Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Jerky Cure & Seasoning

Hello,

I just got a food dehydrator and am starting to make jerky sticks. No casings. Just ground and squirted onto the tray.

Are there any homemade cure and seasoning recipes out there so I don't have to pay the high prices of the pre-packed deals?

Thanks

Tom

I posted the one I use to make venison jerky. I put out 173 10oz (108lbs) bags last season. Didn't get a complant. Do a search on jerky think you'll find it. If you don't PM me and I'll send it to you.

I found your post. I'm looking to make my own cure.

Tom

I'm reading all over the internet that the cure only needs to be in a ratio of about 1 teaspoon per lb. The problem is most of the recipies I'm seeing are for steak type meat and no the ground meat that I'm using.

Would the ratio still be the same for ground meat?

I like jerky just not the extreme salty taste that comes with it.

Tom

Holy grail of sausage recipes. 3 men has what you need.

http://www.3men.com/jerky.htm

if you search you will find mine.....

Anyone know if the same works for ground meat jerky?

Thanks

Tom

The recipe I have posted is actually for a ground product. I don't like ground jerky, no tooth, but the recipe still is very good when used on a sliced product. The cure is a product I get form The Sausage Maker. I buy it in their large size but they sell an 8oz package The Sausage Maker cure that will last you a long time. Just put it in a canning jar an keep it tightly covered.

Am I the only one that thinks it's insane to pay $9 for 8oz of salt with 6.25% Sodium Nitrite?

I'm looking for a home mixed cure where I can lower the salt content down to a reasonable level.

Tom

Tom , the problem with trying to mix up your own cure is that if you are off just a little you have the potential of your jerky going bad and that could make folks very sick.
9$ for the piece of mind that 240# of meat is properly cured ( as long as you use accurate measurements and weights ) sounds very reasonable to me.

The insta cure is just the cure , you get to make your own flavors to go with it.

I just don't see it that way. Mixing two solids using measuring cups doesn't seem like rocket science.

I guess I'm going to have to experiment with the small amounts of info that I've found online.

Tom

There is another product made by Morton Salt CO called Quick Cure comes in a 2lb bag. It contains salt, sugar, sodium nitrite, and sodium nitrate. Don't use it for anything but smoking mullet and carp, but is is a good cure. BTY the cure is what lets you jerk meat at low temperatures and not risk botulism, has nothing to do with taste. If you jerk with out a nitrite/nitrate cure make sure you get the product to AT LEAST 200degs F for AT LEAST 10 minutes at the end of the jerk time.

Thanks for the tip!

Tom

I mix my own up and never used nitrite/nitrate. I've since learned better. I always sprinkled the seasoning over the meat, refrigerate for 12 hours and then smoked it. Now that I am making ground jerky I don't know how much of my hand mixed spices to add. I might experiment a bit this weekend and see what I come up with.

Oh no! Not the ground jerky thing again!!!

Nothing like grinding all sorts of nasty stuff into your food and then giving it a wonderful place to grow...

Lots of food poisoning gets written off as flu or other ailments... Cooking jerky at 200 degrees degrades the product to sawdust IME&O. Botulism is NOT the concern with jerky; E. coli is and it can kill.

The best jerky is sliced, kept clean, and dried quickly.

And I see no reason to eat those nasty nitrates and nitrites...
art

I'd be interested in knowing your combo if you can pin it down.

Tom

I just discovered the whole ground jerky thing and went out and bought everything to do it. Is there a thread that I should read?

Tom

Nope he is just paranoid....

Anyone that thinks that has no clue and less concern for those that might eat the stuff.

If it was edible it was not safe. If it was safe it would not be edible...

Stick to your story Art.... After countless lbs of elk, moose, deer and antelope burger turned into jerky neither myself nor my friends/family members have suffered any ill effects. I promise if I make it to Alaska to fish I won't bring you any. Deal?

Keith

Clearly it does not happen every time, but which one are you going to feel worst about IF it does?

Consequences are potentially huge and the reward is what?

None....I hate them all equally! On a serious note though I have a better chance of contracting salmonella from eggs or by getting hit by a truck.

I have no interest in disabusing you of your fantasy...

You obviously know nothing of my profession.... let it go Art....let it goooooooooooooooooo!

How is the fishing this year?

Very lame posturing attempt at claiming/building respectability for an argument you cannot win. You clearly have no defense for your acts or you could argue them on their face.

1) Grinding bacteria INSIDE a product to be dried is stupid.

2) Cooking same to kill bacteria produces a garbage product, period.

3) Making good product by slicing is easy, skewing risk:reward ratio totally.

4) You are willing to risk it... I am not.

My argument has not changed and anyone thinking their ground product is good has either not cooked it as required to ensure the potentially lethal bacteria are dead, or has no clue what decent jerky is about. Your call.

I have no clue what your profession is, but thinking is clearly not in demand in it.

There is a reason that most restaurants will only serve burgers well done while serving steaks rare. miles

We will just agree to disagree. Something I've noticed with you, you are very quick to hit the insult button. Really no need for that here is there?

How many times have you come back without a defense of any kind? You have added nothing beyond "I get away with it". "Drop it" and "Let it go" are not argument and do not support your side of same.

I have a very real, honest fear someone will take your posturing as having a clue. That clearly is not the case in this issue and could easily result in someone getting very sick. I have a real problem with anyone promoting something unsafe here.

Your condescending claim of "Right because I am somebody" is insulting.
art

Art you better not walk across the street, ride in boat, fly on a plane, go swimming, breathe, drink the water, eat anything or any other common activity as it might get you! If your fear was so wide spread then nobody on earth would sell a jerky cannon or jerky shooter. Cabela's and all other stores would be sued out of existence. You are not my mother so quit acting like you are. You are not the all knowing expert of the campfire so quit trying to be. Your phobia is controlling you and is apparently out of control. Perhaps you should seek professional help for it.



Now that is funny right there. I never said I was anybody. Your words not mine. I said you have no idea what I do for a living.

I have had to document close to 3,000 days at sea for the USCG in situations far more dangerous than walking across the street. I commercial longlined halibut in 24' seas once, on a 32' boat. Many here have been with me in heavy seas. It is about appropriate risk and balancing the potential consequences.

Rick Bin, Muley Stalker, and I stalked and killed a Kodiak brown bear at about 24 yards. Gr8ful Doug's buddy from TN was with me last month at closer than that to another Kodiak bear. Many here have been with me around bears. I know how bears act and I only take very reasonable risks. Hard to take good pictures of bears when they are too far away.

I am obviously afraid of my own shadow, no?

There is zero upside to making ground jerky, it is not a better product by any meter. E coli has killed many. It is more than possible your jerky has "inoculated" someone withot dire consequence. Next time???

Paraphrasing your "You obviously know nothing of my profession...." to "Right because I am somebody" is certainly not to be taken as me confusing you with somebody... Only that your condescending arrogance is not having the desired effect.

Anyone that has made jerky from ground meat and actually followed the USDA guidelines has had a miserable product. If your product is good the guidelines were not followed. It is a Catch-22 and you cannot get around it.

I certainly hope you do not poison your family and/or friends just because you are too proud to recognize you have been lucky.

Please show me something I have posted which was incorrect.
art

Quite the chest thumper you are. You sure are an arrogant one though I will give you that. I quite honestly don't care what you have done or who you have done it with. How about we just agree to disagree and let it go at that?

I do not understand why ground meat would be any different than thinly sliced meat. If it's the same meat (as I control the quality) then what difference does it make if meat is kept cold through the grinding?

Not trying to be argumentative, just trying to understand the source of the problem.

Fantastic question and the very base of the whole issue. the bad bug E. coli spp. does not do well in an oxygen rich environment. They cannot penetrate meat unless they are mechanically moved. Fresh cut meat surfaces usually have plenty of oxygen to keep E. coli at bay and the brine will tend to inhibit it virtually completely.

Take that same meat and grind it so the bacteria is now spread throughout the meat and in damp little enclaves where it can prosper. To kill it requires temps of 200 degrees for one hour according to most food handling authorities. Jerky that actually gets to 200F for an hour is garbage. I have tried it several times under different types of controls to make sure I was not missing something. It is junk.

It is the same E. coli which has killed hundreds across the US and which makes headlines when a particular restaurant chain gets pinned down as the source.

I am not trying to be difficult or argumentative, either. I just understand the issue and see lots of folks making timebombs. Far worse is the fairly common practice of using plain old store hamburger for the jerky base! It is literally dirty stuff, bug-wise, and I would feel better with almost anyones game meat.
art

Hmm wonder why restaurants serve steak tartar?

You have a better chance of contracting e-coli from the bagged lettuce you buy in the grocery store Art.

Oh and I drank raw milk growing up (still do when I can get some) and also drank from the garden hose. Grandma used to make egg nog with a real RAW egg and I ate raw hamburger sandwiches with my Dad and Grandpa!

Well asshat, let me make something very clear... Likely impossible as you are so freaking dense... You accuse me of being afraid to cross the street and I use situations invloving posters from here to show I am hardly the chicken you attempt to portray. And in so doing I do not mention shooting two different bears that died touching me. There were others attempting to get close, too. And in so doing you think you have the nerve to call me arrogant?

You are a dipshit of the highest order... I have gotten phonecalls, emails, and PMs today from people laughing AT you. If you do not see simple sense at least shut the [bleep] up and quit trying to poison folks.
art

Art that comment went your over your head. I could care less who called you, pm'd you or patted you on you on your widdle head (now that is an example of a condescending remark). I will type slowly so you can comprehend ( another condescending remark).....my point was all of those things can get you killed, most likely not, but in any event can. Your ego is so large and arrogance so thick you cannot see past the nose on your face.

Ok, we'll settle this, show me one authentic documented case of e-coli making someone sick, let alone killing someone, from eating ground meat jerky and I will humbly concede.

By the way, how come you are so quick with the name calling? And as far as poeple laughing at me, who cares? My skin isn't paper thin. I feel no need to list my accomplishments here as I have nothing to prove to anyone. They simply do not matter.

Another thing...you are the only person I have ever met on line or physically that has this innate fear...

Sure taking you a long time to find that case Art.......I will say you should probably avoid Jack in the Box in California though.

TFF

Hmmm not finding anything?

Hmmmm if it is such as hazard why would all the retailers sell this stuff????

http://www.lemproducts.com/category/jerky_makers_accessories/a

They even have an attachment for your grinder !

http://www.lemproducts.com/product/3747/Grinder_Attachments

Once again comprehension is your short suit...

I've never tried that jerky shooter stuff, I'm sure if it's seasoned like other jerky, it will have a good flavor. But, I do like chewing on the texure of dried meat that is intact. So, I doubt I would ever buy a set-up to "shoot" the raw jerky.

Let me jump in here. I probably make as much or more venison jerky in a season than anyone who posts here (173lbs of finished product last season). I used to make a ground product but I stopped not because it was unsafe (proper hygiene, handling, attention to detail, AND THE USE OF A CURING AGENT)but because it took so much time to produce a IMO sub par product. I didn't like the texture of the finished ground product so I don't make it anymore. I only use whole muscle from the hams and the loin. Doing it that way makes me have to put out a quality product no silver skin, tendons, fat, blooded meat that can be include in a ground product. So that is my take on ground versus whole muscle. As long as one pratices proper handling and uses a cure the product is safe. If a cure isn't used the product MUST be brought up to 180F for at least 10 minutes to kill of any wee beasties the the cure takes care of.

crawfish
Not according to the food folks on the safety... And it is usually given as 1 hour at 200F to be safe... But to repeat your points, the ground product is nothing like as good, freaking inedible if actually cooked to 200 for an hour, and the cure is a huge drawback for me, too.
art

So Art are you lobbying the manufacturers and retailers to stop selling these products too?



You don't know anything about me, yet you make such brash asinine statements. You also don't comprehend worth a schitt. You let your world size ego and arrogance get in the way.

But I forget......you are the only person in the world with any experience at anything and smarter than any one too! And only your opinion matters...

You must be a Dumbocrat as you reduce your replies to name calling so quickly.

I clearly stated my case repeatedly. Your introduction of inane argument to those points shows you are more interested in fighting than understanding. I do not care if manufacturers produce tools for the lazy. It is possible to make safe jerky with ground meat... but it sucks.

Your argument that you have not killed anyone yet is your only defense. You have failed to address the repeated point the product is inferior, especially if done according to the guidelines from any number of food safety sources.

You have failed to address the issues and repeatedly come back at my posts with baseless taunting... and I am the arrogant one? And once again you argue that I do not know anything about you as if that is some sort of proof you are right. It is not. If you were somehow involved in a field that provided a background here you would not be making ground meat jerky, period.

Please, continue making inferior product by an unsafe process, but at least shut up about it.
art

Art you are such an arrogant ass, who do you think you are telling other people waht to do. Please try to comprehend what you read. You might want to start all over at the beginning. As far as arguing you sure have not stopped have you. You have voiced your OPINION. That is all it is ....your OPINION. You have presented no facts nor have you backed your OPINION up with any technical data. What is inferior to you must be inferior to all? Art you are inferior. My comment about you knowing nothing about me has to do with your innate sense of self serving superiority complex that you seem to need to need to lord over others. In all posts I have read of yours, you have to be right. WIth this I am done. Adios you go off to join Maser, JasonB/RVX on ignore. The only 3 in that auspicious club I might add.

To bad all these post was not about Jerky Cure & Seasoning mixes etc. looks like a pissen match.

Art usually makes them into that when he doesn't get his way.....He thinks he is the "food expert" here. We are supposed to take his opinions as gospel truth...

Yep , should have been a great thread .
Turned into

nuther jerky thread down the tubes

Thank you, at least you will then stop taunting my posts with your "no one died yet" argument.

This is only one of many threads on the subject you and I have posted to and I included links to the sources which stated jerky had to be cooked at 200F for 1 hour to guarantee E. coli is killed. Others posted similar links to the same info from other sources.

You never disputed those FACTS.

I explained why the concern for ground meat exists. That is FACT, not my opinion.

I explained why jerky cooked at 200F for one hour is unfit for consumption. I was not guessing and I actually tried it repeatedly with good controls. Call that opinion if you wish. I stand behind my statement that jerky made to the standards sucks. Jerky not made to the standard could give someone a dose of E. coli. E. coli fatalities from ground meat make the news every year.

My opinion remains rooted in the concept there is no reward and slight risk in ground jerky... But the potential consequences in my OPINION are too ridiculous to take. I stand by that. In my OPINION, ground meat jerky is the lazy way to inferior product from a texture standpoint, also.

"... your innate sense of self serving superiority complex..."

That would be funny if you had a clue about me... Not being forced to guess when posting does make me sound like I know what I am talking about... But could you please give me some citation for your diagnosis? Is there a clinical definition or did you just trap yourself in some sophomoric alliteration?
art happy to be ignored by some

Oh, and for someone with nearly as many total posts as me, in 40% of the time, I find it amusing when you attack my posting. Have you ever posted anything of value?
art

2/3 Cup Morton Tender Quick
1/2 Cup Pickling Salt
2/3 Cup Morton Hickory Sugar Cure
3 TSP Cayenne Pepper
3 TSP Black Pepper
6 TSP Garlic Powder
3 TBSP Canada Favorite Seasoning
Mix the above ingredients in a bowl and then put in shaker bottles.

I usually �cure� my jerky in a plastic container overnite. I cover the bottom of the container with the jerky cure, put a layer of meat in, sprinkle the top of that layer, place another layer, sprinkle the top of that layer and so on until I have all my meat in there. The next evening I will put it in my dehydrator on 145 degrees and check it periodically.

You can use your oven on the lowest setting and prop the door open with a wooden spoon to allow the air to circulate and not get too warm.
You can use this on ground meat (without any fat added) to make jerky also. For that I use 1 � TBSP of cure and 1/2 cup of ice water per pound of meat. It takes about 5 minutes to get it mixed thoroughly. Wrap it up in plastic wrap or store in a plastic container overnite. You will want a jerkyshooter to do it this way.

You can also add a little liquid smoke to either recipe when curing. The beauty of this is you can change the flavorings to suit your taste as long as long as you keep the basic cure.

Art you don't get it I don't read your rants anymore. yada yada yada is all I hear from you. Your opinions aren't facts, they are just your opinions. Your claim that someone might die from eating something made from ground meat is valid. But don't buy ground meat and eat it. But quit trying to force your fears on others. You missed the drift of my earlier post in your arrogant rant. You might get killed walking across the street. You can get killed driving a car. You can drown in the ocean. Has that stopped you? I would bet not. So quit your crusade ok? I ain't going to bite. I didn't even have to read your post to respond as you are so predictable.

never saw any what does this consist of?

Sorry just another name for Montreal Steak Seasoning. The one I listed is the Tones brand.


Also my apologies to the other members here for turning this into a pizzin match. I just get tired of some members self serving superior attitudes.

Tell ya what Art, let's just bury the hatchet, let bygones be bygones and go fishing. What do you say? I'll buy the fuel and bait.

A trick I learned while making the ground product. If you pack the mixed and cured meat on a non-stick shallow baking pan and freeze for about 3 hours you can slice it to a very uniform size without having to buy and use a jerky shooter. I used to use an eletric knife but a bread knife also works just fine.

Great suggestion!

Only one way to resolve this.

What's that...margarine guns?

He who dies with clogged arteries first, loses.

Now that was funny!

Not really.

But, I guess we all have our idiosyncrasies. Some are partial to the greatest toast spread ever conceived by mankind, while others are partial to engaging in an epic pissing match over unsanitary jerky preparation, while others maddened by the midnight sun (which may have contributed to the epic jerky pissing match), make nonsensical efforts at humor...

go figger

Was that an attempt at humor? If not it is funny anyway..

Now about your greatest toast spread comment........that would be peanut butter!

You're not draggin me into another one of your arguments...

I don't argue....I debate..margarine is ok for you ...just not me. How is that for not debating?

I kinda like butter and peanut butter on my toast, but should the peanut butter be smooth or chunky?





edit for spelling

Super Chunky

Natural or processed?

Guilty as charged.

Intent was not to ruffle feathers, but rather to elicit a grin in this thread.

Sorry if it was not taken as such.

sse was being sarcastic I believe.....I found humor in your post. This whole place needs a few more grins! No apologies necessary.

mindbender - We're on the same page, I dish it out at every chance since everybody clobbers me around here...

It's elk ya gotta watch out for, especially since he got that BGE...

I am going to take a tub of margarine along hunting just so you can't call me discriminatory... it might make a good target for a 270 wizzum one of the guys is bringing...

Well he should get full penetration of the marg at least, but it won't kill it.

LOL

So that whooshing sound was the sarcasm going right over my head?

Wonder if it will create a EPA superfund cleanup site tho...

Actually bringing some along on the 2nd annual campfire speedgoat hunt for those that prefer it.