# Tell me about making beef jerky at home **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2011, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903 "2011-01-17T04:04:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McDeath_the_Mad)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/21 "2011-01-17T15:42:21Z")
To the oven users, do you crack the oven door or leave it totally closed? It has been a few years, but I recall I had to crack my door and the I had the jerky in for 10-12 hours. I think my oven over-cooked/burnt my jerky with the door shut. MtM ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/22 "2011-01-17T16:08:39Z")
Crack the oven door. You want to let the moisture escape. I use a multi-stack dehydrator I’ve had for years. I think It’s American Harvest brand. I have some plastic sheets that fit inside the trays for making fruit leather, though I’ve never used them. If you go the dehydrator route they are available for both Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shop. You may find one at Bed Bath and Beyond as well. I used to use the oven and it will work fine as well. I have seven or eight trays for my dehydrator, so it holds more than my oven did. Most any cut of meat will work. I made turkey jerky once or twice, as well as salmon jerky. It doesn’t last long around here either.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/23 "2011-01-17T17:56:12Z")
Which authentic (pre modern technology) jerky, how important was it to keep it in the sun. I think that would settle the whole oven vs. box fan debate. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/24 "2011-01-17T18:19:21Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I hate Alton Brown’s shows. He complicates everything in the name of being original or thinking out of the box. I would not want dried-out \*uncooked \*beef, except as a science experiment in microbes (even if they get killed off in the brine, I would never risk it). Plus, a furnace filter? The jerky gets glued to whatever it’s up against. In my experimentation dried out uncooked beef is much much better than cooked dried beef. The oven is an acceptable alternative but definitely not better. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/25 "2011-01-17T18:31:29Z")
I hate to admit it, but the Ronco dehydrator makes excellent jerky. After watching the infomercial a few times, I ordered one. Does a great job. That’s all I use it for is beef jerky. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Conqueror\_Worm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@The\_Conqueror\_Worm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Conqueror_Worm)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/26 "2011-01-17T22:22:31Z")
I have a higher end dehydrator and much prefer it over the oven method. Use whatever is available, I’ve seen plans for solar dehydrators, but have never had the space to use one. What I do want to recommend though is do a search for biltong recipes. It’s a style (flavor?) of jerky the originated in South Africa, the primary flavors in it are salt, black pepper and coriander. Very different, but very addictive as far as I am concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/27 "2011-01-17T23:15:04Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I hate to admit it, but the Ronco dehydrator makes excellent jerky. > > After watching the infomercial a few times, I ordered one. Does a great job. > > That’s all I use it for is beef jerky. That’s the kind I have, too. I’ve never tried drying anything in the oven, but the dehydrator works great for drying meat, and fruit. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/28 "2011-01-18T01:48:34Z")
I’ve made it with the oven door cracked, and with it shut. Both ways work. You just have to keep an eye on it. I don’t know, but the idea of eating dehydrated raw beef just is a little icky to me, even though I like steaks and roast beef rare/medium rare. I’d rather know the jerky is cooked a bit. But I’ve never had it any other way. If I already had a dehydrator and it was large enough, I’d use it, but I wouldn’t buy one for that purpose. I usually get a huge amount of Costco round steak and it pretty much takes up the whole oven. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Conqueror\_Worm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@The\_Conqueror\_Worm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Conqueror_Worm)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/29 "2011-01-18T06:54:48Z")
Okay, I was trying to avoid mentioning any specific products, but. I own an Excalibur dehydrator. It falls somewhere between the counter top dehydrators like the Ronco and professional grade ones. Unfortunately, the price reflects this. One of the things that seperates the better dehydrators from lessor ones is a simple fan. Rather like a convection oven, actually moving the heated air makes things happen much faster. Also, for what it is worth, the meat setting on my dehydrator yields a temperature somewhere between 145 and 155 degrees. However, I’ve made jerky just hanging it in warm, dry conditions. Sunshine is golden. My understanding is that the natural salts and sugars in meat keep the dried portion from spoiling. Once it has sealed itself, it’s just a matter of letting the rest of the moisture work its way out. Most people don’t have a real grasp on what aging meat is all about. Further, I think most people are just way too squeamish regarding their food anyway. Back to spoilage, my understanding about the biltong recipe is that the spices were intended to keep insects away from the meat while it was drying. Of course, these days we all do want to avoid problems as much as possible so use of ovens and dehydrators does go a long ways towards avoiding potential nasties. All of that said, please do check out this site [http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Miscellany/Biltong\_15192.html](http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Miscellany/Biltong_15192.html) It has the biltong recipe as well as instructions for making a dehydrator using a cardboard box and incandescent light bulb. One interesting thing about biltong is that the meat is cut with the grain rather than across it like typical jerky. This makes for a much more “work out the jaw muscles” experience. I think you’ll like it. ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/30 "2011-01-18T07:12:32Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Alton Brown had a great show on jerky. He is totally against dehydrators or ovens to do it, as you don’t need heat to make jerky, but dessication. His technique is to lay the strips of meat in a[ccordion type furnace filters, sandwich those together and strap the whole bunch to a box fan](http://www.finnie.org/tag/jerky/). No heat but a lot of rushing air. I tried his method of drying and found that my jerky ended up being rubbery and a little too moist for my taste. I’m sticking with a few hours in the oven @170 degrees. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/31 "2011-01-18T11:55:10Z")
This is the recipe my sister uses. Her jerky gets rave reviews. > [@](#): > > Beef jerky > > Marinade: > 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes > 1/2 c packed brown sugar > 2 TBSP Smokey Mesquite seasoning > 3/4 c Braggg’s liquid aminos or low sodium soy sauce > 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not garlic salt) > 1/2 tsp sea salt > 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper > 1/2 tsp onion powder > 1/4 tsp paprika > 1/4 c Worchestershire sauce (optional) > > Mix marinade and stir into 2 lbs Extra lean ground beef (or wild game). Cover and refrigerate 2-24 hours. > > Using a jerky gun or cookie press fitted with a die with a straight opening, pipe the mixture onto dehydrator trays of cookie sheets > > Dry for 5 hours or more. Jerky is done when you can tear it apart and it is completely dry. If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can dry the jerky in the oven at 150-175 degrees.. She grinds her own beef, using lean roast and the grinder attachment for her Bosch mixer, and dispenses it with a cookie press. She has a dehydrator, and uses that and the oven. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/32 "2011-01-18T12:25:00Z")
My oven doesn’t go down to 170. The lowest marking is 200, and I’m suspicious that even that is even and consistent. I like my dehydrator. It’s got lots of trays, so it fits a whole lot more than you’d expect. You can’t do nice big slabs of jerky like you’d get at the Ren Faire, but you can do commercial jerky sized pieces just fine. I don’t have sticking problems, either, like the oven reports are suggesting. I’d suggest looking at thrift stores for dehydrators before buying one new. They tend to be impulse buys or gifts that sit in a cabinet for 10 years before being donated to GoodWill during a cleaning frenzy. I think I got mine for about $3, and it wasn’t even taken out of the plastic inside. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/33 "2011-01-19T06:17:14Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I like my dehydrator. It’s got lots of trays, so it fits a whole lot more than you’d expect. You can’t do nice big slabs of jerky like you’d get at the Ren Faire, but you can do commercial jerky sized pieces just fine. I don’t have sticking problems, either, like the oven reports are suggesting. Do you do anything so that the meat doesn’t stick to the tray/rack? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/34 "2011-01-19T12:45:30Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Do you do anything so that the meat doesn’t stick to the tray/rack? If I’m using a marinade with lots of sugar, I’ll give the racks a quick wipe of vegetable oil. If it’s a predominately salty recipe, I don’t bother. ---
**Author:** ![mcott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@mcott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcott)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/35 "2011-01-24T02:39:33Z")
Well then. This thread / newsletter / line of reasoning intrigued me, and I wished to subscribe 🙂 My experiment went as follows: Go to **Bulk Barn** , a local store that sells spices in bulk. Purchase for the princely sum of $0.39 garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, brown sugar, and kosher salt. Combine the dry ingredients with vinegar and soy sauce, and use to marinate thin strips of round steak overnight. Next day, bake at 175 for six hours. At 4PM, enjoy a tasty treat. 😛 More tests to come, and still with jerky in the fridge. Thanks again, SD. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903/36 "2011-01-24T03:30:34Z")
> [@mcott](#): > > Well then. This thread / newsletter / line of reasoning intrigued me, and I wished to subscribe 🙂 > > My experiment went as follows: > > Go to **Bulk Barn** , a local store that sells spices in bulk. Purchase for the princely sum of $0.39 garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, brown sugar, and kosher salt. Combine the dry ingredients with vinegar and soy sauce, and use to marinate thin strips of round steak overnight. > > Next day, bake at 175 for six hours. At 4PM, enjoy a tasty treat. 😛 > > More tests to come, and still with jerky in the fridge. Thanks again, SD. Marinating overnight in vinegar is likely to “cook” the beef, like fish ceviche. You might want to find a different liquid to marinate in. However, you are making my mouth water. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-beef-jerky-at-home/567903.md?page=1)