Can't get the right Jerky Flavor

[bloc004]

I have a homemade smoker (garbage can). I have smoked two batches of jerky now. Everything worked perfectly, took about 6 hours at a constant 150 degrees and it turned out great, except for the flavor. It has a decent smoke flavor (hickory), but you can barely even taste the marinade and it just tastes bland. I marinated for 24 hours with Terryaki, soy sauce, tequila and garlic.

Any suggestions/ advice would be appreciated.

[eyeguy 54]

high mountain jerky cure. most grocery stores have a few different flavors. you can use it with ground or whole meat. about 15 years I've used the stuff. 7 to 8 bucks for spices and cure for 15 pounds of meat. when doing whole meat I cut about 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick and be sure to sprinkle both sides evenly then I put it all in a plastic bag and cure for 24 hours. I usually just do 2 to 3 pounds a time and the box has a mixing chart in it plus a shaker for whole meat. Jerky shooter with ground is a little easier but best for the dehydrator. My whole meat also goes in the dehydrator but now I gotta smoke a batch! lol good luck!

[DonBo]

I use High Mountain also with good luck, but I found you need to marinade it way longer than recommended. I usually let it sit for about 3 days.

[BobT]

If you have a vacuum sealer try vacuum packing the meat in the marinade for a while. I kneed the bag and flip it over about once per hour too.

[reinhard1]

dead on bob, also you can marinade your meats in the same manner and freeze it for later use [camping for example]. good luck.

[eyeguy 54]

I dont use water unless mixing spices with ground meat and 4 hours is perfect. with spice and cure only on whole meat 24 hours per 1/4 inch penetrates completely( no water!). not sure why 3 days would be needed. flavor a plenty! I prefer the dehydrtor big time over the smoker but that's just me.

[bloc004]

I am wondering then, if it is lack of "spice/ seasoning" on the meat while it is smoking. As I said I have only marinated it in liquid for 24 hours and nothing else, so I will try the cure method and hopefully that helps.

[JacobMHD]

You might be overpowering the marinade flavor with smoke flavor??

Not sure how much this will affect the overall flavor profile of your jerky, but I like to hang my meat for one to two hours prior to applying any heat. This forms a pellicle on the meat and in my opinon adds to the texture of the meat as well as seals some of the flavor in the jerky. Just my two cents.

[Jim Almquist]

I love the High Mountain pepper blend. What I like to do is slice my meat while it is still some what frozen into 1/4" to 3/8" slices and put the blend on like the instructions recommend and then toss them every six hours for about 48 hours and then I smoke for around 1/1/2 hours and flip all the meat so it smokes evenly and give it another 1 1/2 hours and let it cool. The stuff is great on venison and even better on cheap beef.