerky unless I'm making it myself. shit like jack links just tastes like flavored sawdust to me. and I used to work in a saw mill so I literally know what sawdust tastes like

[Anonymous No.10641833]

>>10638181
I got a pack of beef from the foodbank once that was perfect thickness(thinness?) for jerky, it was labeled milenesa or something, from the mexican market

[Anonymous No.10641843]

>>10641783
why are you even hear?

[Anonymous No.10641845]

>>10641792
>>10641783
cmon you two just fuck already

[Anonymous No.10641890]

Favorite brand is Kickass but nobody around here sells it so I have to get it online. That's too much of a hassle so I just make my own using the method >>10637896
said.

[Anonymous No.10641954]

>>10641812
Unfortunately, I’m in Canada, so no Loves up here. I don’t mind Jack Link’s that much. It’s not great, but some of their flavors are alright.

Anyone ever order from https://www.bigjohnsbeefjerky.com/cart/index.php? I’ve read very good things.

[Anonymous No.10641978]

>>10641890
That looks fucking good. Send me some.

[Anonymous No.10641979]

>>10641954
my favorite jerky is robertsons

[Anonymous No.10642050]

>>10641954
not even to try to shill, but dukes is in every 7-11 in the dc metro area, from what i can tell they're everywhere quite suddenly. they're on the way to canada. try it and tell everyone about your experience. i'm not paid by dukes but i should be. if i were i'd be in breach of contract. and if my company gave a single fuck about consumer experience in the highest concentration of wealth and power in the nation, i'd be worth limon lays and sweet bbq pork rinds combined minus some executive fee.

[Anonymous No.10642069]

for people who make their own, any good marinade recipes?

[Anonymous No.10642075]

>>10642050
I’ll give em a go if I see them.

[Anonymous No.10642283]

>>10642075
at first they were 2 for 7, now they're 2 for 10. i say buy one just to show them their place.
reminder if you don't have convenience foods you like but refuse to pay a markup for, you aren't the demo, better or worse.

fucking PAY ME NIGGERS. I KNOW WHATS UP

[Anonymous No.10642287]

You can Jerk my REEE faggot.

[Anonymous No.10642347]

>>10642287
honestly who the fuck asked you

[Anonymous No.10642622]

>>10642069
1T Honey
2t Ground black pepper
2t Onion powder
1t Red pepper flakes
1t Liquid smoke
2/3c Soy sauce
2/3c Worcestershire sauce

Avoid lite or reduced sodium soy sauce, you're gonna need the salt. 2 hour long marinate in the fridge, one batch I accidentally left in there for half a day and it took on an overpowering soy flavor. This recipe is a bit spicy so I've been experimenting with less red pepper and an extra teaspoon of liquid smoke, but might change that to less black pepper.

[Anonymous No.10642665]

So what are your guys opinions on the best cut f eat to make jerky? whether it is beef, pork, etc.

[Anonymous No.10642674]

>>10642665
*of meat

[Anonymous No.10642675]

>>10638181
"Come on key give me a lil piece of the pa pa meat"

[Anonymous No.10642686]

>>10642622
Have you ever used curing salt/prague powder? Many recipes I see online call for it, but I’ve heard it can impart a weird flavor. I do tend to like my jerky on the salty side, I just tried some chipotle jerky today that had way too little salt, and I couldn’t finish it. It was way too bland.

Can you use MSG in making jerky, or would that make it taste weird?

[Anonymous No.10642694]

>>10642686
New poster to the thread here.
Yes, I've used curing salt. The flavor is not at all "wierd" unless you use too much. Ever had commercial jerky, bacon, etc? You've eaten curing salt.

>>Can you use msg
I haven't, but I'm sure you could. People often use things like soy sauce and worcestershire in jerky and those are both loaded with naturally occuring MSG.

[Anonymous No.10642709]

>>10642665
Flank steak does a great job taking on marinade. Cut along the grain for tough and chewy jerky, or against it if you want tender jerky.

[Anonymous No.10642802]

>>10642686
>Cure #1
It's not necessary, but you could use it. I don't use it for my jerky, but I use it for my home cured sausage and bacon so I'm not scared of it. I just don't want the ham like flavor it would impart to beef jerky which is why the industrial corporate jerky tastes like shit since they all use it.

[Anonymous No.10642926]

>>10642802
How much do you have to use to get that “ham” flavor? Most recipes seem to call for only 1/4th of a teaspoon.

If you use a dehydrator, how risky is it to not use curing salt? It seems like most dehydrstors’ top-end heat is right about the minimum you want to kill off bacteria.

[Anonymous No.10643420]

So, aside from beef and pork, what are some good meats for making jerky?

[Anonymous No.10644770]

This stuff had a delicious hot flavour and wasn't too sweet and had a very 'meaty' texture.

I don't know if its the cut of meat but Jack Links seems so processed and jelly like.

[Anonymous No.10645199]

>>10644770
Personally, I like my jerky a little sweet. Has to have enough salt too, though. Under salted jerky is terrible, completely kills the flavor.

[Anonymous No.10645663]

Thinking of pulling the trigger on a large order from jerky.com. Just grab like 30 different things to try. Anyone tried any of their stuff before?

[Anonymous No.10646069]

Just got some stufffrom the Great Canadian Meat Co. Tried the teriyaki flavor so far. Pretty damn good. Good option for us Canadians, they have it at convenience stores in Toronto, at least. Dunno about other regions.

[Anonymous No.10646327]

if you like pork jerky, i recommend ballpark or golden island brand

[Anonymous No.10646416]

>>10646327
The golden island kung pao flavor is fucking good.

[Anonymous No.10646517]

>>10642926
When I dry cure bacon, it calls for 3g cure#1/kg of meat so it's not much. I'd assume it would be the same for jerky. Brine curing you have to use significantly more. I don't really think you'd have to worry about bacteria developing in jerky since you only cure it overnight and it will dry in a dehydrator or oven within 8-12 hours and bacteria need moisture. Bacon or brine cured ham on the otherhand cure for a much longer period and are never dried. The salt level in the jerky will be suffecient to prevent bacteria growth in that short of time as long as you're careful with your prepping in terms of cleanliness.

[Anonymous No.10647429]

>>10640258
I have recently started making biltong. My first batch was beef round eye cut to 1" slabs, hung on a skewer in my dehydrator. My 2nd batch was beef liver, too flimsy to hang, so laid them out on three trays. I like the beef liver biltong a lot more than the round eye - the liver has richer texture and taste, almost melts in the mouth, not surprising being an organ meat which has a more complex composition than muscle meat. My next batches therefore will mostly be beef liver biltong.

[Anonymous No.10647465]

>>10640258
The critical difference between biltong and jerky is that biltong is RAW, that is, it is dehydrated at about 35 degrees celcius. Therefore you have to involve salting and marinading and optional freezing steps prior to dehydration to kill bacteria and parasites. The bonus is that the meat, not being cooked, is "alive", same way raw unpasteurized milk is living with enzymes.

[Anonymous No.10647702]

Dried squid is where it’s at, nigga.

[Anonymous No.10647705]

>>10647465
Traditional "jerky" is also raw bro.

[Anonymous No.10648182]

>>10647429
I have to be careful with organ meats because I tend to get gout and kidney stones. My dad’s the same way, runs in the family I guess. Organ meat isn’t worth the weeks or months of pain.

[Anonymous No.10649973]

Bumping for jerky

[Anonymous No.10649981]

>>10647702
My nigga

[Anonymous No.10649984]

>>10647702
>Mac

[Anonymous No.10650058]

>>10641096
>>10639376

Sounds like you bought BEEFIT on amazon, had it a couple of times; best flavours are bbq/teriyaki and garlic.

I make my own chicken and beef jerky but also enjoy buying some others.

-Teriyaki jack links (34 quid for 12x75g packs on amazon)
- King's BBQ jerky from costco, can get 700g in two titan 350g packs for 20 quid
- Ember biltong (very expensive 20 quid for 300g but it tastes quite nice and its 90 kcals/20g protein per 30g pack), I got 100 packs of this for 80 quid by taking advantage of a 50% coupon and a christmas deal.

[Anonymous No.10650193]

>>10650058
I really don’t like a Jack Links’ teriyaki flavor. It doesn’t taste at all like teriyaki to me. It just tastes like salt and celery flavoring to me. I had Great Canadian Meat’s teriyaki yesterday and it was way better.

[Anonymous No.10650974]

I just tried a couple flavors of Devour jerky. Got their smokehouse chipotle and five spice teriyaki. Wasn’t impressed. Way under salted and very bland, imo. Do not under salt your food, people! Salt = flavor!

[Anonymous No.10651086]

>>10637645
when did jack get a jerky line?

[Anonymous No.10651769]

>>10651086
I thought that was their whole thing?

[Anonymous No.10653584]

>>10651769
you're so sweet

[Anonymous No.10653670]

>>10647702
god yes