Well, started curing my ground beef jerky for tomorrow. Here's the recipe I used, and will be pics along the way, meaning in the morning.. First, bought some non stick cooling racks, rated to be ok in the oven up to 300 degrees. Cut them down with snips and a saw so they fit perfectly in the MES.

Bought 3 lbs of 90-10 ground beef. Added 4.5 TSP of tender quick to the below recipe to cure. Haven't decided how I'm going to make the jerky (strips or sticks)... It's gonna have some heat though!!


3/4 C Franks Red Hot - I've read that for ground beef, you do not want to add more than 1/4 C per lb of liquid.
3 T Onion Powder
4 T Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
2 T CBP
4 T Garlic Powder
2 T Smitty's
1/4 C of Compact Brown Sugar
4 T of Bovine Bold



Don't have a clue how this will taste, as it's totally a fly by the seat of my pants recipe. Should be interesting!!

Ummm.... Yes, I think they will be a bit on the warm side :whistle: :nana2:

Love me some spicy sticks though. Will most likely go that route! Get to play with my AMPS and me jerky gun tomorrow. FUN! I was thinking about 3-4 hours at 130 to dry them out, then bump to 160 with smoke for the rest of the time. Thoughts?

Oh boy... umm 3 Lbs of meat and 4.5 tablespoons of TQ? Houston, we have a problem...

Oh boy... umm 3 Lbs of meat and 4.5 tablespoons of TQ? Houston, we have a problem...

I'm HOPING that was tsp... TEASpoons...

I'm HOPING that was tsp... TEASpoons...


Looks like it must have been tsp.

Added 4.5 TSP of tender quick to the below recipe to cure.

It was tsp... :)

I used 1 tsp of Smitty's in my last 5lb batch of jerky, it's hot! That gonna be real warm!

Welp, I'm pissed. Took the Weston Jerky gun out of the package and the trigger is faulty. Gotta send it back through Amazon.com. Gonna have to go find another jerky gun today before I can start to make this stuff. SIGH!

Hey Tad... Google "jerky roller" maybe an idea for you...could prolly fab one up with a rolling pin eh?

Or do like the boys and I did before we got a shooter. Roll into balls, flatten between saran wrap and make discs. Works just as well.

I do have a Dicks Sporting Goods about 1.5 miles from my house. Gonna run in there when they open and see if I can't get another gun. I want snack sticks! lol!

I do have a Dicks Sporting Goods about 1.5 miles from my house. Gonna run in there when they open and see if I can't get another gun. I want snack sticks! lol!

Now Damnit!
There I finished your sentence.

Well sheeet... no dice at Dicks or at Bed Bath and Beyond. Gonna be making jerky by hand today. Not originally what I had in mind but oh well!

Oh well. Have you got a stuffer? Use the smallest tube and shoot it out that way. :noidea:

Oh well. Have you got a stuffer? Use the smallest tube and shoot it out that way. :noidea:

No stuffer, just the gun. I rolled it into balls between saran wrap and cut it into strips. Is in the MES now at 160. Gonna get the AMPS in there for about 3 hours of smoke. Pics coming soon. I guess sometimes we have to fight through problems to make stuff happen.

No stuffer, just the gun. I rolled it into balls between saran wrap and cut it into strips. Is in the MES now at 160. Gonna get the AMPS in there for about 3 hours of smoke. Pics coming soon. I guess sometimes we have to fight through problems to make stuff happen.

Lol. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Anxious to see how it comes out. Don't ya hate when you send for something and it gets delivered either broken or defective? :frusty:

The meat, all cured, seasoned and ready to go. Smells fantastic!
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z284/tadowdaddy/Food%202/DSC_0015-1.jpg

A couple of shots of the hand made ground beef jerky on the hand cut racks to fit the MES:
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z284/tadowdaddy/Food%202/DSC_0016-1.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z284/tadowdaddy/Food%202/DSC_0018-1.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z284/tadowdaddy/Food%202/DSC_0017-1.jpg

All loaded up in the MES at 160:
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z284/tadowdaddy/Food%202/DSC_0019-1.jpg

that's gonna be good:drooling: Waiting.....:whistle:

Nice job of improvising. Gotta give you points for perserverence! poi-nts

Looks good for cutting by hand. Had to be a PITA too. Sounds like it'll have some heat to it. Let us know how it turns out.

So 3.5 hours on the smoker, and I pulled it as it's snowing pretty good outside. I have put it in the Nesco dehydrator. It's looking really good, and I did taste a little piece that was quite crispy already.. Phenomonal taste with a bit of heat.

Here's a shot of it before going in the dehydrator:
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z284/tadowdaddy/Food%202/DSC_0015-2.jpg

And a shot of it in the dehydrator. It pretty much filled all 4 shelves:
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z284/tadowdaddy/Food%202/DSC_0016-2.jpg

Looks awesome! Way to stick with it and make it happen.

Looks like it worked out fine eh!

Looks like it worked out fine eh!

It did, but would still rather have snack sticks! lol..

Way to adapt & overcome :thumb: .... Jerky looks great :drooling:

It did, but would still rather have snack sticks! lol..

Why'd ya name the thread about jerky then? :lol:

Win-Win here tho...

Why'd ya name the thread about jerky then? :lol:

Win-Win here tho...

I blame beer and not knowing what I wanted to do! :whistle:

I blame beer and not knowing what I wanted to do! :whistle:

I will be using that in the future :whistle:

Would help to have a stuffer if you want snack sticks!!!:whistle:
Jerky looks good!!

Would help to have a stuffer if you want snack sticks!!!:whistle:
Jerky looks good!!

Agreed, but I could do them without casings if the gun actually worked. It's being sent back to amazon.com tomorrow.

It's done, and boy is it hot but very flavorful. Not bad looking either for having to cut by hand:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z284/tadowdaddy/Food%202/DSC_0015-3.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z284/tadowdaddy/Food%202/DSC_0016-3.jpg


Thanks for looking!!!

Looks really good. I might have to make some of that to try out. I don't have a gun either. How did you get your shape down? Rolling pin with the meat in between layers of plastic wrap? The cut to form? I think my kids would dig this very much. looks tender. Is it?

Looks really good. I might have to make some of that to try out. I don't have a gun either. How did you get your shape down? Rolling pin with the meat in between layers of plastic wrap? The cut to form? I think my kids would dig this very much. looks tender. Is it?

I just rolled it into balls and put in between 2 pieces of saran wrap. Then used a rolling pin and rolled it out as thin as I could get it without tearing it. Took a butter knife and cut it into strips. Worked out really well. It's VERY tender, and I think the ground beef led to this. I'll do it again, that's for sure!

Man that looks great. Way to keep after it. :thumb:

Nice GB jerky.

I find that i like this type more than strip jerky.

looks great!

??? For those with wide openings in their racks, would it work to put the ground strips on parchment paper over your regular racks??

??? For those with wide openings in their racks, would it work to put the ground strips on parchment paper over your regular racks??

Some use the "Skewer" method... skewering several strips the distance of the openinga apart and hanging them down from the racks... for vert smokers. If you have a horiz, you'll need something like a cookie/cake cooling rack, or they make jerky racks you can just set on your grate.

Well, started curing my ground beef jerky for tomorrow. Here's the recipe I used, and will be pics along the way, meaning in the morning.. First, bought some non stick cooling racks, rated to be ok in the oven up to 300 degrees. Cut them down with snips and a saw so they fit perfectly in the MES.

Bought 3 lbs of 90-10 ground beef. Added 4.5 TSP of tender quick to the below recipe to cure. Haven't decided how I'm going to make the jerky (strips or sticks)... It's gonna have some heat though!!


3/4 C Franks Red Hot - I've read that for ground beef, you do not want to add more than 1/4 C per lb of liquid.
3 T Onion Powder
4 T Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
2 T CBP
4 T Garlic Powder
2 T Smitty's
1/4 C of Compact Brown Sugar
4 T of Bovine Bold



Don't have a clue how this will taste, as it's totally a fly by the seat of my pants recipe. Should be interesting!!

Ummm.... Yes, I think they will be a bit on the warm side :whistle: :nana2:

Umm yeah. That's alot of heat lol

Looks really good. I might have to make some of that to try out. I don't have a gun either. How did you get your shape down? Rolling pin with the meat in between layers of plastic wrap? The cut to form? I think my kids would dig this very much. looks tender. Is it?

You more or less did it right. :thumb:

The easiest way is to roll it into a flat sheet on greaseproof paper. Mark it into thin strips with a rule and a pizza cutter.
After about an hour you can remove the paper and flip the jerky sheet.

Once cooked you just cut along the lines with scissors :-)

Pretty sure I posted a thread here somewhere...

Ah ha - found it :-) (http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1210&highlight=ground+jerky)

And here's a similiar thing with a neato gadget gunslinger sent me :-) (http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6901&highlight=ground+jerky)

Go to Lowes or Homepeepot and buy a 1 1/2 x 1/4 lath of pine or oak. Cut to length and screw onto an old cutting board. Put the seasoned GB between the laths and roll flat.

Here is a Bamboo jerky board.
http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab242/nepas1/new/DSC00771-1.jpg

http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab242/nepas1/new/DSC00772.jpg

http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab242/nepas1/new/DSC00773-1.jpg

http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab242/nepas1/new/DSC00774-1.jpg

http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab242/nepas1/new/DSC00775-1.jpg

http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab242/nepas1/new/DSC00776-1.jpg

http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab242/nepas1/new/DSC00781-1.jpg


You get the idea now.

http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab242/nepas1/new/DSC00793-1.jpg

http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab242/nepas1/new/DSC00796-1.jpg

lol very neat - Been thinking about making something like that :thumb:

Nice GB jerky.

I find that i like this type more than strip jerky.

Yea what he said.
I use a pizza cuter unless i want to make dollar jerky. Then i use a cookie cutter.
That sounds delisioushus. Or something like that.
:whistle::lol: