Solid Muscle or Sliced Jerky Recipe
1) Slice 3 pounds of venison round with the grain approximately 1/4" to 3/8" thick.
2) Tip: Chill the meat for about 60 to 90 minutes prior to slicing will help your slices remain more uniform in thickness.
Note: After drying your jerky, your 3 pounds of start weight will weigh about 1 ½ to 1 ¾ pounds.
Spices:
1 tablespoon salt
1 level teaspoon quick cure. Get this at your local butcher shop or butcher Supply Company. This is an important ingredient because your jerky will be drying at low temperatures.
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon concentrated liquid smoke. This is optional and is used if you are using a dehydrator and want a smoky flavor
3) Mix the spices together in large bowl.
4) Coat the individual slices of meat with the marinade mixture by dipping both sides into the marinate mixture. Make sure all surfaces have been covered. After dipping, place the meat slice into a large zip-top bag.
5) Pour excess marinate liquid over meat in the zip-top bag. Close zip lock.
6) Place bag in refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
7) Tip: Make sure you mix the meat and marinade at least two times during its 24 hour soak. This will insure all pieces have absorbed the marinade equally.
Oven Method:
1) Turn heat on oven to its lowest temperature.
2) Take meat out of refrigerator.
3) Place meat onto oven racks or clean metal screen. Keep 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch space between slices. Do not allow slices to overlap or the overlapped areas will not dry.
4) Place racks with jerky meat into the oven.
5) Leave the oven door cracked open to allow steam to escape. Let jerky dry for approximately 6 hours or to desired dryness. Oven drying times will vary, so make sure to check the dryness of the jerky every hour or so. Do not leave your oven on, unattended if you are making jerky, plan to be home to watch it.
I like to heat the Jerky at 160° for the first hour or so….then reduce heat to 140° until the meat is sufficiently dry.
There are tons of different Jerky recipes out there….it is something you will want to experiment with. The recipe above is very basic and does not include everything I use in mine, but it will get you started….and make very good Jerky.
Additional ingredients used in the mix I make:
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning.
½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (more if you like it really hot).
½ teaspoon TexJoy BBQ seasoning rub.
¼-½ teaspoon TexJoy Old West Mesquite shake (don’t get carried with this).
1 teaspoon LaRue’s Dillo Dust. (Hard to find, might get some on eBay).
I don't recommend placing the pieces flat on the oven racks because they don't dry/heat evenly. I like to hang them using toothpicks and suspend them vertically.
After preparing your spices and dipping each piece (both sides), place it in a large Zip-Lock bag. Pour any remaining mix over the top and let it Marinate overnight (or longer).
Remove from the bag and place flat on a piece of Butcher Paper/Wax Paper. Lightly sprinkle (one side only) with Coarse Ground Pepper (white or black). You can always scrape off any excess pepper when you are eating it IF it is too hot, but you can't add pepper once the meat is dried.
Place a toothpick about 1/2" down from the top of each piece of meat. If the piece of meat is thicker at one end, let the thick end hang down.
Place on the rack...leaving at least 1/4" space between each piece of meat, DON'T let them touch.
Start the heat at 160° for the first hour, this will kill any bacteria in the meat (if thicker than 3/8"...go for 2 hours), then turn the heat down to around 140° and check the meat every hour or so.
It will probably take at least 4 hours (more likely six hours) and could go longer. Some smaller pieces might need to be removed before the others. You want the Jerky to be dried to the point where it will bend but not break.
When done, let the Jerky cool (breathe) for about an hour before packaging. Otherwise it will condensate (especially if put in plastic) and will mildew later.
It should last just fine for at least 2 weeks even if you leave it out on the counter. You can refrigerate it or freeze it to make it last longer, but honestly, if you make GOOD jerky, it isn't going to be around long enough to spoil.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to use lean pieces of meat with NO visible trace of fat. The fat will turn rancid later if it exists in any appreciable amount.
Experiment with spices, there is a plethora of good Jerky recipes out there and everyone likes something different. The recipe I gave you happens to be what I like, but if you process Jerky properly (dry it), its pretty hard to screw up.
Most everyone likes Jerky and it’s rare that you will get a complaint no matter what you put on it.
