Making Jerky
Making jerky is a very easy project for beginners and experienced meat processors alike. Jerky was originally made as a way to preserve meat and has since turned into a snack instead. You can use a variety of wild game or domestic animal meat to make it depending on what type of jerky you feel like making. Whatever meat you use needs to be free of fat because the smoked fat can produce an off-flavor in the finished product. We found that bear and elk make the best tasting jerky with beef coming in at third place. I have never tried making turkey or chicken jerky just because I have no desire whatsoever to eat those so you are completely on your own if you make those. We smoke all of our jerky although you can use liquid smoke and an oven or dehydrator if you so choose, but you just can’t beat the flavor of a real smoked meat. Making jerky is a wholesome family activity that the kids can help with that doesn’t require any specialized equipment and it has great rewards at the end.
To begin you will need a relatively fat free piece of meat, a sharp knife, cutting board, bowl, and a marinade. I prefer a wet brine marinade using Worcester sauce, salt, brown sugar, pepper, and other seasonings. I have tried dry brines and found that the meat tastes much saltier even after rinsing it off prior to smoking. There are many recipes and I prefer to stick with the simple ones because why make it complicated if you don’t have to and the jerky you made tastes good??? Make enough brine solution in a large enough bowl to put the cut strips into so that they are completely covered by the brine solution.
Trimming and slicing 
Round steak strip
Trim all the fat off the meat and remove the “Silver skin” or gristle as best as you can. The gristle will make it tough to chew like some of the store-bought jerkies so take your time and prep the meat so that you get a great end product. I know it is time consuming tedious work, but it really is worth it and you will become faster at it once you get the hang of it. I prefer to cut the meat crossways into jerky length portions as I feel it is easier to slice the smaller cuts into strips. With a sharp knife you cut the meat lengthwise with the grain into thin strips about an 1/8 inch thick or less. Trim out any gristle as needed as you go and keep going until all the meat is sliced. Place all the slices into the bowl of brine so that you can place it in the refrigerator overnight to let the flavors soak in. I stir the strips every few hours just to make sure the spices get evenly distributed so you don’t get “Spicy spots” in your jerky.
The wood you use to smoke it is a personal preference and will depending on what meat you use and how strong of smoke flavor you want. I use hickory for beef jerky and an alder / maple mix for all the wild game jerky. Beef and elk jerky finished temperatures are lower than the bear temperature as bears can carry more parasites that must be killed by heat before eating it so make sure the bear jerky reaches 170° before removing it from the smoker. I usually cook the beef and elk jerky to about 160° so it has enough moisture content to be soft. This does mean that it won’t be completely shelf-stable so you will have to refrigerate it. I will smoke it longer when I know it will be used for camping or hunting trips so you can vary it as needed.
Place your smoker racks above a drip pan and I spray the smoker racks with a cooking oil spray so that cleaning them afterwards is easier. Take the jerky out of the brine a few strips at a time and let them drip dry for a few seconds before placing them onto the racks. Smoke flavor does not penetrate wet surfaces so the goal is to get the strips as dry as possible before placing them into the smoker. You may have to smoke a couple of batches if your smoker is not big enough to smoke it all at once so leave any remaining strips in the brine in the refrigerator until you are ready for the. Let the strips continue to drip dry to further dry them as you preheat your smoker.
Letting slices drip dry 
Placing Jerky on the smoker racks
Preheat your smoker to 225° and add your wood chips. Once it reaches temperature and starts smoking you can place the racks of jerky into the smoker. Monitor the temperature throughout the process because you will end up with completely dried hard jerky if you overcook it by letting the smoker get too hot. I use a remote wireless thermometer to keep track of the smoker temperature. The jerky will turn from a red color to the traditional brown looking jerky once it’s almost done. I usually give it another 15 minutes past the color change before checking to see if it is done to my standards and needs. A taste test is the best way that I found to check it as you can tell if it is done enough and how much smoke flavor it has this way, plus fresh jerky our of the smoker is awesome tasting. Once it is done to your liking take the racks out of the smoker and put the jerky in a bowl or on a tray to let it cool down before putting it in the refrigerator. I vacuum pack small portions for later and keep them refrigerated for up to two months. It is usually gone before two months and the only reason I know it is still really good up to that point is because one pack fell behind some other stuff so it escaped for a while.
As you can see making jerky is very simple to do without having to spend money on grinders, mixers, stuffers, and other equipment. It also saves you a lot of money over buying jerky at the store and you can make strips and texture to your exact liking with very little work involved. The other good news is that fat free cuts like beef bottom round roasts are cheap and you can find good sales on them occasionally making it a cheap starting place. Once you start making homemade jerky there is a good chance that you will expand into sausage making later once you see and taste the quality of your finished product. The biggest problem with making jerky that i have found is that it magically disappears as soon as you turn your back for a second when the kids are around.
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