[spork40]

i need some help. i tried the high mountain jerky mix and the duck jerky tastes very salty. i tried strips and ground with the same results. could it be from letting it cure for too long? are the amounts of seasoning in the directions too much? what experience do you have with jerky?

any other good duck jerky recipies?

 

[wyogoob]

How did you weigh the meat?

 

[Nambaster]

I'm not sure about the saltyness but liquid smoke is the magic ingredient for jerky. You can buy a brine at smiths market place for almost nothing and soak your jerky over night and drain it for an hour and then add liquid smoke.

 

[spork40]

i used a scale but had less than a pound so i tried to shorten the recipe

 

[wyogoob]

There are countless methods to make jerky that end with a good product.

Unless I have a boxed cure or a tried and true recipe, here's how I brine (salt cure) meat fish or poultry:
I use the floating egg method.
Pour enough water over the meat to cover it.
Drain that water back into another container.
Put a fresh egg in with the water.
Stir salt and/or cure into the water until the egg floats.

An egg floats at 5% to 6% salinity, just right for cured game, cured hams, smoked turkeys, smoked fish, jerky, etc.
What's cool is that no matter how long you leave it in this solution it won't get any saltier. I use this method with all the sodium nitrate-sodium nitrite based cures from Morton Salt Company and others. It's the only way I brine fish before smoking.

Remember many of those ingredients we add to meat to make jerky have lots of salt: worchestershire, BBQ sauce, some soy sauce, and steak sauce to name a few, so be careful.

Nambaster is right about liquid smoke, it is a magic ingredient, but maybe not as much as sugar. That over-the-counter jerky that we all love so well is jacked-up with sugar and/or dextrose, a sweetener that comes mostly from corn.

Good luck. Float an egg!

 

[Packfish]

No expert - This is a basic one that works well.

Jerky recipe

1 tbs salt
1 tsp onion salt
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp pepper
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup liquid smoke
1/3 cup A-1 sauce
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup maple syrup

3 lbs meat

Make sure all the fat is cut away. Slice meat into ¼ inch thick strips. Combine marinate mix well(I use a hand mixer) Place everything in a gallon plastic bag. Mix together well in the bag. I do this once a day. Marinate for three days in the refrigerator. After three days, take from bag and place on dehydrator trays. Strip off what little moisture that is left with your fingers(there won’t be a lot) Run dehydrator on the high setting for about 5-6 hours. The thinner pieces will be done sooner and will have to be removed.

Store in the refrigerator or freezer in plastic bags(it won’t be there long

 

[JAT83]

mmmm...sounds sooo good right now!