Brined Jerky 1st attempt

[Plan2build]

Hey folks....Have not posted on the forum for a long time and have been busy perfecting my smoked salmon....getting bored I wanted to expand to more stuff, so last week I started some Capicola (curing at the moment but will add some photos later) and also have a hankering for some Jerky.  So just started some Jerky in an equilibrium brine for smoking and drying on Sunday.  I have the James Jerky Dryer and Auber on my #2.  Following Tony's guidance  8) with some modifications, I hope this will turn out.  This is what I did:

In purchased two Eye of Rounds on sale for a total of 2289 grams (a hair over 5 pounds all trimmed up and cleaned).  Using Diggindogfarms cure calculator I created my own Excel spreadsheet to calculate the equilibrium brine components.  I did this so that I could toy with the numbers and see how things interact.  I did verify the calculations through multiple models before making my brine.

Using a cool jerky slicing jig I got on ebay (included a really sharp knife and made in USA) I sliced (with the grain) the two rounds down to 1/4" thick sections, and then cut into strips (again with the grain).  If anyone wants the source of this slicer, let me know.  It is cheaper than an electric slicer and is fast to use and easy to clean...again Made in USA so what's not to love....

From the calculation table I created the brine.  I deviated from Tony's recipe in that I used 140ppm of Cure #1, full strength soy sauce which is about 6% sodium content, and used ground black pepper and paprika.

Meat:  2289 g (~5 lbs)
Cure #1:  6.25%
Salt %:  1.5
Sugar %:  2.5
ppm cure:  140

This gave me,
Cure #1          5.1g
Salt                29.3g
Brown sugar    57.2g

Additionally I added 2 cups soy sauce, 1 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tablespoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, ground black pepper, paprika.  Once all the measured ingredients were added, I QS'd (means Quantum Sufficit or sufficient quantity) the brine to my meat weight of 2289 with water.  In the meat went and the tub into the fridge.

Tomorrow, I need to autotune my Auber again and prepare for smoking and drying during the game on Sunday.

 

[NDKoze]

First, let me say it is great to have you back posting again. If you have a perfected salmon recipe, make sure you post that too unless you already have.

It looks like you are off to a great start with the jerky.

When using a brine, make sure you dab as much moisture off of the meat as possible before placing on the trays. There is a lot of moisture that needs to be removed even with the Jerky Dryer.

Looking forward to seeing the results.

 

[Plan2build]

Roger that Gregg....I have some kitchen towels that will do the trick.  I will certainly post more photos on Sunday when I remove the beef from the brine.

As for the salmon, my pilot batches went to my taste testers at work...their opinions were all very good but varied on the salt level they thought was optimal.  In my taste, the salt in final batch was perfect, but I think I will be curing a bit longer for a firmer texture.  I will get those notes out hopefully this weekend, but until then, here is a photo of the nearly perfected finished product:

 

[DivotMaker]

Looks like you're certainly on the right track, Gregor!  This will be your baseline; it may be perfect, but if not, it's easy to adjust next time.  Once you hit the right mix, you'll get such consistent results every time after!

Would you mind sharing that spreadsheet?  My biggest fear is that Martin's calculator site will go down!  I'd also enjoy being able to play with the numbers!  If you only want to share it with those that ask (so it isn't spread all over the internet, without your permission), we can do it by PM, if you prefer.

 

[Plan2build]

No problem on the spreadsheet...here you go!  It has my capicola experiment as well and other notes, so feel free to play as you like.

 

[DivotMaker]

Thanks Gregor!  That's awesome!

 

[SconnieQ]

I'd be interested in seeing the slicing jig.

 

[Plan2build]

Here is a link to the jig and knife I picked up on ebay (if the link doesn't work, search for item number 151893817113)....it really worked great.  Initial slicing is easy, but once I got toward the last section, I placed a small flat board on top of the meat to hold it in place so I would not slice my fingers.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151893817113?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D151893817113%26_rdc%3D1

All in all a simple and easy method for slicing 3/8 or 1/4 (it comes with an insert) thick slices.  Let me know if this is not clear and I can try to answer or send photos....

 

[Plan2build]

The Jerky is on the clock....

Friday night the jerky started curing in the fridge.  Yesterday I went several rounds with the Auber and re-autotuning since I did not use it since last summer...(Final PID numbers are P=61, I=627, D=156).  This morning it was almost exactly 36 hours when I removed the meat and toweled off the excess brine.  My 5Lbs of meat filled 4 racks in my #2 with nothing extra.  I programmed the Auber for 145 degrees for 12 hours, loaded the meat and the wood (hickory chips 1.5 ounce were used and are releasing good smoke as I type).  Ambient temp outside is 37F...I will let the smoke run for 2 hours and then add the Jerky Drying fan for the remainder of the session.  I am hoping this comes off right around kickoff!!!

Here are some photos so far, and I will post the finished result if all goes well.

 

[Plan2build]

Someone will need to explain how I can rotate my photos...sorry about that!

 

[Pork Belly]

As long as you are having fun, that's whats important however your over thinking it.

You would have an easier prep and great results with Cure #1:  6.25%, 2 cups soy sauce, 1 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tablespoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, ground black pepper, paprika and one can of beer.

Partially freezing the meat will make it easier to slice. 

There is no sense in calculating salt % if your adding 3 cups of soy and Worcestershire they are liquid salt.  Glad to see you had some cure in there, too many folks skip that. Sometimes simple is better, but like I said if your having fun keep it up.

 

[Plan2build]

It is fun, but it is not overthinking, but rather to understand what impacts the equilibrium brine.  You are correct with Soy and Worcestershire salt content.  Soy is 6% sodium and Worcester is 1.3% sodium, so I actually added around 66 grams of sodium (salt) to my brine...assuming it reached equilibrium, the meat picked up 33 grams.  That would put the sodium content in the brine around 2.9% and in the meat almost 1.5%.  Food starts to taste "salty" after 1%, however I do like salty jerky.  I also assume this process is not 100% efficiency in a short time so might be a bit lower.  I know my salt meter read over 1.4% so I think this is right on.

I will see how it tastes in several hours.  And I always use more than 1 beer for any recipe 

 

[Libohunden]

Man, that looks good!  I still haven't tried jerky or snack sticks.

 

[DivotMaker]

While I agree with Brian that a simple gradient brine is easier, nothing compares to the equilibrium brine for consistent, easily-modifiable, results.  Time is taken out of the equation, unlike a gradient brine.  You can leave it in the bath for 3 days, if you want, and it will never get any saltier than the point it reaches equilibrium between the brine and meat.  Once you try equilibrium brining, where you want consistent, repeatable, resluts - and see how easy it really is - you'll never go back!

 

[Plan2build]

Well folks....Just under 8 hours to complete the Jerky smoke.  Some of the smaller pieces I pulled an hour earlier as they were drying pretty quickly.  Overall, really happy with the results!  My daughter thinks it is fantastic Jerky, but I promised her we can tweak a few things.  My  meat weight before the smoke was 2289 grams and after the smoke was 920 grams (with a sample or two removed), for a total moisture loss of 60%.  Some of my other observations and thoughts:

1) Taste was spot on, but I think I could add more seasoning just prior to the smoke (after patting dry)...I will need to think about this as I don't want to ruin a good thing!

2) During the initial 2 hours of smoke without the Jerky dryer, a lot of liquid was in the drip pan.  Since I have never made this before, not sure if normal, however I was not thinking I would need to check, however in future runs I will check this so I don't make a mess.

3) 1.5 Ounces of hickory was the perfect amount of wood chips so that there was smoke only the first two hours.
Jerky Dryer fan works great!!  Lots of moisture pulled very quickly from the chamber!

4) Running at 145F had good results.  I may back down to 140F to see if I can slow the drying a bit (I expected this to go 10 hours at least).  My Auber was running good and the temps were verified with my handheld digital meat thermometer.

5) For this smoke I sliced the meat at 1/4' thick and about 2' wide in strips.  The next attempt I will increase the thickness to 3/8" to hopefully give that leather exterior and a chewy middle.  Some of my pieces were perfect but others were just over on the dryness, so some more thickness will help.

Overall, very happy with how this turned out and I will be doing this again in the coming couple weeks.

 

[NDKoze]

The jerky looks great!

I would say it was a success if those in or tweaks are all you need.

 

[Plan2build]

I revised the Cure Calculation sheet in the earlier post.  I edited some of the calculations for clarity, and locked some cells.  You can unlock any of the red or grey cells as you see fit.  I am attaching again to this post.

 

[DivotMaker]

Thanks for the update, Gregor!

 

[Tom]

Reading thru this thread has me thinking, for my first batch of jerky on the 3D, has anyone used a meat tenderizer during the brine? Only for textural effects. I haven't made jerky in a good 10 years or more, but I know you can whack the meat really well with a hammer style tenderizer, or the one I had in mind (since the meat will be cured and safe) using the meat docking type tenderizer.

I love jerky and I'm excited to tear into it when the 3D is up and running, I plan on having a lot more homemade meat in my change to a low carb diet for a while. I just never liked the tough leather "rip your teeth out" toughness of some jerky, especially the thicker cuts which I prefer. I like them a bit chewier and softer in the center, but also very tender and easy to bite.

Has anyone played around with different tenderizing methods other than obviously cutting against the grain?

No Jerky Cannon yet, but maybe at some point.

 

[Plan2build]

Hello Tom,

Although not specifically used as a tenderizer and more for flavor, I have used Worcestershire sauce as one component in my ingredients.  This contains vinegar as you know, which is a chemical tenderizer and will help to break down the collagen in meat.  I am unsure of the effect based on concentration, but certainly something you can experiment with by adjusting a vinegar content.  Be mindful of the effect on the flavor, so balance with other ingredients!

Other tenderizers are enzymatic like McCormick's, which contains Bromelain, Papain, or other fruit extract.  These will also help break down the meat.  I have not tried anything like this as I like the jerky chewy, so I cannot advise on how much to use.  Since I also brine for several days, not sure the effect of time with these enzymes.  Another drawback is the effects of these enzymatic tenderizers are stopped by cooking, where higher temperatures inactivate the enzymes.  Since jerky production is a drying process, you likely will not reach a sufficient temperature to stop the effect, and they will continue to tenderize until they are depleted.

For a mechanical tenderizer (mallet or blades), I would imagine this would be effective and may give you a product you like.  Since this is very simple, give it a shot and let us know what you think.  If the results are inadequate, I would then move to chemical, and lastly enzymatic, in that order based on simplicity.

Let us know how you make out!