Well here it goes. First jerky smoke.

[DDave]

Same chemical, same process - all that's different is where the chemical comes from.

Okay, I did a little searching into this and here is what I found.

From Rich's post:
"The pink ring is created when NO2 is absorbed into the moist meat surface and reacts to form nitrous acid. The nitrous acid then diffuses inward creating a pink ring via the classic meat curing reaction of sodium nitrite."

From http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Nitrous_acid:
"Nitrous acid (molecular formula HNO2) is a weak acid known only in solution and in the form of nitrite salts."

From http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Nitrite
"In inorganic chemistry, a nitrite is a salt of nitrous acid."

Unless I am misunderstanding this relationship, it appears that CA has a valid point. But then, I am not a chemist nor an authority on meat curing.

For the record, I will continue to use cure and will recommend it to anyone who asks, because I think that the cure is a pretty cheap insurance against or worse.

Where are ya, Rich? We need you to weigh in on this.

Dave

[Darrin]

Well I have 2 big bags of Tender Quick so might as well use it. Does it change the flavor of jerky much? Is there a reason not to put it in?

[DDave]

Well I have 2 big bags of Tender Quick so might as well use it. Does it change the flavor of jerky much? Is there a reason not to put it in?

That is a good question. I will be purchasing some of my own here pretty soon. Want to try Rich's marinade (with cure ) instead of the Hi Mountain dry cure.

Not to but if it typically takes a regular cure like Tenderquick 24 hours to do it's thing, then how can the nitrous acid in the smoke do it in only 3 or 4 hours???? And if it is being done in an electric smoker as Darrin is doing, or a gasser, neither of which typically produce a smoke ring as intense as a charcoal or stick burner, how much nitrous acid is actually created??

I think just saying you don't need to cure it if you smoke it without giving more details such as temp and time is somwehat misleading. And I also think that saying you don't need to cure it because you never have and you've never gotten sick is also misleading if you don't also state how you store it or how quickly you eat it. I know for me, the longest it has stayed in the house is 3 days. Although I am trying to solve my capacity issue so maybe the next batch will last a bit longer.

Just my two cents worth.

Dave

[Darrin]

Well almost 8 hours and it's still drying out. Still a little soft though.

[Fishawn]

Looks great, personally I pull mine of the MES at the point of being "a little bit soft".

[DaveNH]

Darrin the jerky looks really good. Something I want to try also so keeping my eyes glued to your post .

I'm also very interested in what CA is saying, does smoke alone cure it? One of the things keeping me from jerky is the sodium. So I'd like to hear Richtee's take on this one too

Oh ya..points for the cool jerky smoke

[Texas-Hunter]

Looks like your running a bit longer than you should.. You may want to bump it up from 110*.. maybe take it to 125* Pull when its leathery..

[Darrin]

Pulled it of at about 8.5 hours.



My daughter loves it, but had a little difficult time tearing bites off, so I took our heavy duty kitchen scissors and cut hers into bite sized pieces. After popping a couple of those in my mouth and seeing how convenient it was to eat that way I decided to cut it all up into bite sized pieces. Before cutting each piece I used a paper towel to get any rendered fat off of them. Turned out very good.

[Texas-Hunter]

For your first test drive on jerky... I give you..points


It really does look good... The next batch I would take your temps up a bit, so you can cut down on your smoke time.. and like a few others have said.. Cut against the grain

[DaveNH]

Nice Darrin...man you got me wanting to try this bad .

[Gunslinger]

Looks great, personally I pull mine of the MES at the point of being "a little bit soft".

I do too. And that's the main reason I cure.
I noticed that the word "cooked" kept coming up. 110° is in no way shape or form, cooking. And it's not an "American" thing. It's a speed and convenience thing. We're busy on this side of the world.
This cure argument is getting ridiculous. Cure if you want and don't if you don't. Good grief!
I'm not like the rest of you guys, that fire up your smokers on a moments notice. When I fire mine up it's a big smoke. 100 lbs of jerky, or 125 lbs of snack sticks, like I did this weekend. I raise my own beef and pork and kill a ton of deer, so it's available. I cure because no matter how hard they try, the kids can't polish off that much in a day or 2. I've had jerky sitting on the counter for months in a mason jar with nothing more than a lid sitting on top.
You guys that use TQ, I think it makes it too salty. Prague #1 has very little effect on saltiness because it takes very little to do the job. It also enhances the flavor of meat.
The fact is, if you buy jerky, it's cured. If it's good enough for Jack Links, it's good enough for me.
My thinking is we need to stop looking at all the BS on the net, and look at what the USDA says. That's what our tax dollars pay for, take advantage of it.

[Gunslinger]

Your jerky looks great!!!!

[DDave]

My thinking is we need to stop looking at all the BS on the net, and look at what the USDA says. That's what our tax dollars pay for, take advantage of it.

Well said. points

And, good looking jerky, Darrin. points

Dave

[Slanted88]

Finished product looks good to me!

[BigRedQ]

Darrin,


All said and done. your jerky looks excellent. points for being patient, for opening yourself up, and well Hell for doing such a nice job on yer beef. WTG