Beef Jerky Review

[Mikey]

I'm not an expert on beef jerky, but I do enjoy eating the stuff. The problem is that what you can get in the grocery store, packed in a sealed plastic bag, can hardly be called beef jerky, IMO. The main problem is the texture. I'm not saying that jerky needs to be tough enough to jerk your teeth out but at least it should require some chewing. The commercial stuff these days could alsmost be gummed into mush. I've tried ordering a few brands online, but haven't found anything that I would buy again. I finally broke down a month or so ago and decided to try and make some on my own, using my offset smoker. They had some pre-sliced NY strip at Costco labeled as "shabu shabu" (a Japanesd hot pot fondue). It was pretty thing but I thought it would be worth trying out. I did it according to some on-line recipes I found and it tasted OK but definitely too thin. It got over smoked, over cooked and over seasoned. Plus the NY strip isn't really lean enough. The best cuts are top round, bottom round and possibly flank or skirt steaks.

My next attempt will be to get some top or bottom round custom sliced at our grocery store, which it turns out they will do. I was going to try it on Memorial Day weekend but some other things came up and I didn't get to the store to buy the meat. When Smackie Chan heard of my frustration, he stepped up and offered to send me a sample of his latest batch. It arrived a few days ago and, I must say, this is what jerky should be. What I aspire to.



Taste -
There are lots of recipes for the marinade, depending on personal taste. The most basic usually include some combination of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and red pepper flakes. I don't know what Smackie's recipe is, but it seems to be a vesion of this, and I think he hit the sweet spot with just the right amount of smoke, sweet and savory, a little bit of spice. When I make my next batch I'll probably make a spicy version and a non-spicy version because Mrs. Mikey can't take any heat.

Texture -
Just as important as the flavor, the texture on these is just right. It a combination of the cut of cut of meat, the thickness and direction of the slices, and the smoking time and temperature. I'll have to say that Smackie hit the bulls eye on this.

I'm giving Smackie's custom jerky a five star rating (out of five).

*****

[Roux]

I don't know what Smackie's recipe is

Would make for an epcot PET........

[Roach]

Soon to be advertised on Tune Town? I bet Smackie could make a great commercial....

[StrawMan]

Take my money, Gawd dammit!!

[Smackie Chan]

Thanks, Mikey. Glad you liked it.

I just took the recipe from the cookbook that came with the Traeger. Pretty basic - I have the butcher slice a bottom round roast from the flat side as thin as he can, which is usually a little < 1/4". I trim as much fat off as I can, then cut it into strips ~ 2" wide. There is no uniformity of thickness among the strips or even within each strip, but I try to separate the thick from the thin and monitor the smoking duration, removing the thinner ones first. The marinade recipe for each 2 lbs of meat is:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup beer, soda, or water (I usually use beer, but tried it with Dr Pepper this time cuz my granddaughter was visiting & that's what she likes)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tsps garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper (freshly ground is best)

I usually toss in some crushed red pepper, too. Have also thrown in some Pico Pica hot sauce before. You can be creative with the marinade depending on what level of spiciness or other flavors you want. Might try to make some teriyaki next time. I typically marinade it overnight.

Recipe says to smoke for 4-5 hours on lowest heat (165º is lowest on a Traeger), but I usually smoke it 3-4 hours for better texture & chewiness. It's fun to make and, as you said, Mikey, it's far better than what you can buy in stores. I usually buy 4-5 lbs of meat, which yields ~2+ lbs of jerky. It doesn't last long here; it's addictive.

Thanks again for the review!

[kcdave]

I did a PET on making jerky on .net back around 2018 or so,
when I still made to time to use my smokers and grills on
a regular basis.
The best marinade I found was packaged ...

https://www.academy.com/p/hi-mountain-j ... g-and-cure

I made and experimented w/ quite a few batches using
different cuts also. Top or bottom round, sliced thinly
with this seasoning... I did for a couple of years on my
Smokey Mountain and then on the Smokefire pellet grill.
Great results from both. In the end, smoking for about
2.5 to 3 hours around 175 and then finishing off in a
dehydrator for about 2 hours produced the best for us.