Ground Jerky Consistency

[BU_pigslayer]

I've been making GROUND deer jerky in a dehydrator on and off for about 5 years with very good results, but I have never taken good notes to document my process and the results are somewhat inconsistent.

My last two batches have turned out extremely tough (tough even for jerky! However, they look like something you would buy in the store - they look great! I have 3 plate sizes on my grinder and I ground 10 pounds through the smallest plate size. I mixed everything together, put it in the fridge overnight, and it was nice and sticky in the morning. It looks great when it goes on my dehydrator into thin strips from my jerky gun.

In the past I have made some batches that turned out crumbly as well.

1. Has anyone noticed a difference between doing a fine grind versus a medium grind or is one recommended over the other?

2. Should adding more water to the mixture change the final product from tough to crumbly?

3. Any other suggestions on what causes such a difference in texture (size of the grind, time in the fridge, amount of "cure" or other seasoning, temp of dehydrator, etc)

Thanks,
Casey

[tpack]

Here is what I do

5 lb. ground deer. I run it thru the hamburger plate on my grinder two times.I use a scale so it is exact every time.

Cabelas jerky mix. Premixed for 5 lbs. of meat . Mix according to instructions on package.

3 Tbls. Red Pepper flakes.

Let it set up for 15 -20 minutes.

LEM Jerky Cannon

Squeeze the meat onto 3 trays with racks designed to make jerky.

Place in a 200 degree oven for about 4 hrs.

Place a spoon in oven door so it will stay slightly open , letting the moisture out of the oven and not steaming the meat.

Check the jerky several time . You may have to rotate the meat trays in the oven if there are hot spots. The pieces on the outside of the trays will need to be rotated as well since they get done quicker.

I tried my dehydrator , but I like the ground meat jerky done in the oven better. If I make jerky using the whole muscle I like the dehydrator better. Mine is always consistent since I started doing it this way . This video was helpful when I started using ground meat .


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIab8u4hlgQ"]LEM Jerky Cannon - How to Make Jerky - YouTube[/ame]