Venison jerky question

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Venison jerky question

Post by Blackriver » Sat Jan 14, 2012 20:37

I am going to make some venison jerky. I am looking at the recipe on page 522 in the book "Home Production of quality meats and sausages". I am going to try this method of boiling the strips first in the marinade then tranfer them into the dehydrator. The question I have is why does the recipe not include the use of cure #1?
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Re: Venison jerky question

Post by Keymaster » Sat Jan 14, 2012 23:02

Blackriver wrote:I am going to make some venison jerky. I am looking at the recipe on page 522 in the book "Home Production of quality meats and sausages". I am going to try this method of boiling the strips first in the marinade then tranfer them into the dehydrator. The question I have is why does the recipe not include the use of cure #1?
By boiling the meat you are basically cooking it and taking it past the 160° F needed to kill the bugs that could make you sick. The salt in the soy sauce will further protect it while in the dehydrator. Just my opinion as I'm still learning.
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Post by ssorllih » Sat Jan 14, 2012 23:14

Further it is exposed to the air and dry so it won't support C.Botulinium.
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Post by Chuckwagon » Sun Jan 15, 2012 01:02

Modern Rules For Commercially-Made Jerky

Hi Scott, in October 2003, in New Mexico, there was an outbreak of Salmonella that was traced to jerky production in one of the small plants. In response to this outbreak, the Food Safety and Inspection Service initiated a series of policy changes and guidelines. Jerky is usually made from beef and the cooking guidelines for beef products should be observed. Your question is essentially, "Why is drying meat, without first heating it to 160°; F. (72° C), a food safety concern?" The danger looms when an appliance will not heat the meat to 160° F - "a temperature at which bacteria are destroyed" according to the USDA - before it dries. After drying, bacteria become much more heat resistant. Within a dehydrator or low-temperature oven, evaporating moisture absorbs most of the heat. Consequently, the meat itself does not begin to rise in temperature until most of the moisture has evaporated. Then, when the dried meat temperature finally begins to rise, the bacteria have become more heat resistant and are more likely to survive. If these bacteria are pathogenic, they can cause food borne illness to those consuming the jerky. What the FSIS has concluded is that it is not enough to follow the time-temperature guidelines, but to also include the humidity factor in the cooking process. It is now necessary to maintain the relative humidity of the oven at 90% or above for at least 25% of the cooking time and no less than one hour. This ruling has started a heated and ongoing debate between the FSIS and small jerky manufacturers who claim that maintaining such high humidity in a smokehouse is difficult and may force them out of business. Another argument is that the humidity requirement changes the quality of jerky. Due to today`s microbiological concerns, particularly E.coli 0157:H7, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes, commercially made jerky must now be exposed to thermal processing. A hobbyist is not bound by those rules but we believe it is beneficial to know about the latest safety requirements for making jerky products.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has divided jerky into specific categories:

1. Jerky - The product is produced from a single piece of meat. The product can also be labeled as "Natural Style Jerky" provided that the product name is accompanied by the explanatory statement "made from solid pieces of meat."
2. Jerky Chunked and Formed - The product is produced from chunks that are molded and formed. and then cut into strips.
3. Jerky Ground and Formed or Chopped and Formed. The meat is ground, molded, pressed, and cut into strips.

It should also be noted that pork and wild game (bear, venison) meat is at risk of being infested with trichinae and should be either cooked or accordingly treated. Commercially made jerky is monitored by inspectors of the U.S. Department of Agriculture`s Food Safety and Inspection Service. Home made jerky, often made from venison, is often made in a hazardous way. Dried meat will keep for many years if kept at low humidity because bacteria will not grow under such conditions. That does not mean that all bacteria are dead. E.coli was found in dried but uncooked jerky that has been stored at room temperature for more than a year.

Scott, the answer to your question is although curing salt (Cure#1) is not required in the manufacture of homemade jerky, it is recommended that it be used. Curing salt offers advantages as it...
1. Stabilizes and improves the color of meat.
2. Contributes to the characteristic flavor of cured meat.
3. Inhibits growth of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria.
4. Slows down development of rancidity of fat.

The new method of making jerky: 1. From a single piece of meat
The USDA current recommendation for making jerky safely is to heat meat to 160° F (72° C) before the dehydrating process. This step assures that any bacteria present will be destroyed by wet heat. Most dehydrator instructions do not include this step, and a dehydrator may not reach temperatures high enough to heat meat to 160° F. After heating to 160° F, maintaining a constant dehydrator temperature of 130°; to 140°; F (54 - 60° C) during the drying process is important because: the process must be hot enough to dry food before it spoils; and it must remove enough water that microorganisms are unable to grow.
The University of Wisconsin has concluded that the following temperatures are effective at killing E.coli 0157:H7 in jerky. These folks recommend that a dehydrator temperature of 145° F (63° C) or higher be used.

Drying Temp. Min. Drying Time:
125° F (52° C) 10 hours
135° F (57° C) 8 hours
145° F (63° C) 7 hours
155° F (68° C) 4 hours

Remember, the leaner the meat, the better the jerky. Either fresh or frozen meat can be used. Meat should be trimmed of fat and connective tissue. Partially frozen meat is easier to cut into 1/4" strips, 6" long x 1" wide. Home produced jerky made of sliced meat pieces is usually marinated overnight. Make about 1/2 cup (120 ml) of marinade for each pound of meat. Drain the slices and pat them dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the meat with freshly-ground black pepper and other spices you like.

Basic jerky marinade: (For 5 lbs. of meat)

1 level tspn. Prague Powder Sodium Nitrite Cure #1
1 tspn. salt
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. powdered garlic
1 Tbs. black pepper
1 Tbs. liquid smoke (unless you are going to use real smoke!)

This amount of marinade is enough for 5 lbs. of meat. Did you know that commercially made jerky is not marinated but mixed with salt, nitrite and spices inside a vacuum tumbler before it is dried? If you wish to cook the meat to 160° F (72° C) as recommended by FSIS., simply bring the marinade with strips of jerky to a boil. If you do not have enough marinade to do this, add more water.

Another solution is to make a special brine just for that purpose. Bring half of the brine to a boil. Insert the meat pieces, bring the brine to a boil and cook it for 2 minutes. Remove the strips and let them dry. Change the brine for the second half of meat and repeat the process.

Begin the dehydrating process immediately after cooking. Dry the meat at 130-140° F (54-60° C) until a test strip cracks but does not break when it is bent. Jerky can be dried in the sun, oven, smokehouse, or a dehydrator.

Real smoke just won`t adhere to wet meat. For this reason, jerky is always dried before being smoked. If you are going to smoke very thin meat strips with heavy smoke, don`t do it for too long. If the smudge is heavy and the strips are thin, more than 60 minutes might create a bitter flavor. Keep in mind that sausage meat is encased with casings, which acts as a barrier to smoke penetration. The casings contain millions of tiny holes that let the smoke in. Thin jerky cuts have no protective barrier and accept smoke rapidly. If the smoking temperature is maintained between 130-140° F (54-60° C), there is no difference between smoking and drying and it might be considered one process. Allow it to cool and then place it in a paper bag. For longer storage, seal it in a vacuum sealer.

The New Method Of Making Restructured Jerky: 2. From ground meat

Grind the lean meat through 1/4" (6 mm) plate. Add all ingredients to meat and mix them together. Adding Cure #1 is a good idea, as it inhibits the growth of pathogenic bacteria. Develop the "primary bind".You want the sausage mass to feel sticky, exactly like it would appear during the sausage-making process. You may add some water to facilitate the mixing and spice distribution. Cover the meat and leave it overnight in a refrigerator.

Press the meat into flat strips using grinder attachments for making jerky or jerky gun. Place the ground meat strips on a cookie sheet. Preheat your oven to 325° F (162° C). (Boiling it might break it apart) Cooking it in an oven or in a smokehouse is the preferred method. Heat to 160° F (72° C) internal meat temperature.

Begin dehydrating immediately after cooking. Dry it at 130-140° F (54-60° C). Place the strips close together, but not touching. Jerky is done when a test strip cracks but does not break when it is bent. (about 8-10 hours).

Apply smoke. If the smoking temperature is maintained between 130-140° F (54-60° C), there is no difference between smoking and drying, and it might be considered one process. Allow it to cool and then place it in a paper bag. If it loses moisture too rapidly, place it in a jar with several holes punched in the lid. Place it in the refrigerator. For longer storage, use a vacuum sealer.
If you make jerky from wild game, be sure to pre-cook it to 165° F (74° C). Game meats, especially bears, are often infected with trichinae and other parasites. If the meat will not be cooked, it should be frozen according to the USDA rules. Deeply freezing meat takes care of trichinae but will not eliminate bacteria from the meat.

Be safe folks. If you use a recipe from the internet, be aware that the majority of recipes you`ll find there, do not even mention the fact that jerky should be pre-cooked in order to be microbiologically safe. Some of us will refuse to accept this fact and will never cook jerky. If you are one of the old-school, hardliners, please note the following precautions to increase the safety of your product:
Ingredients that inhibit the growth of bacteria include salt, soy sauce, sodium nitrite, and acidic liquids such as vinegar, lemon juice, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and teriyaki sauce. Jerky strips heated in marinade will dry faster. Slice meat with the grain for chewy jerky. Slice meat across the grain for a more tender, brittle jerky. Be careful when applying liquid smoke as too much may make your product bitter. Worcestershire sauce is often added to jerky marinade. It takes about 4 lbs. of fresh meat to make 1 lb. of dry jerky. Salt prevents the growth of bacteria and helps to draw the moisture out of the meat.

Other good home-manufacturing practices may include using at least 2.5% salt, using sodium nitrite (Cure #1), dry-curing meat for jerky, and adding acidic ingredients to your marinade If brine is used. Don`t cut strips thicker than 1/4" (the thinner the strips are, the quicker they will dry). People who wish to decrease the amount of salt or use salt substitutes, should pre-cook jerky.

Real smoke just will not adhere to wet meat. For this reason, jerky is always dried before being smoked. If the smudge is heavy and the strips are thin, smoking more than 60 minutes might create a bitter flavor. Commercially produced and vacuum-packed jerky can be stored for only one year. Homemade jerky should be refrigerated and should be consumed within 1-2 months as its flavor will deteriorate in time.

Many folks will continue making jerky without precooking meat, the way they have always done it. Whether you follow them or make jerky in accordance with the USDA regulations is up to you... although I strongly believe that safety is the most important step of any meat processing operation.



Robber`s Roost Rawhide
(Traditional -Whole Strip Jerky)

10 lbs. lean beef or venison
2 tspns. Cure #1
1-1/2 tspns. paprika
1 tspn. cayenne
1 tblspn. onion powder
1 tblspn. garlic powder
1 tblspn. kosher salt
3 tblspns. black pepper (cracked)
1/2 cup Worcestershire
1-1/2 cups soy sauce

Meat is much easier to slice when it is nearly frozen. As fat in jerky eventually becomes rancid, use the leanest cuts available and trim all fat and sinew away. Top and bottom rounds are ideal for making jerky. Cut meat along (with) the grain for chewy texture in strips 1/4" thick and wide as you prefer. Our outfit likes 2" wide strips and in the past, we have not heated the meat. With the new guidelines in place, we now follow the procedures outlined above. The strips are place into the marinade and refrigerated (covered) 24 hours, overhauling them after 12 hours. The meat is patted dry and the strips are placed onto drying screens in a ventilated curing room at 90°F. (32°C.). The strips are covered with cheesecloth. Jerky may also be cured inside a slightly heated smoker at the same temperature. Most electric range ovens are not capable of sustaining the lower heat required to merely dry (rather than cook) the meat. On the other hand, the pilot light inside a gas oven may be just right for supporting the desired lower temperature.


"Saddle Strings"
(Restructured Jerky Using A Jerky Cannon)

Comminuted (ground) meat is often pressed into a form or passed through a die to produce restructured jerky (also called formed jerky). Many people, especially denture wearers, prefer its texture. Over the past few years, restructured jerky has become increasingly popular and home hobbyists may now order a "jerky gun" or a larger "jerky cannon" to extrude meat through a plastic die screwed onto the end of a tube. Side-by-side dies, for any geared vertical sausage stuffer, may be ordered through sausage supply companies, making the process even more quick and simple. Extruded meat is placed onto drying screens in "rounds" or "flats", and many people are simply extruding store-bought, extra-lean hamburger through their jerky guns for the lazy man`s ultimate convenience. We recommend using your own comminuted top or bottom round cuts, having all fat trimmed away. Initially, the meat is prepared by cutting it into one-inch chunks then marinating them in your favorite marinade 12 hours. The meat is allowed to drip dry half an hour before being ground using a 1/4`" plate to produce a finer, leaner, grind for the primary bind. Mixing the meat into a sticky "meat paste" ensures proper binding and texture. If you subscribe to the new USDA-FSIS rules regarding cooking, you`ll have to bake the comminuted meat rather than boil it. This may be done inside your kitchen range oven or inside your smokehouse as a little hickory smoke is introduced. Always begin the dehydrating process immediately following the cooking step.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
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Post by checkerfred » Sun Apr 08, 2012 05:21

Regarding the trichinachae in venison, doesn't freezing it for a certain length of time kill it? The Rytek book suggests 30 days for 5 degrees F.

Would mixing the strips with dry spices, then vacuum sealing replicate the vacuum tumbler method for marinating?
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Post by Chuckwagon » Sun Apr 08, 2012 06:10

Hi Checkerfred, See this link for information on how to destroy trichinella spiralis and the FSIS regulations. http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=4808
You asked:
Would mixing the strips with dry spices, then vacuum sealing replicate the vacuum tumbler method for marinating?
A more thorough method would be to make a "wet" mixture of spices, allow the meat to marinate in it twenty minutes, then use your vacuum sealer to pull some of the moisture into the cells. It would work but this method could get to be expensive after a while. :shock:
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by checkerfred » Tue Apr 10, 2012 02:52

Yes! That's the page I read in the Rytek sausage book.......so just to clarify, if my freezer is at 5 deg F and my deer is cut into roasts (6" to 27") I would need to freeze for at least 30 days? is that correct?
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Post by Chuckwagon » Tue Apr 10, 2012 07:21

That is correct Checkerfred. Those are the FSIS specs. The extra ten days are because of the thicker cuts (between 6" and 27").

You would be appalled if you knew just how many people believe that simple freezing will destroy trichinella spiralis. Actually, the majority of people believe it, and that frightens me. :shock: I often think of the folks who shoot javelinas and think simply freezing the carcass will take care of trichinella spiralis. It absolutely will not! In fact, The Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, at Massachusetts General Hospital has concluded that "Smoking, salting, or drying meat are not reliable methods of killing the organism that causes this infection". Further, "Only freezing at subzero temperatures (Fahrenheit) for 3 to 4 weeks will kill the organism".
If folks ever gazed into a microscope and saw the round nematode worm embedded far into human muscle tissue, they would surely think twice about proper sub-zero temperatures. However, most people do not have the means of freezing meat at these cryogenic temperatures - thus, they take the chance.

Trichinella cysts break open in the intestines and grow into adult roundworms whenever a person eats meat from an infected animal. These roundworms produce other worms that move through the stomach wall and into the bloodstream. From here, the organisms tend to invade muscle tissues, including the heart and diaphragm, lungs and brain. At this point, trichinosis becomes most painful.

But we can get rid of it right? Wrong! :shock: Mebendazole or albendazole may be used to treat infections in the intestines, although once the larvae have invaded the muscles, there is no specific treatment for trichinosis and the cysts remain viable for years. Although the FSIS has done much to eradicate the disease by enforcing modified laws, especially after the mid 1970`s, There yet remain about 40 cases of trichinosis each year in the U.S. alone. Complications of the disease include encephalitis, heart arrhythmias, myocarditis, (inflammation), and complete heart failure. Pneumonia is also a common complication.

So freeze the snot out of those ugly little microorganisms called the trichinella spiralis nematode worm. Do it by following the FSIS rules listed in my previous post. Let's get the statistics down to zero cases per year!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
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Post by ssorllih » Tue Apr 10, 2012 12:48

I wonder how much liquid nitrogen it would take to do the job. If minus 5 is good would minus 105 be better?
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Post by Chuckwagon » Wed Apr 11, 2012 07:51

I used it for twenty years in a metallurgical application for the rapid cryogenic quenching of knife steel transforming: pearlite - austenite - martensite. Applied to meat, it surely is quick, it surely is crogenic, but it surely is expensive! I found that it dries meat excessively upon thawing. Granted, it would destroy the organism instantly but perhaps it is a bit of "overkill" eh? :lol:
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Post by el Ducko » Thu Apr 12, 2012 15:50

Thanks, guys. I'm going to forward that information to my daughter and her boyfriend, who recently were given some venison by a friend.

...very useful reminder, indeed.
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Post by ssorllih » Thu Apr 12, 2012 16:35

Do the animal from which we can get trichinella also suffer from trichinosis?
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Post by Chuckwagon » Fri Apr 13, 2012 00:51

Absolutely. It is a painful septicity once the unsegmented nematoda parasite embeds itself into muscles tissue. The cylindrical worms have a simple structure, with a long hollow gut separated from the body wall by a fluid-filled space. Most nematodes live in enormous numbers in water, soil, plants, and animals. I`m sure you are familiar with other microorganisms of the same phylum, namely pinworm, roundworm, filaria, and hookworm... all disease-causing parasites.

The problem prior to the mid '70's, was that hog farmers would slaughter the sick animals, use or sell the meat, then feed the entrails back to his remaining stock - starting the cycle all over again. When the FSIS rules went into effect, the vast majority of domestic hog farmers stopped the practice by choosing to voluntarily adhere to the federal rules. The government (USDA) published material to educate the small pig farmer. Some, however, continue the practice to this day. It is indeed a practice of wide contrast. In England, for instance, the problem of tricinella spiralis developing trichinosis is almost non-existent, while across the globe in Thailand, the disease plagues the population. The cure lies in the education of the producer as well as the consumer.

Great question Ross. Let's just continue to educate those who believe simple freezing will eradicate the microorganism. Perhaps one day, all pork and wild game will be consumed without fear of contracting a very painful disease.

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Chuckwagon
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Post by Chuckwagon » Fri Apr 13, 2012 01:47

Wanna see some spooky stuff in a single drop of water? Click on this link:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... water.html
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Post by Marty » Thu Jul 26, 2012 06:51

All this talk of tricinella spiralis really makes me want to rush out to my deep freeze and grab the venison rumps I've had sitting there for the last 4-5 months and get jerky making!

And on that topic - I don't have a dehydrator. Is it ok to use my small benchtop oven (Yes I have two ovens, the big main one and a little benchtop one!) on fan forced at the lowest temp possible which is 60°C (140°F) for around 8 hours? And after that can I give it a quick cold smoke for smokey smokey goodness?
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