I have been on a beef jerky kick lately.
I really enjoy it, even though its $5.00+ for a bag of the stuff. But for a long drive, it makes a great snack because I can chew on it for a long time.
Anybody have any recommendations? Most of the stuff I get (Oberto and their ilk) are rather generic and it seems like to get some really good jerky you have to go to a place like Trader Joe’s or another specific store.
I love jerky too, but I usually just buy Pemmican brand or the Albertson’s store brand, whichever is on sale. It makes a great high-protein snack, but I find both brands sort of boring. I’d love to try some more exotic or “gourmet” jerky, but we don’t have Trader Joe’s anywhere in the state.
The Oberto’s variety is surprisingly good. I’d stick with that. Sure, there might be boutique brands but is that really what jerky’s all about?
And you’re right that it’s damned expensive.
Huge fan of the Oberto Teriaki flavor.
And I am thankful that they are $5+ per bag…or else I’d actually be a HUGE fan.
Get to a Butcher shop immediately!. The Jerky is just slightly more expensive but it is (generally speaking) worlds better. Keep trying different Butcher’s until you find the best one, that’s what I do.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmm Jerky
Unclviny
Does the occasional Tobasco flavored Slim Jim count?
Not really jerky, and no, I don’t really want to know what’s in it.
Jerky is amazingly easy to make. I still buy a $5 bag now and again (and I like it on long drives, also!), but you can make a lot pretty cheap and easy.
I buy a cheap cut, like London Broil. Albertson’s runs them 2 for 1 ever so often, or a round roast. Something that’s lean.
I like to put it in the freezer until it’s firm, not frozen, and slice off thin strips with a shape knife of electric knife.
Then throw it in a pan and season/marinade it. A little Worchester, soy sauce, hot sauce, salt, sugar, black pepper…use your imagination.
Take it out, pat it dry, sprinkle with black pepper (if you like it). Put foil in the bottom of your oven. Drape the meat over the wires of the racks, try to keep it from touching.
Put the oven on the absolute lowest setting it has, and prop the door open a tad. I like to close it off a little more than the detent that leaves it open 4" or so, I just wad up a ball of foil and use it to keep the door from closing.
Let it dry for a few hours. After a few hours, check some of the smaller pieces, and see if it’s good and dry. You want the larger pieces to dry all the way through, rare ain’t good for jerky. You might want to pull the smaller/thinner pieces as they dry, leave the larger pieces to completely dry. It’s a lot easier to figure out when you see it in action, you’ll know what’s done and what’s not.
I’ve got a road trip at the end of April. Jerky will be my snack of choice!
Hmmm, I may have to try that. I’m curious about what you do for your marinades. I love Teriyaki Jerky in the stores, and would using just a good Teriyaki sauce from a bottle be all you’d need, or would you want to cut it with anthing or add extra sugar, salt or other seasonings to it? What about a good smoked and/or peppered jerky?
Also, would it be as well preserved (ie safe at room temp for weeks) as packaged jerky?
YES!!
Make your own! Use any lean meat, slice it thin, use any marinade/seasoning, dry in the oven or…if you also get excited about dried fruit and veggie snacks, I recommend a food dehydrator. They rock! I love mine! There was an article I read on the internet somewhere (college affiliated, not random weirdo) that said that dehydrators pay for themselves with less enery vs. the oven if you use them regularly. An important note…keep drying temps above 140F unless you would like to taste the jerky the second time around, if you catch my drift.
My favorite marinade is 1c soy sauce, 1c brown sugar, 1# beef for 1hr. The high sugar/salt in the marinade actually starts the water removal process.
I don’t remember the brand, but there is this really, really spicy jerky they sell at 7-Eleven near my apartment. It’s the cure for the common cold, I swear. The combination of it being really spicy and the constant chewing clears up even my worst congestion.
Jerky rules.
The great thing is, It’s cheap! Try a few simple marinades until you come up with one you like. You need something with some salt to help draw the moisture out of the meat, but you don’t want salty jerky.
I imagine the store bought jerky has some preservatives. While home made jerky would probably last a while at room temperature, I can’t say. Mine always gets gobbled up in a couple of days. It will last a couple of days no sweat if stored in a re-sealable bag, or keep it in the fridge and let it come up to room temp.
A buddy has a dehydrator, but he’s also a fanatic about having raw meat. He has a tendency to way over-do his jerky and it gets powdery, which sucks. I’d like to try a dehydrator myself to see how a non-fanatic could fare.
One neat thing about the dehydrator, you can make “jerky sticks” like a Slim Jim sorta thing from ground meat. My dad has a friend who made some and they were pretty tasty!
Does it come out best sliced with the grain or against it? Most “traditional” ones I buy at butchers and what not are seemingly sliced with the grain. The ultra processed one at the grocery store seem to either be extruded to pressed somehow or cut against the grain for tenderness.
Alos, what the hell does “Kippered” mean?
I think the kippered stuff is cut into small nuggets/pieces, making it so you’re not having to gnaw at a 8 1/2 x 11 sized sheet of jerky. Although, that is fun too; most gas stations/convenience stores sell jerky in sheets. I don’t know the brand offhand, but some of the best jerky I’ve tasted came like that. It was ‘western’ flavored, which is rather abiguous sounding but the best way to describe it was a peppery hickory mesquite flavor- kind of like a meaty barbecue chip 
.
Well, Ijust had to know, so I figured I share what I found.
From Yahoo! dictionary
So it basically means it’s jerky, nothing more. Though I don’t know if there’s a difference between kippering and dehydrating via heat and salt. You don’t really “smoke” when you do it at home or in a home dehydrator.
It has always been my secret shame, but I have always loved “meat snacks” of all kinds, including beef jerky, Slim Jims and other “meat sticks,” etc. One variety I really love is the “Nuggets” sold under the “Tillamook Country Smoker” brand; the same taste as standard beef jerky, but much more tender and enjoyable (easier on the teeth than totally dried out sheets of jerky). TCS Nuggets are kind of pricey–usually $5.99 per bag at Safeway–but very worth it if you’re a jerky fan.
Yes, make your own. mr.stretch and I love to make jerky. You can make your own marinades or try using jerky seasoning from these folks. You may be able to find the seasonings in the meat department of your local grocery store. The mesquite seasoning is excellent. mr.stretch has also used this company’s brines for smoking trout and been very pleased.
We have a food dehydrator and we prefer using rather than an oven; my FIL uses the oven and his jerky is always much drier than ours. I bought our dehydrator for around $20, and we’ve had it for years. We’ve used it to dry fruit also.
Plus…there’s no feeling like the “stickin’ it to the man” feeling you get when you take about $10 worth of meat and an afternoon and transform it into a pile of jerky you’d need to take a loan out to buy at the store. And you can make different flavors at the same time. I made some Habanero jerky once that was sooo hot I could barely eat it…for all of about 2 minutes until I just HAD to have another piece. It’s a lot of fun!
Homemade beef jerky is all well and good, but nothing can compare to the grandeur and majesty that is …
PEMMICAN SWEET AND HOT
I swear, eating the stuff is just like eating Kung Pao beef (except without the peanuts).
I’m a big fan of Hombre Jerky, I don’t like the Oberto stuff, it’s to soft. (I didn’t realize until making this post that Hombre is local. Neat.) I would get some. It’s so worth it, and you’ll never go back to Oberto again.
Where the hell are you people buying Jerky that cheaply? It’s $15 a pound out here. We sometimes get the 1 lb bag of Hombre for D&D sessions, it lasts all night and makes Mountain Dew taste oh so good.
My doctor recently put me on a low-cholesterol diet. 
Is there any chance jerky has less cholesterol than other forms of beef? 
(Hoping against hope.)