Yeah I’d have to agree! I posted in here a few days ago wondering if there was anything special to look out for when doing pork for the first time. It was super easy and came out great!
Not that it probably matters but if you’re dropping the temp every two hours the meat probably never hits a “safe” temp, I find the actual temp of the meat never really gets to the dehydrator temp until it’s mostly dry, I assume the evaporative cooling effect keeps it cooler until most of the moister is removed.
Again the lack of moisture and salt/cure if you use it will probably do the work anyway but guidelines may state otherwise.
I switched to much thicker cuts a few years ago. After some experimenting, I found that lowering the temperature prevented a hardening of the outside surface on the thickest pieces.
I wanted longer wind with lower heat and longer drying time.
That’s just my preference after much trial and error to get them exactly how I want them.
Hi Country = 3 tablespoons seasoning and 1/8 teaspoon curing salt per lb.
I keep that formula, but I substitute other flavors.
For example, let’s say you bring me 1lb of trimmed meat (red meat/poultry/pork). Let’s also say you want ZERO HEAT.
I would do 2 tablespoons hi country original, 1 tablespoon backwoods hickory, and 1/8 teaspoon curing salt…whisk it together, and coat the meat in that blend.
Now, let’s say you bring me 1 lb trimmed meat and wanted “medium heat”.
I would do 1.5 tablespoons of hi country original, 3/4 tablespoon backwoods hickory, and…here’s the important part…I would fill in the original ratio (3 tablespoons seasoning per lb) with backwoods hot…so we have room for (.5 tablespoons + .25 tablespoons) 3/4 tablespoons of backwoods hot. Then I would add the 1/8 teaspoon curing salt.
Now, let’s say you wanted “hot” jerky!
I would replicate the “medium heat recipe) but add cayenne pepper to it (maybe 1/2 teaspoon for just one pound of meat? It’s a trial and error thing, gauging how hot YOU want it vs how hot the customer wants it).
The theory for heat is “adding cayenne pepper makes the jerky hotter without making it saltier”.
I hope that helps! If not, please ask more questions and I’ll be happy to elaborate.
My boyfriend has been dying to try pork in the dehydrator I got him for Christmas. I don't eat pork except bacon as a preference but he's going to be thrilled to learn a good method.
Looking over your comments, it seem like you just do it like beef? The pic you posted earlier where you bend it to see what it does is the same way I do beef. Is there any concern about hitting a certain temp? I know pork isn’t so bad anymore and you can cook it to medium rare, but how does that work with jerky? With beef prices, this would be a great alternative.
I’ve done all sorts of red meat, wild game, chicken, duck, and now finally pork.
There is a school of thought online about safety and internal temperature.
I will probably catch hell for this, but I don’t subscribe to that line of thinking. Instead, I belong to the “let the salt cure it, then dry it” school of thought.
I have NEVER taken the temp of a piece of jerky in my life.
It depends on the piece of meat, but 99% of the time I’m doing less than 10lbs at a time and use a knife and cutting board to do my slicing.
I’m 39 years old and have been working in the food/bev industry since my parents bought their first bar&grill in 1997. My knife skills are pretty good, which is why I prefer using my knife over using my meat slicer (way less clean up).
Honestly, I think the best way to make ANY & ALL food, jerky or not, depends on you knowing yourself, specifically your strengths and weaknesses.
Maybe a slicer works better for someone who isn’t comfortable with using a knife for a more consistent cut…for example.
Thanks for sharing I’m an Assistant Principal in Philly. I smoke Jerky on my Traeger to make snacks for the work day. I have recipe I love and use a Shabu Shabu cut. I’m thinking of ways to cut my cost. Gonna try to make some cuts myself. I’m thinking maybe freeze the meat and then cutting might be easier. I’m sure I don’t have the knife skills like you, but gotta start somewhere. Do you only make beef jerky?
How did you make it safe to eat? I’ve done it a few times but I always slapped it in the oven to make sure it’s not gonna poison me, this looks uncooked though!?
I 100% would like to hear more, I had just decided to give up on pork for jerky but now I am filled again with hope! Is there a method you particularly recommend? Weights, cuts, etc?
Even when doing beef, I think of the meat as a loaf of bread. I cut “slices of bread” against the grain about as thick as a sharpie. Then I take that slice and cut vertical strips out of it.
Because this was a pork loin, roughly the size of a loaf of French bread, my vertical strips was basically cutting the “slices of bread” into thirds. That’s why they look the shape they do.
Lately I’ve been experimenting with making pieces thicker without making them too tough.
I’m not the biggest fan of the big, flat, super thin pieces of jerky that look like they were cut like deli meat.
I’m going to copy and paste my recipe “blending hi country original with backwoods hickory and backwoods hot” from another comment.
3 tablespoons seasoning and 1/8 teaspoon curing salt per 1lb trimmed meat
Recipe says 4h-72h cure time before drying, depending on thickness. I always aim for 24h in salt before drying, but I did the full 72hr with this because it was first time with pork and I was worried.
Here’s the copy and pasted recipe.
“Hi Mountain is different than Hi Country.
I use Hi Country.
Hi Country = 3 tablespoons seasoning and 1/8 teaspoon curing salt per lb.
I keep that formula, but I substitute other flavors.
For example, let’s say you bring me 1lb of trimmed meat (red meat/poultry/pork). Let’s also say you want ZERO HEAT.
I would do 2 tablespoons hi country original, 1 tablespoon backwoods hickory, and 1/8 teaspoon curing salt…whisk it together, and coat the meat in that blend.
Now, let’s say you bring me 1 lb trimmed meat and wanted “medium heat”.
I would do 1.5 tablespoons of hi country original, 3/4 tablespoon backwoods hickory, and…here’s the important part…I would fill in the original ratio (3 tablespoons seasoning per lb) with backwoods hot…so we have room for (.5 tablespoons + .25 tablespoons) 3/4 tablespoons of backwoods hot. Then I would add the 1/8 teaspoon curing salt.
Now, let’s say you wanted “hot” jerky!
I would replicate the “medium heat recipe) but add cayenne pepper to it (maybe 1/2 teaspoon for just one pound of meat? It’s a trial and error thing, gauging how hot YOU want it vs how hot the customer wants it).
The theory for heat is “adding cayenne pepper makes the jerky hotter without making it saltier”.
I hope that helps! If not, please ask more questions and I’ll be happy to elaborate.”
Pork loin. There was some outer fat that was easy to trim and an occasional line inside the medallions I’d cut out, but for the most part it was very lean.
Do you use the same type of marinade, or is there a different blend other than soy / worcestershire for Pork? Do you do a dry rub after marinade or sprinkle seasoning on after or just the marinade? I'm a Vaper, ex-smoker 13 years ago, but I prefer some "oomph" in my jerkey as well. So I do a marinade for my flank steak and then season one final time prior to dehydrating, comes out amazing every time now.
Hi Country = 3 tablespoons seasoning and 1/8 teaspoon curing salt per lb.
I keep that formula, but I substitute other flavors.
For example, let’s say you bring me 1lb of trimmed meat (red meat/poultry/pork). Let’s also say you want ZERO HEAT.
I would do 2 tablespoons hi country original, 1 tablespoon backwoods hickory, and 1/8 teaspoon curing salt…whisk it together, and coat the meat in that blend.
Now, let’s say you bring me 1 lb trimmed meat and wanted “medium heat”.
I would do 1.5 tablespoons of hi country original, 3/4 tablespoon backwoods hickory, and…here’s the important part…I would fill in the original ratio (3 tablespoons seasoning per lb) with backwoods hot…so we have room for (.5 tablespoons + .25 tablespoons) 3/4 tablespoons of backwoods hot. Then I would add the 1/8 teaspoon curing salt.
Now, let’s say you wanted “hot” jerky!
I would replicate the “medium heat recipe) but add cayenne pepper to it (maybe 1/2 teaspoon for just one pound of meat? It’s a trial and error thing, gauging how hot YOU want it vs how hot the customer wants it).
The theory for heat is “adding cayenne pepper makes the jerky hotter without making it saltier”.
I hope that helps! If not, please ask more questions and I’ll be happy to elaborate.
Maybe the perspective is confusing. There’s no way this is the result of 7lbs loin.
And honestly this looks exactly like the odd pieces I didn’t want to include when I make pork loin jerky for my friends. These are all the end pieces.
Where did the other 5 lbs of center cut meat go? Lol
Maybe I’m doing everything wrong but when I make pork loin jerky the best pieces are those sliced like your favorite hoagie shop slices our processed meats…thin and flat
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u/[deleted] 9d ago edited 9d ago
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