I and my family like he ground and reshaped jerky better than the sliced stuff. Normally I make in in my homemade dehydrator but wanted to try the smoker out for jerky. Here is the last batch I made in the homemade dehydrator.

I make a lot of jerky (both beef and venison). Like everybody, Im always searching for the best jerky recipe or pre-mixed seasoning package so Im always trying new products. Over the weekend I tried a new brand of jerky seasoning from Frisco Spices out of Nebraska. http://www.friscospices.com/ Im trying their Hell�s Creek Jerky spices to make 25 pounds of venison jerky.

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I always freeze my venison trim in gallon sized Ziploc Freezer bags and thaw it a couple days in advance of a jerky making weekend.

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Once thawed (but still stiff with ice crystals) I grind it first through a 3/8 plate

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After the first grind I mix the seasoning with water. Trying to get an even distribution because using the seasoning dry never works and you end up with a spotty mixture where some of the meat is over seasoned and some is under seasoned.

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The packet says to use 1 cup of water but for this volume of spices I use 2 cups to get the best distribution. The pink packet is a sodium nitrate/salt mix that you need to stave off botulism.

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The water and spices and cure are then poured over the meat.

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Then (wearing rubber gloves) I mix the meat by hand until I cant feel my hands any more and my fingers start to ach from the cold.

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Then I switch my grinder to the 1/8 inch plate.

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