Help me come up with a Paleo Jerky recipe please.

[Keoni]

So my wife and I have been on a Paleo Diet for a few months now and have been doing great on it. One of the things we used to eat a lot of was beef and turkey jerky but due to the amount of unnatural and other non-paleo ingredients we can't buy most jerky.

I recently purchased a Nesco FD-75 to make our own paleo snacks (dried fruit has added sugars which isn't paleo) and the first thing my wife wants me to make is beef jerky. I bought some flank steaks to use for this but I decided I wanted something more tasty than a salt and pepper jerky. I can't use sugar but honey is ok and no soy products as well as nothing unnatural.

Do you guys think this is possible and if so what are your suggestions? Mahalo!

[BBQ Engineer]

Don't know what Paleo is...or why good spiced meat wouldn't work for it.

My jerky uses beef, and is cured with spices and wine...no soy, in fact, I don't use the ugly brown teriyaki or soy salt bomb marinade anymore. It is absolutely possible. MMMMmmmmm Jerky!

[Fishawn]

So my wife and I have been on a Paleo Diet for a few months now and have been doing great on it. One of the things we used to eat a lot of was beef and turkey jerky but due to the amount of unnatural and other non-paleo ingredients we can't buy most jerky.

I recently purchased a Nesco FD-75 to make our own paleo snacks (dried fruit has added sugars which isn't paleo) and the first thing my wife wants me to make is beef jerky. I bought some flank steaks to use for this but I decided I wanted something more tasty than a salt and pepper jerky. I can't use sugar but honey is ok and no soy products as well as nothing unnatural.

Do you guys think this is possible and if so what are your suggestions? Mahalo!

IMO Yes..... Correct amount of cure first for safety purposes. With the correct cure, you will get the proper cure in the meat making it safe, without the use of soy sauce that so many recipes call for. From that point, any seasoning or additions that fit into your Paleo lifestyle should work IMO.....

Be doing more thinking on this..... There are A LOT of great jerky makers on here that will be chiming in soon...

Honey should work for sweetening I would think, or maybe honey powder? How about Agave, pineapple or other fruit juices? I dunno if it fits your plan or not? Just thinking oot loud ...... Jalapeno juice or dried/granulated? Red pepper flakes?

What other spices, seasonings can you use that you guys like?

Lots of helpful and knowledgable folks here, any questions, just ask

[SMOKE FREAK]

Maybe if you could explain what it takes to be paleo...

[Fishawn]

Craiger, and others..... Heres some info.... Prolly some different versions of it, but maybe this is a 101

The Paleo Diet is based upon everyday, modern foods that mimic the food groups of our pre-agricultural, hunter-gatherer ancestors. The following seven fundamental characteristics of hunter-gatherer diets will help to optimize your health, minimize your risk of chronic disease, and lose weight.
Higher protein intake – Protein comprises 15 % of the calories in the average western diet, which is considerably lower than the average values of 19-35 % found in hunter-gatherer diets. Meat, seafood, and other animal products represent the staple foods of modern day Paleo diets.
Lower carbohydrate intake and lower glycemic index – Non-starchy fresh fruits and vegetables represent the main carbohydrate source and will provide for 35-45 % of your daily calories. Almost all of these foods have low glycemic indices that are slowly digested and absorbed, and won’t spike blood sugar levels.
Higher fiber intake – Dietary fiber is essential for good health, and despite what we’re told, whole grains aren’t the place to find it. Non-starchy vegetables contain eight times more fiber than whole grains and 31 times more than refined grains. Even fruits contain twice as much fiber as whole grains and seven times more than refined grains.
Moderate to higher fat intake dominated by monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats with balanced Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats – It is not the total amount of fat in your diet that raises your blood cholesterol levels and increases your risk for heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes, but rather the type of fat. Cut the trans fats and the Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats in your diet and increase the healthful monounsaturated and Omega-3 fats that were the mainstays of Stone Age diets. Recent large population studies known as meta analyses show that saturated fats have little or no adverse effects upon cardiovascular disease risk.
Higher potassium and lower sodium intake – Unprocessed, fresh foods naturally contain 5 to 10 times more potassium than sodium, and Stone Age bodies were adapted to this ratio. Potassium is necessary for the heart, kidneys, and other organs to work properly. Low potassium is associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke – the same problems linked to excessive dietary sodium. Today, the average American consumes about twice as much sodium as potassium.
Net dietary alkaline load that balances dietary acid – After digestion, all foods present either a net acid or alkaline load to the kidneys. Acid producers are meats, fish, grains, legumes, cheese, and salt. Alkaline-yielding foods are fruits and veggies. A lifetime of excessive dietary acid may promote bone and muscle loss, high blood pressure, and increased risk for kidney stones, and may aggravate asthma and exercise-induced asthma.
Higher intake of, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and plant phytochemicals – Whole grains are not a good substitute for grass produced or free ranging meats, fruits, and veggies, as they contain no vitamin C, vitamin A, or vitamin B12. Many of the minerals and some of the B vitamins whole grains do contain are not well absorbed by the body.

[Keoni]

Maybe if you could explain what it takes to be paleo...

Sorry about that. I was posting from my phone and didn't want to get into the whole what is paleo.

http://thepaleodiet.com/what-to-eat-on-the-paleo-diet/

As said earlier it's a simple diet that consists of eating natural things that "cavemen" would have eaten or had access to it and also cutting out sugars and grains. I lost 45 lbs. in a couple of months without exercise and I feel great, not to many diets tell you to eat all the meat you want lol.

[Richtee]

I often use honey in jerky instead of sugar. Works very well. Jap juice is a tasty addition for sure.

I guess what worries me is the cure. You can find sea/natural salts pretty high in nitrates, but I have never been a fan of their typically unknown "strength" and use a derived Cure #1.

[curious aardvark]

Sorry about that. I was posting from my phone and didn't want to get into the whole what is paleo.

http://thepaleodiet.com/what-to-eat-on-the-paleo-diet/

As said earlier it's a simple diet that consists of eating natural things that "cavemen" would have eaten or had access to it and also cutting out sugars and grains. I lost 45 lbs. in a couple of months without exercise and I feel great, not to many diets tell you to eat all the meat you want lol.

okay - first up.
Our ancestors had access to naturally growing plants - which would have included some grains, as well as tubers rich in sugar and lots of fruit.

Secondly the list of what you can and can't eat on that website contradicts itself in a few places.

Eat seeds and nuts but not natural grains. Well news flash grains are seeds.

Don't eat legumes ? Really ?
Given that peas and root legumes like peanuts would have been a much sought after part of the gatherer side of things.

No salt - seriously ?
Salt was one of our ancestors most valuable possessions, it occured both in natural formation and was easily made by coastal people's. It's also essential to your body and you don't receive enough from red meat. Not unless you're using the blood as well as the flesh of animals.

Plus it's essential for food preservation and was used for that way back into pre-history.


You can use a little fructose without any issues. And small amounts of wholemeal flour as well. All primitive societies had one or another type of flatbread.

In fact primitive societies process and eat quite a lot of starchy products.

It's a mistake to think hunter gatherers only ate meat and honey and a few veggies. Honey was rare and dangerous to garher. Things like sugar beet and sugar cane would have been part of a diet if they were available.
The modern paleo diet has a tendency to ignore - to a certain extent - the gatherer part of hunter gatherer.
About 80% of a hunter gatherers diet came from the gatherer part.
Anyway that said, I'm going to go back a few years and open up a rather large can of worms

You don't need to cure jerky. Cut it thin, make sure there's alcohol or vinegar in the marinade (both things our ancestors had) - use plenty seasalt and honey and a dehydrator set at 140-150f and there is zero health and bacterial issue.

Traditional jerky was simply thinly sliced meat, rubbed with salt and possibly a few locally picked herbs and dried over a small smoky fire. The smoke as much to keep insects at bay as to flavour the meat. It also cured the jerky to a certain extent.

There are a lot of things I wouldn't leave the cure out of - anything with ground meat for example or any long term charcuterie project. But jerky and biltong don't actually NEED it added
In fact I've never added it to biltong. But usually add it to jerky.

One of the things you might want to have ago at is pemmican.

If I were making it for human consumption, I'd use less fat, just enough to bind it together, and press it into compact cakes while the fat set. But it's a complete food that's been around for thousands of years.
It worked great for dream and I'd eat it in a pinch.

Knock it down to a half ounce suet to 1.5 ounces dried meat and 1.5 ounces dried fruit and you've got yourself a full on paleolithic candy bar

[Keoni]

okay - first up.
Our ancestors had access to naturally growing plants - which would have included some grains, as well as tubers rich in sugar and lots of fruit.

Secondly the list of what you can and can't eat on that website contradicts itself in a few places.

Eat seeds and nuts but not natural grains. Well news flash grains are seeds.

Don't eat legumes ? Really ?
Given that peas and root legumes like peanuts would have been a much sought after part of the gatherer side of things.

No salt - seriously ?
Salt was one of our ancestors most valuable possessions, it occured both in natural formation and was easily made by coastal people's. It's also essential to your body and you don't receive enough from red meat. Not unless you're using the blood as well as the flesh of animals.

Plus it's essential for food preservation and was used for that way back into pre-history.


You can use a little fructose without any issues. And small amounts of wholemeal flour as well. All primitive societies had one or another type of flatbread.

In fact primitive societies process and eat quite a lot of starchy products.

It's a mistake to think hunter gatherers only ate meat and honey and a few veggies. Honey was rare and dangerous to garher. Things like sugar beet and sugar cane would have been part of a diet if they were available.
The modern paleo diet has a tendency to ignore - to a certain extent - the gatherer part of hunter gatherer.
About 80% of a hunter gatherers diet came from the gatherer part.
Anyway that said, I'm going to go back a few years and open up a rather large can of worms

You don't need to cure jerky. Cut it thin, make sure there's alcohol or vinegar in the marinade (both things our ancestors had) - use plenty seasalt and honey and a dehydrator set at 140-150f and there is zero health and bacterial issue.

Traditional jerky was simply thinly sliced meat, rubbed with salt and possibly a few locally picked herbs and dried over a small smoky fire. The smoke as much to keep insects at bay as to flavour the meat. It also cured the jerky to a certain extent.

There are a lot of things I wouldn't leave the cure out of - anything with ground meat for example or any long term charcuterie project. But jerky and biltong don't actually NEED it added
In fact I've never added it to biltong. But usually add it to jerky.

One of the things you might want to have ago at is pemmican.

If I were making it for human consumption, I'd use less fat, just enough to bind it together, and press it into compact cakes while the fat set. But it's a complete food that's been around for thousands of years.
It worked great for dream and I'd eat it in a pinch.

Knock it down to a half ounce suet to 1.5 ounces dried meat and 1.5 ounces dried fruit and you've got yourself a full on paleolithic candy bar

Thanks for the advice on the cure or lack thereof. Ancient Hawaiians used a lot of sea salt to preserve things like fish so salt isn't an issue in my mind. That link I posted isn't a very good resource regarding the paleo diet but it was high on the search list so I just grabbed a link. The paleo diet is much more intricate and the reasons behind some of the things they say are from modern findings of health benefits as well as archeological findings that stretch back hundreds of thousands of years and not just hundreds of years for instance when it comes to legumes they have bad effects on the human body unless soaked in water for 24 hours before being cooked and the same with peanuts and depending on location they wouldn't have had peanuts. Grains have a nutrient absorbing effect (whole grains) and just turn into sugars in your body which turn into fat and cause other health problems. Sugars need to be processed which ancient man wouldn't have known about but modern paleo diets use things like coconut sugar but I omit sugar completely unless it's in the fruits I eat (in moderation). The paleo diet is mostly about veggies with meat and some fruits and tree nuts, it works great but it scares people who think the modern conventional human diet is proper (hint: the government food pyramid/plate is the same stuff they say to feed farm animals to make them fat).

I think I'll try a salty apple juice and vinegar marinade to keep it as natural as possible.

[Richtee]

I think I'll try a salty apple juice and vinegar marinade to keep it as natural as possible.

I guess I would also keep temps up here... if you can get the Aw (water activity) down in a couple hours... 3 even... that would make me feel better...

[Keoni]

I guess I would also keep temps up here... if you can get the Aw (water activity) down in a couple hours... 3 even... that would make me feel better...

What do you mean by water activity (sorry new to this all)?

[greg e]

Every version of the paleo diet can be adjusted. I also eat paleo, but unlike some, still like my dairy. Just use cure #1 and season it with anything else that fits in your diet. Make it with venison and you've got paleo on steroids.

[Keoni]

Every version of the paleo diet can be adjusted. I also eat paleo, but unlike some, still like my dairy. Just use cure #1 and season it with anything else that fits in your diet. Make it with venison and you've got paleo on steroids.

Exactly, that's the awesome part of the paleo diet but unlike you I am lactose sensitive nowadays and my kids don't care for it much when I start stinking up the place lol.

[Richtee]

What do you mean by water activity (sorry new to this all)?

Basically...get it below a certain moisture content in as short a time as you can...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_activity