Recipe: Dry Cured / Brined Jerky (2024)

FAQs

How much salt do you put in jerky brine? ›

Make a brine solution by dissolving 3/4 cup salt, 1/ cup sugar, and tablespoons ground black pepper in one gallon of water. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar.

The ideal time to marinate jerky is 16 hours, but an acceptable range is 8 to 24 hours. This time frame allows the marinade to saturate the outside of the meat and the salt to penetrate beyond the surface, seasoning the entire piece of meat.

Too much cure will make the jerky salty. How long did you let it cure for? Recommended curing time is 24 hours for stripped meat and 12 hours for ground meat. Letting it cure too long will make it too salty as well.

It's up to you whether you'll go with brine (wet) or a rub (dry). Brine should be mixed in a non-metallic container or resealable bag. Simply lay the meat strips in the brine. If you're going the rub route, mix the seasonings and spices together.

Make sure to check the usage instructions on your specific cure, but as a general rule of thumb, standard usage is 1 teaspoon of cure for 5 pounds of meat. The primary ingredient of curing salt, sodium nitrate, is surprisingly controversial.

There are two types of curing salts and different uses for each type. Curing salts are concentrated and intended to be used in minute quantities, about 1 oz./30 g per 1 Lb./450 g. per 25 lb./11.25 kg. of meat.

Give It Time

The worst thing you can possibly do is try to rush a dry-brining project. If you try to cook a steak that you've salted before the moisture on the surface has dried, you're going to end up steaming the surface of the meat initially, preventing good browning from happening.

Remember, we are not aging but dry brining. Since there is salt, the steak will dry and become closer to jerky if left for too long. I learned this the hard way. I like to dry brine my 1-½ inch steak for about 3 days.

But it's important to be aware that if you leave the pork chops in the brine for too long, you likely won't end up with the best results. The brine can start to break down the meat, resulting in a texture that's overly-salty and mushy.

I'm making jerky right now. I have 2 bags with just over 2.5 lbs each. I used a heaping 1/2 teaspoon for each batch. About 1/4 tsp per pound..

What is the best cure for beef jerky? ›

We recommend using Cure #1 2% which is a special mix we have designed specifically for shorter curing processes such as jerky. You can also use this cure when making semi-dried sausages like kransky and chorizo. You need about 3g of cure per kilo of meat and leave to cure for about 24 hours.

The Standard Range. The majority of dehydrators will recommend a temperature range of 160°F to 165°F (70°C to 74°C) for beef jerky. This range ensures not only the thorough drying of the meat but also addresses the primary safety concern: eliminating harmful bacteria.

Dry brining draws moisture from the interior of the meat to the surface; wet brining does that and causes the meat to absorb some of the surrounding liquid. I've done one or the other for at least 30 years. Both are very effective.

Yes! You can choose to use a seasoning blend, make your own, or salt-then-season. Just remember to omit salt from the seasonings you are using after you pre-salt or dry brine. If you choose to add seasoning when you dry brine, start with the salt on your food.

How to Dry Brine Meat. General dry brining technique calls for 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound of meat, plus whatever other (dried) herbs and spices you so choose. It's important to use kosher salt as it's significantly less salty than table salt.

Using curing salt when making jerky is not essential, however it does have a lot of great benefits. Using curing salt correctly helps to reduce the chance of harmful bacteria growing on meat and ensures a safer curing process. It also improves flavour, colour and extends the shelf life.

Though beef jerky is a nutritious snack, it should be consumed in moderation. It's very high in sodium, with a 1-ounce (28-gram) serving providing roughly 22% of your daily sodium allowance, which is set at 2,300 mg per day ( 5 ).

1 lb. of venison (or any meat type) 2 teaspoons of salt.