Help me rejuvinate my beef jerky!

[purplehorseshoe]

I made a batch of jerky in our smoker last weekend. (Flank, if that's relevant.) It was amazing ... at first. Now, it's just too dried out. I mean, I know jerky is a dried, chewy food but this is ridiculous. This has happened to previous batches as well.

I was thinking: what if I soaked the strips in a marinade reminiscent of what they originally sat in (prior to being cooked) and then patted them dry. Do you think that would help at all? Has anyone ever played around with this?

All advice and suggestions are welcome.

[Moonlitherial]

I don't think it will ever be jerky again but you can use dried meat in stews.

Next batch stop early. Any jerky you eat within a couple of hours of it coming off of the smoker should feel a little underdone.

[Dallas Jones]

I would not add more marinade, try lightly steaming a few pieces. Do you have a vegetable steamer or similar pan? Throw a few chunks in that first.

I think that adding more salts, sugars and other flavors is not going to help.

[Wheelz]

Don't requests for medical advice go in IMHO?

[purplehorseshoe]

It was kinda underdone at first. I couldn't stop eating it. Now, I wish I had gone for it and pigged out!

Steaming is a good idea - I might try it with a few pieces and see what happens. I wasn't really trying to add flavor so much as moisture, so your suggestion makes sense. Next stop: stew. (I've seen the Alton Brown episiode of "Good Eats" where he goes camping and uses jerky to make soup, so I can use that as a base.)

[Moonlitherial]

Originally Posted by purplehorseshoe

It was kinda underdone at first. I couldn't stop eating it.

This is the issue we have with beef jerky in our house. It takes longer to prepare than to consume no matter how large the batch is.