ISO The Ever Elusive Perfect Venison Jerky Recipe

[Wallow]

I've been making venison jerky for a few years now - I use a Cabelas 10 tray dehydrator. I like sliced jerky better than ground and have a meat slicer. I've tried a lot of the commercial mixes and some are pretty good but am really trying to find a receipe I can mix on my own and not use nitrates. The last two recipes I tried were Sweet & Spicy from Meateater and The Best Beef Jerky from Gimme Some Oven. I didn't like the Meat Eater recipe as the orange peel ruined it. The Best Beef Jerky recipe was pretty good but too bland so I made a 5 lb batch last week to which I added two teaspoons of Cayenne powder to liven it up but it came out too hot. This recipe may still have merit and just need fine tuned with one more additional ingredients or bumping up one or more of the ingredients it already uses. Next time I'll do 3 variations instead of making the whole 5-6 pounds one way.

I know we all have different likes when it comes to our taste buds so there is no universal best recipe. But I was thinking if I gave some particulars of what I like maybe someone would have a recipe that would hit the nail on the head or maybe make a suggestion on a specific ingredient. Here goes: I do not want the seasonings to overpower the meat but don't want bland either, do not like hot stuff like tabasco & jalepenos, do like sweet stuff. I'm fine with blcak pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. I basically want a receipe that gives the meat some additonal flavor but doesn't overpower the taste of the meat like the orange peel did in the Meat Eater recipe. Also cayenne pepper is a no go or has to be in a very small amount.

Thanks in advance for the suggestions!

 

[NMGuy]

I use Claude's Brisket Marinade or Claude's Fajita Marinade. The brisket marinade has Hickory wood smoke, onion, garlic, black pepper, and dark red chile. Ingredients also list sugar and molasses, but it isn't sweet at all.

I slice my venison, soak in saltwater for 30-60 minutes then rinse with cold water. Pour in some Claude's Brisket Marinade or Claude's Fajita Marinade and soak for 30-60 minutes. Done. This stuff can be diluted with water to make it as strong or weak as you want.

 

[WestKyHunt]

I grew up with my dad's custom recipe and, while it was good, I wanted something different.
After years of trial and error, I tried Dale's marinade and have not gone back.
It is very salty..... but that is how I like it.
There are low sodium options.

The best part is no measuring or mixing, just dump it into the sliced meat!
Of course you could add more spices and seasonings if you felt the need

 

[ZMT588]

I’m just a simple Hi Mountain guy myself. When you find the best recipe let me know. I’d like to try it on these

 

[6mm Remington]

Hi Country out of Lincoln Montana sells several different flavors of jerky mix. They are fantastic and if you try them you won't look back. I love them and it's really good stuff. I'm not a Teriyaki fan but I love all the others.

Jerky Seasonings

Original Jerky mix: Really good stuff!

Sweet & Spicy: Excellent also.

Three Pepper: Tried it and really like it.

Smoky Blend: Just another really good mix.

 

[2rocky]

I'd like to find out how the Kippered Jerky is made. It's tenderer and seems to be more flavorful and less salty.

 

[bmt99]

I just tried the one below which is from Traegar. I like teriyaki in general as well as my family so it was a big hit.

https://www.traegergrills.com/recipes/homemade-teriyaki-jerky

 

[Bambistew]

I've made a lot of venison jerky over the years 100s and 100s of pounds worth. I make a lot more biltong now, but I'm at about 50/50 jerky/biltong. Biltong is even easier. The meat is 3/4-1" thick so less slicing. I like the different flavor as well.

This jerky recipe is a hit with everyone that eats it, I've made it since I was a kid. I used to make an entire deer into jerky, now its about 1/4 of all my meat is jerky/biltong. It's nothing fancy and the worcester/soy mix is pretty common. My little kids love it, but I don't go to spicy for them. I've tried a bunch of store bought versions and don't really care for them. High Mountain is pretty good, but I exclude the nitrates, otherwise they taste like ham or salami or barf, Oberto "jerky." I mostly use them with ground meat/sticks if use it. I usually just make my own seasoning mix though.

10​	lb	thin sliced meat (can use with ground, meat as well)
3​	Tbsp	Lawry's salt
4​	tsp	garlic powder
4​	tsp	fresh ground pepper (cut back if you like less pepper)
0.25​	cup	brown sugar
4​	tsp	smoked paprika
4​	tsp	onion powder
0.5​	tsp	Tabasco (more if you like it hot)
1​	cup	Low sodium soy
0.5​	cup	Worcestershire sauce
1​	tsp	liquid smoke (exclude if smoked)
	Marinade for 2-3 days, mix/turn a couple times
	Place on dehydrator racks and sprinkle on fresh ground pepper if you like it hot, press it on
	I smoke them lightly for about an hour and then either finish in the smoker, or put them in the dehydrator. I just put my dehydrator racks in the smoker. Note the racks will make other foods "smokey"

 

[Wallow]

I've made a lot of venison jerky over the years 100s and 100s of pounds worth. I make a lot more biltong now, but I'm at about 50/50 jerky/biltong. Biltong is even easier. The meat is 3/4-1" thick so less slicing. I like the different flavor as well.

This jerky recipe is a hit with everyone that eats it, I've made it since I was a kid. I used to make an entire deer into jerky, now its about 1/4 of all my meat is jerky/biltong. It's nothing fancy and the worcester/soy mix is pretty common. My little kids love it, but I don't go to spicy for them. I've tried a bunch of store bought versions and don't really care for them. High Mountain is pretty good, but I exclude the nitrates, otherwise they taste like ham or salami or barf, Oberto "jerky." I mostly use them with ground meat/sticks if use it. I usually just make my own seasoning mix though.

10​	lb	thin sliced meat (can use with ground, meat as well)
3​	Tbsp	Lawry's salt
4​	tsp	garlic powder
4​	tsp	fresh ground pepper (cut back if you like less pepper)
0.25​	cup	brown sugar
4​	tsp	smoked paprika
4​	tsp	onion powder
0.5​	tsp	Tabasco (more if you like it hot)
1​	cup	Low sodium soy
0.5​	cup	Worcestershire sauce
1​	tsp	liquid smoke (exclude if smoked)
	Marinade for 2-3 days, mix/turn a couple times
	Place on dehydrator racks and sprinkle on fresh ground pepper if you like it hot, press it on
	I smoke them lightly for about an hour and then either finish in the smoker, or put them in the dehydrator. I just put my dehydrator racks in the smoker. Note the racks will make other foods "smokey"

That looks like a good recipe. I am not a Tabasco fan so was wondering if I should exclude, cut back or go with the amount the recipe calls for? Also I don't have a smoker so hopefully that isn't the step that makes it really good. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Not homemade, but I really like the Hi-Mountain Hunters Blend. If you don't want the nitrates/nitrites, just don't add the cure.

 

[Bambistew]

That looks like a good recipe. I am not a Tabasco fan so was wondering if I should exclude, cut back or go with the amount the recipe calls for? Also I don't have a smoker so hopefully that isn't the step that makes it really good. Thanks for sharing!

Don't need to smoke it. It does make for a better flavor though. The liquid smoke gets you about a 1/3 of the way there. Exclude the Tabasco if you want, just makes it a little hotter. Its jerky... you can't really mess it up.

 

[Wallow]

Don't need to smoke it. It does make for a better flavor though. The liquid smoke gets you about a 1/3 of the way there. Exclude the Tabasco if you want, just makes it a little hotter. Its jerky... you can't really mess it up.

LOL, not true I just messed up 5 lbs. Thanks!

 

[ZMT588]

LOL, not true I just messed up 5 lbs. Thanks!

Yeah I've botched a few batches. Usually I still find it edible so more for me.

 

[cahunter805]

Wallow
Another tip for you.
After slicing all your jerky meat I like to let it sit for 2 days at least in the refrigerator. After 1 day dump all the blood from the containers and let it bleed out another day and dump it again.
Season/marinate the meat and let it sit at least 24hours if not 48 hours in the refrigerator before starting to dehydrate it.

My personal recipe is very similar to Bambistew excluding the Tabasco. I use crushed red pepper flakes and also omit the liquid smoke.

 

[MThuntr]

I've discovered that my recipes tend to be way too salty (totally my fault since I'm lazy and overuse soy and Worcestershire sauce) so I started buying mixes. So far Cabela's Pepper is amongst the favorites. I'm going to try a new one "prime rib spice".

Frisco Spices had a couple good ones but sadly Frisco is under restructuring and may not recover.

 

[huntin24/7]

Hi Country out of Lincoln Montana sells several different flavors of jerky mix. They are fantastic and if you try them you won't look back. I love them and it's really good stuff. I'm not a Teriyaki fan but I love all the others.

Jerky Seasonings

Original Jerky mix: Really good stuff!

Sweet & Spicy: Excellent also.

Three Pepper: Tried it and really like it.

Smoky Blend: Just another really good mix.

Definitely! We’ve had great luck with hi country jerky mix. Sweet and spicy is my favorite. Smoked another 5# batch of it last night and it won’t last long.

 

[Jmnhunter]

how do you guys know when the jerky is done? I think this is my biggest problem, I tend to over dry it, would love to get the consistency of professional made stuff.
I did just buy a Hi Mountain jerky cutting board to help get consistent thicknesses all around vs eye balling it with my fillet knife

 

[kwyeewyk]

how do you guys know when the jerky is done?

Samples, lots of samples!

 

[Mallardsx2]

Abe's.....Season to your liking.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

how do you guys know when the jerky is done? I think this is my biggest problem, I tend to over dry it, would love to get the consistency of professional made stuff.
I did just buy a Hi Mountain jerky cutting board to help get consistent thicknesses all around vs eye balling it with my fillet knife

This is probably marginally helpful but I try to pull it a little (maybe 10-20 min) before it’s “done”. It dries further as the heat dissipates after it’s pulled from the dehydrator.