Ok, help!!!

[roc2it]

Once again I need some quick help. Just got a call from a friend and he is coming here in an hour with frozen deer meat. He wants to try and make jerkey. I have been reading on here and need all the abcs of doing this and a recipe. I have a grill, oven, dehydator that I have never used(it was a gift), my mother has a meat grider, anything else? how what when where how long.... HELP LOL

[SmokyOkie]

Slice it thin while it is still half frozen. Marinate it overnight if possible. Dry it as slowly as possible.

There are many good recipes out there. I like the ones that use Lea & Perrins the best.

I also like to leave a fair amount of moisture in it so that it is a tad chewy and not crisp. If you are going to do that, you will probably want a recipe that uses a nitrate/nitrite cure. Otherwise, you will want to store it refrigerated.

There's my nickle's worth.

[roc2it]

will let ya know tomorrow night how she turns out. First try. Oh boy.

[SmokyOkie]

Didja find a good recipe? I can't believe nobody chimed in with one.

[roc2it]

I stuck the meat thermometer in the dehydrator and am only getting a reading of 120 degrees. I have not started making up the jerkey yet, will be a lil while. Is that a right temp for a dehydrator? Like I posted earlier, it was a gift and is old. if that is right then how long will it take in there? How about the oven? Should I use that instead? If so what temp and about how much time?

[SmokyOkie]

If you use cure, that will be fine. How long depends on how thick it is cut and how dry you want it.

The oven set all the way to low with the door cracked works well too. It will run around 150°.

[roc2it]

Just wanted to let ya know how it went. Things around here are busier than ever. My jerkey crumbled apart but tasted good. We also tried some stuff from gander mountain and it was ok but it held together much better. Weird, I know. But next time we do this we will have more time to figure out better methods. All through the weekend we were pretty rushed. Once again I appreciate all the help(although this time I was very surprised that it came only from one person) that I have recieved on here. Until the next time.... if ya have any ?ns I will try and check back on here later tonight. My mom and dad have me installing a new home theater with a bigass tv with a new stand. Football will never be the same with the family.LOL:-)

[SmokyOkie]

Did you use ground meat or sliced?

[roc2it]

ground.....

[SmokyOkie]

May be more work to slice it, but the end result is much better IMHO.