Mild Fire Starters

[Chef Munky]

I've finally had the time and my dehydrator back in my possession to make a batch of jerky.
Somebody in my house who's name won't be mentioned keeps using it.I now have to stand in line to use my own stuff.Take a #!

This recipe is hot to my own tastes,mild to all the guys.They must have lead stomachs.

Here's the recipe.
3Lbs Top Round.London Broil (son special ordered it)
Had it cut to a 1/4" less if possible

2 1/2 Cups Franks Red Hot sauce
1 Cup of Tapatio hot sauce
2 1/2 Tablespoons of Red Pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon Black Pepper
I did add a little salt.Didn't bother measuring.

Mixed it all together.Then put it a large flavor sealed jar to marinate over night.In the fridge.Or until I decided to get out of bed.It had at least a 14 hr wait.

Dehydrated at 155 degrees for about 5 hours.
Some pieces didn't need that long.

 

[Addie]

Gee, I used to eat beef jerky that was very medley flavor with some heat. But not like that. London broil is what I buy to grind hamburg. I used to have a nice recipe for beef jerky. But it got lost somewhere over the years.

 

[Roll_Bones]

Anyone cold smoke or hot smoke the meat strips before drying?
Or would liquid smoke be a better idea.

I don't use good cuts like London Broil for jerky. But since I saw it on sale last week and it was very reasonable, I am going to try it. I bet it will be great.

Addie, how is that 99/0 ground meat work for burgers?

 

[Caslon]

That pic of the jerky with the red pepper flakes on it looks just wonderful. Very store bought looking.
I'm looking into buying a dehydrater . The one I used decades ago didn't work well. It was when they first became popular. I had to jury rig my own thermostat to it and come down in the middle of the night to rotate the trays. I bet they make better ones now. Feel free to recommend one, the best. Wow, some cost $300 now. The one I bought decades ago cost like $49 and had just a cheap heating element at the bottom.

I also should make a huge batch because I go to all that effort and consume the entire batch in about 1 hour.

 

[Caslon]

Here's one I'm thinking of buying, its $30 less at Home Depot compared to Amazon and Bed Bath and Beyond.

Nesco Square Dehydrator and Jerky Maker-FD-80 - The Home Depot

 

[Dawgluver]

Looks good, Caslon. Nesco is a good, reliable brand.

 

[Addie]

Anyone cold smoke or hot smoke the meat strips before drying?
Or would liquid smoke be a better idea.

I don't use good cuts like London Broil for jerky. But since I saw it on sale last week and it was very reasonable, I am going to try it. I bet it will be great.

Addie, how is that 99/0 ground meat work for burgers?

I will ask the back room for a strip of suet. They usually give it to me for pennies. I add a small amount to the ground meat. There is usually a small piece of grizzle in middle of a London Broil. I cut it out. The I cut the suet into small pieces and place them throughout the cut up meat and grind them together. Without the suet, the meat cooks up tough for burgers. The suet brings out the flavor of beef and help make the meat less tough. And it gives the beef more juices.

I do this because the London Broil is on sale. And it gives me a way to watch my intake of fat. I only use the LB for hamburger. I never use it as a piece of meat to be eaten as it comes in the package. I find it too tough. If I had my way, I would just grind up the suet and use that for a hamburger. Then I would leave the London Broil in the store.

I also have a small package of cut off fat in the freezer. It is from the various pieces of meat I have bought that I consider to have an excessive amount of fat on it. More fat than I should eat in one sitting. So I cut off just some of it and freezer it for hamburger. Pork or beef fat. It all goes into the freezer to be used for such a purpose.

I am supposed to be on a medication for cholesterol that plays with your mind. You find yourself not remembering "that" word, that name, that date. You become very forgetful. Well I don' like that feeling. I am not ready to lose my faculties yet. So my alternative is to cut way back on my fat intake. So I no longer take the med, but I watch my fat intake. And it is working.

When all of this started a few years back, I really thought I was in the early stages of Alzheimer's. It was scary. I had the good sense to check to see if it was my meds or my mind.

 

[Caslon]

When all of this started a few years back, I really thought I was in the early stages of Alzheimer's. It was scary. I had the good sense to check to see if it was my meds or my mind.

You sure you're not just getting older? Welcome to the club.

 

[Caslon]

Looks good, Caslon. Nesco is a good, reliable brand.

The only thing that concerns me a little about today's purchase order of the Nesco dehydrator FD-80 is that there's the exact same model available that's made not in China, but in the USA. It's the FD-80A. It's $30 more for the exact same unit that's made in the USA, not China. Fingers crossed.

 

[Addie]

You sure you're not just getting older? Welcome to the club.

You would be surprised at what your meds can do to you. One med I was one had all the symptoms of a brain tumor. I am not on that one any more either.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Anyone cold smoke or hot smoke the meat strips before drying?
Or would liquid smoke be a better idea.

I don't use good cuts like London Broil for jerky. But since I saw it on sale last week and it was very reasonable, I am going to try it. I bet it will be great.

Addie, how is that 99/0 ground meat work for burgers?

I make my beef jeky on the Webber Charcoal Kettle, with just a few pieces of charcoal on one side, covered with apple, maple, or birchwood. I have an order in from a guy who helped me put on my roof. That's all he wanted, not a steak dinner, not a turkey dinner, not money, just some of my beef jerky. One of my sons shared it with him. I'll pay that gladly for the help I recieved.

I'm thinking of making a solar dehydrator, with an opening to such smoke through it which will be cold smoke. That should be an interecsting project.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Caslon]

I'm was able to make a batch of jerky using just a slab of flank steak cut crosswise, it came out pretty good with my new dehydrator. I want to do better.

I just bought a huge London Broil which is basically...top round meat cut into a huge steak like slab. Perfect for beef jerky. It's in the freezer waiting.

I just net ordered one of those stainless steel jerky meat cutting boards with the 10" knife. It has a channel guide for the knife which is a nice feature. That board normally cuts 1/4" slices, but I want thinner. I was elated to find a site selling a plastic slab that is made to fit inside that particular cutting board if you want thinner than 1/4" slices ($4.99) Yes I do.

I'm trying to replicate the jerky I've bought at liquor stores that were sold in a plastic display case and were thin, very thin. I'm hoping cutting the slices thinner than 1/4" will offset the "chewy-ness" of cutting with the grain, instead of against the grain as if recommended.

I'm gonna use the pre-packaged jerky cure and seasoning packets until I get the nerve to make my own seasoning marinade.

P.S. I'm into making jerky that's easier to chew than the packaged rawhide that caused me to need 2 emergency root canals over the years. It's so good, but packaged out of date hard to chew jerky is a dentists friend. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

 

[Souschef]

Jerky

I just cut up some Top sirloin so we could make Philly cheese steaks. We partially froze the meat, and I could easily get 1/8 inch slices or thinner.

 

[Caslon]

I just cut up some Top sirloin so we could make Philly cheese steaks. We partially froze the meat, and I could easily get 1/8 inch slices or thinner.

Ya ya...I know. I'm not a ninja like you. I thought of trying slicing the meat without a cutting board and guide. I want every piece totally uniform, some can do that without using a jerky cutting board.

I'm stoked that I found one site selling a plastic insert to use with that jerky cutting board to make the slices thinner than 1/4". Some say they cut a sheet of metal and place it in there. Too much hassle.

"The plastic insert (not shown) is for use with Jerky Board #32025 (shown). It is used to make the slices off the roasts thinner by 1/8" ..." ($4.99).

I can't wait to try out both.

Site link selling that insert...it's the only one on the net.
http://02e0617.netsolstores.com/61153whiteplasticinsertforjerkyboard.aspx

I'm trying to duplicate the super thin beef jerky I've seen and bought at liquor stores (cut with the grain).

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Ya ya...I know. I'm not a ninja like you. I thought of trying slicing the meat without a cutting board and guide. I want every piece totally uniform, some can do that without using a jerky cutting board.

I'm stoked that I found one site selling a plastic insert to use with that jerky cutting board to make the slices thinner than 1/4". Some say they cut a sheet of metal and place it in there. Too much hassle.

"The plastic insert (not shown) is for use with Jerky Board #32025 (shown). It is used to make the slices off the roasts thinner by 1/8" ..." ($4.99).

I can't wait to try out both.

Site link selling that insert...it's the only one on the net.
#61153 White Plastic Insert for Jerky Board

I'm trying to duplicate the super thin beef jerky I've seen and bought at liquor stores (cut with the grain).

Get your meat from a place that will slice it for you, on one of those big machines with the revolving blades. Don't ask it to be done at the deli part of the store. The raw meat would contaminate the rotary slicer. Ask at the butcher shop part of the store. They should be able to cut it at the thickness you desire, and for free, usually.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[taxlady]

Ya ya...I know. I'm not a ninja like you. I thought of trying slicing the meat without a cutting board and guide. I want every piece totally uniform, some can do that without using a jerky cutting board.

I'm stoked that I found one site selling a plastic insert to use with that jerky cutting board to make the slices thinner than 1/4". Some say they cut a sheet of metal and place it in there. Too much hassle.

"The plastic insert (not shown) is for use with Jerky Board #32025 (shown). It is used to make the slices off the roasts thinner by 1/8" ..." ($4.99).

I can't wait to try out both.

Site link selling that insert...it's the only one on the net.
#61153 White Plastic Insert for Jerky Board

I'm trying to duplicate the super thin beef jerky I've seen and bought at liquor stores (cut with the grain).

I'll bet that partially freezing the meat would make this work better too.

 

[Addie]

I'll bet that partially freezing the meat would make this work better too.

I bought an electric slicer many moons ago. I bought it mainly to slice luncheon meats for school lunches. They were cheaper by the pound if you bought it whole and sliced it yourself. I bought a whole round, cut it into fourths and froze three of them. Then I could slice the fresh one each day for lunches. I would slice the surplus food cheese also. I still have that slicer and when I feel up to it, I make jerky. Marinating very thin slices in Liquid Smoke along with other seasonings, and drying in a 250ºF oven all day. I only do it in the winter. I too use the London Broil, but only when it is on sale. The hardest part is keeping grubby fingers from it before it is done. I have some wire cake racks and they are perfect for making the jerky.

I have sent the blade out just once to be sharpened. The slicer was not that expensive. Well worth every cent. I do semi freeze the meat before I slice it. I will often buy a large roast and cut it into smaller pieces. One roast for one person. And I get two or more from just one large one.

My slicer folds up flat. So much easier to store. And it comes completely apart for cleaning. It has built in safety features. You have to use your free hand to keep it running while you're slicing. Remove it from the button and it shuts off.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Like you Caslon, I prefer the thin jerky. Tasty as the seasonings are on the pieces we buy at West Side Market, every time we get jerky I wish our son was still making it.

Get your meat from a place that will slice it for you, on one of those big machines with the revolving blades...Ask at the butcher shop part of the store. They should be able to cut it at the thickness you desire, and for free, usually.

This is what I used to do when the kids lived at home and our son made (delicious!) beef jerky. Make sure you go early enough in the day so that they haven't cleaned up the blades (I'm a late shopper...) and be sure to tell the butcher to show you his first couple of pieces. They can cut it almost wafer-thin, but they think you can't possibly want it that thin, can you? Why yes, I DO want it "that thin".

 

[Caslon]

I thought of bringing in my big slab of meat and asking a butcher if he could slice it up for me. I laugh to myself at that suggestion.

The "butcher stores" in my area and a lot of other area "butcher stores" have long since disappeared. The ones that remain operative charge almost 2 times as much per pound vs. a local supermarket. So please...do not recommend I go to my "local butcher store." This isn't the 1960's were I live.

I can't wait to try out my new knife guided cutting board with plastic insert to make less than 1/4" slices. I bet I can reduce my marinating time too, because my London Broil jerky meat will be sliced very thin.

1/4" is the standard thickness for jerky and does ok. I want to try making a batch thin cut with the grain, hoping that the thinness will negate my jerky being "tough" to chew. Against the grain is the recommended way, but that means narrow slices. I want big wide paper thin pieces, like they sold at liquor stores

That's why I'm surprised they even sell a plastic insert especially made for that jerky board and knife set to cut thinner than the standard 1/4" slices. That site I mentioned above is the only site in the world selling it. Take note jerky makers to be, like I am. I'm not saying cutting thinner than 1/4" slices is the living end for beef jerky, but I'm looking forward to trying.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...The "butcher stores" in my area and a lot of other area "butcher stores" have long since disappeared. The ones that remain operative charge almost 2 times as much per pound vs. a local supermarket. So please...do not recommend I go to my "local butcher store." This isn't the 1960's were I live...

Caslon, neither Chief nor I said you go to a butcher store. He said, and I quoted, the phrase "Ask at the butcher shop part of the store". You know, "Meat Department". I shop in modern grocery stores, chain-style stores, and each of their meat departments has real-live, breathing butchers that operate meat saws and grinders and such - whether it is the 3-store chain at the corner or the nearly 100-store grocery chain that is my usual shop. Had you bought your meat there, smiled nicely, and asked politely, I bet you could have gotten a qualified butcher to slice the roast. And before you get any idea that I live in a thriving metropolis, my town has about 11,000 residents. Our daughter lives in a town half that size and even she has access to a major grocery store (Giant Eagle) with a staffed meat department.