Jerky Questions

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Couple questions about making jerky with ground venison and a dehydrator....

First - I often will eat a piece of cheese along with a slice of jerky. Has anyone ever tried mixing shredded cheese with the meat mixture and dehydrating the mixture together ?? I imagine you would have to refrigerate it after cooking but it kind of sounds good to me.

Second - could I use a steak rub I like and substitute that for jerky seasoning and mix it with cure to make jerky ??

Thoughts, opinions, experiences ???

[hockeybc69]

Cheese..... Not sure how that would work.

Regarding seasoning,,, the sky is the limit im my opinion.

[reinhard1]

i have never put cheese in any jerky mix. maby fine cut high temp cheese would work although having never done it, it's just an idea. i'm fine with eating them seperatly. there is cheese jerky out there on the commercial market. it is cheese that is melted and bits of jerky put in with the cheese and allowed to cool. usualy in a stick form.

you could think up any spice formula. however when making jerky skip the salt when you decide on your spices and use one level tablespoon of morton tenderquick per one pound of meat along with your spices.

here is a dip i have used with jerky:

8 oz. cream cheese

bits of jerky [your desired amount]

1/4 to 1/2 tsp granulated garlic

few shakes of old bay seasonings [1/4 tsp]

mix together and put on crackers or flat bread. good luck.

[BuckmasterG]

you could think up any spice formula. however when making jerky skip the salt when you decide on your spices and use one level tablespoon of morton tenderquick per one pound of meat along with your spices.

[eyeguy 54]

I wouldn't want to chance hurting my jerky with cheese.heehee Cheese is good all by itself. :>) As long as you cure the ground meat I bet any seasoning you like would work. Just try a small batch, maybe a pound to check.

rein, does the tenderquick work as a cure? if yes how long to cure. thx

[Deitz Dittrich]

the directions for tenderquick are on the box I believe.. usually about 24 hrs I think .. but could be wrong. .

If doing cheese, I would do sticks and not flat jerky, but thats just me.

[reinhard1]

Yes, tenderquick is a cure. it is a mixture of salt, sugar, and meat curing agents. it is ideal for dry curing and brine curing. the cure packet in the Nesco product is tenderquick and also the cure in High Mountain is tenderquick as well.

for hot smoked sausage such as smoked polish for example "insta-cure" is normaly used. it's also called "praque powder". it's pink in color and 1 oz is recommended for 25 pound batches. it has a higher content of sodium nitrates so less is required.

for fresh sausage such as breakfast sausage or fresh brats, no cure is needed for its usualy made fresh and frozen after makeing. then fully cooked prior to eating. good luck.

[reinhard1]

as far as length of time for curing jerky, Deitz is correct with 24 hrs. good luck.

[eyeguy 54]

Ok, just wondering cuz the i Mountain cure is 4 hours or more if mixed with ground meat and 24 hours for whole meat.

[reinhard1]

24 hours is a guideline. i usualy go the 24 hours or close to it. i also mix the cure with water before putting it in the meat. the amount of water depends on the amount of the mix. i put about 1/2 cup water to 3 lbs of jerky mix. i mix it by hand, cover the mix with plastic wrap, put it in the fridge overnight, and the next day i put it through the jerky gun. i dont use whole meats anymore, just ground.

i have been using the tube to form sticks now from the jerky gun. seems to be more popular with the people i give it too. i've been letting the sticks in the dehydraytor for 5 1/2 hours on the highest setting [ the temp gets to be around 155 ]. i also portion the sticks in zip bags and freeze them. i dont freezer wrap them because they dont last long anyway. the stick tube i have from the jerky gun makes the sticks thinner than the normal sticks you see around. i squirt out 3 inches or so at a time and put them on the dehydrator trays.

one thing about using cure. make sure you follow the directions correctly. we all add or change the formula of spices we use but with cure, you must follow the directions. good luck.