User Guide

9
Drying Jerky
Homemade jerky is a flavorful dried meat product that is especially popular with outdoor sports enthusiasts because it is light and easy
to transport. Jerky can be made from almost any lean meat, including beef, pork, or venison
‡
. Whenever handling meat, basic food safety
precautions need to be observed:
• Wash hands thoroughly before and after handling raw meat.
• Keep meat refrigerated or frozen until ready to use.
• Raw meat and its juice should be kept away from other foods. Wash cutting boards, utensils, counters, etc. with hot, soapy water
after contact with raw meat. After washing, sanitize with a solution of 1 tablespoon chlorine bleach per gallon of water. Allow the
surface to air dry.
• Marinate meat under refrigeration. Discard marinade after meat is removed.
• Keep raw meat and dried jerky separate.
CAUTION! The United States Department of Agriculture recommends that meat be precooked prior to dehydrating or cooked after
dehydrating to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
Preparing Jerky from Meat Strips
Select lean meats such as beef and venison sirloin, rump, and round cuts and pork loin and ham cuts. Trim meat of visible fat, connective
tissue, and gristle. Freeze meat until firm, but not solid, to make slicing easier. Slice meat into strips that are ¼ inch thick, 1 inch wide,
and 5 to 6 inches long. Slice meat across the grain for a more tender jerky or with the grain for a chewier jerky.
Flavor the meat slices by marinating in Presto
™
Jerky Seasoning, your own favorite marinade, a commercial marinade, or use the mari-
nade recipe on page 10. To use the Presto
™
Jerky Seasoning, mix one packet of spice and one packet of cure with ¼ cup of water. Place
marinade and meat strips in a resealable plastic storage bag. Seal bag and shake to thoroughly coat the meat strips. Refrigerate for 8 to
12 hours. Turn bag often to evenly coat the meat strips.
Refer to the CAUTION! note above about cooking meat before or after dehydrating. For a more desirable texture, cook meat after dehy-
dration. Meat that is precooked prior to dehydrating will have shorter drying times; however, the end product will have a dry, crumbly
texture. If cooking the meat before dehydrating is preferred, follow the instructions below:
Cooking meat before dehydrating—After marinating meat strips, place meat strips and liquid marinade into a shallow pan. If no
liquid remains, add enough water to cover meat strips. Bring liquid to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.
Remove meat strips from marinade and place strips in a colander. Shake colander to remove excess marinade. Then position strips on
dehydrator trays. Arrange strips close together but not overlapping. Meat strips should not be placed over the center hole or allowed to
drape over the sides of the trays. CAUTION! Pouring liquid or marinade over jerky when positioned on the drying racks can damage the
dehydrator.
Dry jerky at 160°F [71°C] for 4 to 8 hours. See “Determining Dryness” information below. If you did not cook the meat prior to dehy-
drating, cook it after, following the instructions below:
Cooking meat after dehydrating—Preheat oven until the internal temperature is 275°F [135°C]. (For an accurate temperature read-
ing, check with an oven thermometer.) Remove jerky strips from dehydrator trays and place on a baking sheet close together, but
not touching. Heat jerky in preheated oven for 10 minutes (jerky strips should be sizzling when removed from the oven). Remove
jerky from baking sheet and cool to room temperature.
Preparing Jerky from Ground Meat
Use one packet of Presto
™
Jerky Seasoning Mix and combine entire contents of one packet each of jerky spice and cure with 1 pound
ground meat that is about 93% lean. Mix until meat and seasoning are blended. Place the ground meat mixture in a Presto
™
Jerky Gun* or
a cookie press and extrude meat directly onto dehydrator trays, making sure that the meat does not touch or overlap. Dry jerky at 160°F
[71°C] for 4 to 8 hours. See “Determining Dryness” information below. Cook the meat after dehydrating, following the instructions above.
Determining Dryness
Begin checking jerky after about 4 hours and every 30 minutes thereafter. Drying time will depend on a variety of factors. These fac-
tors include the type of meat, the amount of fat in the meat, and whether or not you precooked the meat before dehydrating. In addition,
times will vary depending on size/thickness of the pieces and how full the trays are. Jerky that is acceptably dry will crack when bent
but will not break.
‡ Venison or wild game meat that has been contaminated with entrails should not be used for making jerky.
* Presto
™
Jerky Gun sold separately (see page 12).