Deer Jerkey Help Please!

You can separate the leg muscles for it, you can use the loins but they are probably the best part of the deer so you might not want to do that. You can make a lot of jerky from 1 deer just don't be a mad hacker with the rear legs and pull all the muscles apart. You can do it all in one shot but if you slice all the meat then put it on a grate on some kind of tray to catch drippings and put it in the fridge to get rid of some of the blood, just kris kross it on the grate.

1 pound Jerky meat, sliced and ready
1 tablespoon Tender Quick
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 tablespoon Honey
1/2 tablespoon A1 Steak Sauce
2 teaspoons Beef rub
1 teaspoon Garlic powder
Hot pepper powder or Hot sauce to taste
Enough water or chicken broth to cover

soak for 3 or 4 days.

Get all the fat and silver skin off and slice with the grain of the meat. Slice about a quarter inch thick as it will shrink about 50% as it dries.

Just got a nice 8 point myself yesterday. Will give this one a shot soon thanks.

You can use all the hind roasts. Don't use the backstrap (loin). That is the most tender cut and should be cooked whole or cut into steaks for the bbq. If you can get your hands on a deli slicer it will help you tremendously. I can't go back to doing jerky without one. All of your slices will be of uniform thickness and will take basically the same time to dry. As well, they will all taste consistent. You won't have a thick piece that didn't take the marinade or a thin one that "burned up" (as in dehydrated to the feel of tree bark). Also, it will take you about 1/10 the amount of time to slice it all up.

I think the pictures are gone but this might help
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=172692&highlight=Jerky

View attachment 103454

I use the hind quarter roasts too. But you can never have too much jerky, make a LOT! lol
Got together with a couple of friends one year and we processed 5 whole deer into jerky. We cut the meat by hand and marinaded the meat in 5 gallon buckets overnight.
We used his old fridge smoker to smoke it all... then divided the jerky between the three of us. It took days to get it done but it was worth it.

It was awesome!! The only thing wrong was every time someone walked by the marinade buckets they would add another ingredient. We couldn't duplicate it if we had to. :laugh:

I use my smokehouse and have to hide bagged jerky in my freezer, it will get eaten up by friends in less than a day.

Not much help but have fun Jason, I know what ever you come up with will be tasty!!

cowgirl said:

I use the hind quarter roasts too. But you can never have too much jerky, make a LOT! lol
Got together with a couple of friends one year and we processed 5 whole deer into jerky. We cut the meat by hand and marinaded the meat in 5 gallon buckets overnight.
We used his old fridge smoker to smoke it all... then divided the jerky between the three of us. It took days to get it done but it was worth it.

It was awesome!! The only thing wrong was every time someone walked by the marinade buckets they would add another ingredient. We couldn't duplicate it if we had to. :laugh:

I use my smokehouse and have to hide bagged jerky in my freezer, it will get eaten up by friends in less than a day.

Not much help but have fun Jason, I know what ever you come up with will be tasty!!

Click to expand...

Yep - Smoked is the best way - I also freeze it so it will not disappear right away. It holds well frozen. I do two steps. I salt brine (some flavoring), rinse, and then a flavor soak. Hang, pepper and then smoke low and slow

I go simple with jerky. I marinade with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder cayenne, & crushed red pepper for spicy.... Cut the cayenne & red pepper and substitute paprika or chili powder for non-spicy. I did all the marinades, soy sauce, Worcestershire, etc.... I like simple better and tastes great.

Like was said, make a lot if you can. I never weighed for venison, but beef is about 4:1 on start:finish weight. I freeze in vacuum packs , and keep the rest refrigerated just to be safe. Between me and my buddy, it goes very fast.

Not sure how much meat is in a deboned hind quarter, but using the snake method, you could probably do it in the WSM or the UDS. Might need to run it a couple times or add extra grates. I have seen some people attach extra racks to the existing using bolts or even just prop them up on beer cans.



Or you could get the hanger from Weber:

http://store.weber.com/accessories/category/cook/cookware/1555

THoey1963 said:

Not sure how much meat is in a deboned hind quarter, but using the snake method, you could probably do it in the WSM or the UDS. Might need to run it a couple times or add extra grates. I have seen some people attach extra racks to the existing using bolts or even just prop them up on beer cans.

Or you could get the hanger from Weber:

http://store.weber.com/accessories/category/cook/cookware/1555

Click to expand...

A co-worker has been experimenting making beef jerky the last few weeks. He uses a rack setup similar to your picture but without threaded stock or any welding.

First batch he made was way too salty. Dehydrating concentrates the salt so he cut back a lot on the next batch...turned out much better.

He smokes it for about an hour on his WSM and then dehydrates it further using his rack setup over a small fan pointing upward. I'll try to get a picture of his setup tomorrow

Hey, Alton Brown uses a box fan and some air filters:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/beef-jerky-recipe.html

THoey1963 said:

Hey, Alton Brown uses a box fan and some air filters:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/beef-jerky-recipe.html

Click to expand...

Yeah, I told him about Brown's method. That's where he got the idea.

Brown's recipe calls for liquid smoke. My co-worker decided to use real smoke and then dehydrate

Yep. Get real smoke on it and then dry it out....

Another vote for the roasts off the hind quarters, that is what I always use. I have had good success with using Hi Mountain jerky cure (usually get it from Bass Pro or my local Farm & Fleet). It has a seasoning mix and a dry cure included in the package. From there I used to toss it directly into my dehydrator but since getting a smoker, I will toss it on there for a couple hours to get some smoke and then finish in my dehydrator.

Making Jerky is really easy and you don't need a dehydrator to make great jerky, a low temp in the smoker is all that you need, that way you get smoked meat flavor without having to use the dreadful liquid smoke. The cure (Morton Tender Quick) is important to prevent food-borne illnesses.

The hind quarters are great for making jerky because they are lean muscles.

If you have never made jerky before, I would suggest buying a jerky kit from The Sausage Maker. or a Hi Mountain kit available through most sporting goods stores. These have the seasoning and the cure in proper proportions and are almost fool-proof for the beginner. This will let you safely learn the basics as you order in the components to make it yourself the next time.

Trim what little fat is there (fat can cause rancidity) and run it through the deli slicer (or slice by hand). Marinate and cure overnight then lay on racks to dry until tacky. I cold smoke for 2 hours and then raise the smoker to 110 until it is dry.

The finished product should not be stiff but not break when folded in half. When folding it should create a distinct white line where it was folded without breaking in half


Mild Jerky
This recipe is for 5 pounds venison / beef.

1/4 cup of soy sauce
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
2 Tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 cup of brown sugar
2 Tablespoons of Tender Quick®

Make sure that the sugar and salt are completely dissolved before pouring the marinade over the venison / beef.
Marinate at least one day or and up to two days. Remove from marinade and let air dry on racks until "Tacky" to the touch.

Cold smoke for 1-2 hours (no heat), then raise smoker temperature to 100° to 110° and smoke until dry but slightly pliable.

=======================================


Cracked Black Pepper Jerky
This recipe is for 5 pounds venison / beef.
cracked black pepper is sprinkled on before drying. Coarse ground black pepper can be used in place of cracked pepper.

1 cup of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1 teaspoons of seasoned salt
3 tablespoons of fine grind black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon of onion powder
2 Tablespoons of Morton® Tender Quick® curing mix

Make sure that the sugar and salt are completely dissolved before pouring the marinade over the venison.
Marinate at least one day or and up to two days. Remove from marinade and let air dry on racks until "Tacky" to the touch.
Season with cracked or coarse ground black pepper if desired before smoking.
Cold smoke for 1-2 hours (no heat), then raise smoker temperature to 100° to 110° and smoke until dry but slightly pliable.

=======================================


Hot and Sweet Jerky
makes enough marinade for five pounds of sliced venison / beef.

1 cup of soy sauce
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of molasses
1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons of garlic powder
2 tablespoons of onion powder
1 teaspoon of celery salt
1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon of black pepper
2 Tablespoons of Morton® Tender Quick®
1/2 teaspoon of powdered cayenne pepper

Make sure that the sugar and salt are completely dissolved before pouring the marinade over the venison.
Marinate at least one day or and up to two days. Remove from marinade and let air dry on racks until "Tacky" to the touch.

Cold smoke for 1-2 hours (no heat), then raise smoker temperature to 100° to 110° and smoke until dry but slightly pliable.

=======================================


Honey Barbecue Jerky
This recipe is for 5 pounds venison / beef.

2 tsp coarse grind black pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 cup apple juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 Tablespoons Morton® Tender Quick®
1/2 cup Barbecue sauce

Make sure that the sugar and salt are completely dissolved before pouring the marinade over the venison.
Marinate at least one day or and up to two days. Remove from marinade and let air dry on racks until "Tacky" to the touch.

Cold smoke for 1-2 hours (no heat), then raise smoker temperature to 100° - 110° and smoke until dry but slightly pliable.

I have made a bit of jerky. Beef, venison and turkey. When I took my meat out of the marinade it put it on a cooling rack. It sets over a foil lined baking pan. I run a fan over the meat until it is tacky. Then I put the meat on s/steel jerky rods. I do this in a small electric Cookshack smoker. I skewer them almost to the end of the meat piece.
I keep a pencil with of the meat on each rack. I then apply smoke and open the door every 30 minutes to dump excess moister to let the steam escape. My family and friends say it was excellent.
P.S. I cut/slice each piece about twice the thickness that I want in the end product.