When a jerky is cooked, dried, and ready to eat, there are certain crucial sensory cues. Utilizing the five senses and a little common sense is the key.
Technically speaking, beef jerky is “done” when it has been dried to a water activity of less than 0 and cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 160°F. 85.
Needle-thin probes and water activity meters can detect and measure these benchmarks with extreme accuracy in a commercial jerky factory. We have professional equipment in our beef jerky factory, as well as more than 90 years and four generations of experience, to determine when a batch of jerky has reached these particular parameters.
To know when jerky is cooked, dried, and ready to eat, a home jerky maker must rely on smell, taste, and visual cues. To enjoy jerky at its best, it’s crucial to understand when it’s finished.
Beef Jerky Bend Test
The bend test is an excellent method for determining how dry your beef jerky is.
Having dehydrated the ground beef for the advised period of time—roughly 3 to 5 hours at 165°—
A constant temperature of 140 to 145 degrees is advised because some dehydrators do not heat up to 165 degrees.
You should take the jerky out of the dehydrator once it has finished dehydrating so that it can cool to room temperature.
The jerky strip should now be slightly bent and slightly cracked, but not too far apart.
Best Temperature for Dehydrating Ground Beef Jerky
To begin with, you should always pre-heat your dehydrator or oven to 160° for 15 to 30 minutes in order to kill any bacteria.
For the remaining dehydrating time, which can range from 5 to 10 hours depending on the quantity and thickness of your ground beef jerky strips, the temperature can be adjusted to 130° to 140°.
Simple Ground Beef Jerky Recipe
- 1 lb Ground beef or venison, lean
- 1/2 tsp Garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion powder
- 1 tsp Liquid smoke
- 1/2 cup Soy sauce
- 1 tsp Sea salt
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, cover, and chill for at least a few hours.
It wasn’t too strong because I mixed it at night and let it sit until after lunch the next day.
Fill the jerky gun with the mixture, then use it to fill the dehydrator trays. I do advise using fruit leather trays or mesh inserts for your dehydrator.
Due to the liquid that has been added, this mixture is fairly soft, making it easier to fire through the gun.
If you don’t have a jerky gun, roll out the mixture very thinly (about an eighth of an inch thick) and score the mixture along the lines where you want the pieces to separate.
Jerky should be dried for 4 to 12 hours at 145° to 165° F (63° to 74° C), until it is firm but still malleable and has no pockets of moisture. Heat-finished jerky in a 275° F (135° C) oven for 10 minutes to increase safety.
How to Use a Beef Jerky Gun
When making jerky from ground jerky, the beef jerky gun could be a great tool.
It functions somewhat similarly to a chaulking gun, but the ground beef in the tube is delicious and well-seasoned instead of chaulk.
Step 1: Fill the gun’s barrel with ground beef.
Step 2: Pull the trigger to release neat, flat strips of beef from the beef jerky gun.
Step 3 – Done
How to Make Ground Beef Jerky without a Jerky Gun
Ok, so you don’t have a ground beef jerky gun. Okay, here’s how to make beef jerky without using a gun.
Step 1: Form a ball out of a handful of ground beef.
Step 2: Gradually create a rope stripe with this ball.
Step 3: Flatten this rope-shaped strip of ground beef to a thickness of 1-2 cm.
Step 4 – Done.
When ls Jerky Done-Ronco Dehydrator
FAQ
How do you know if beef jerky is done?
The jerky should bend but not break. The “bend test” is the most crucial factor in determining whether jerky is finished. Bend the same test piece in half to check its flexibility while handling it (ideally at or near room temperature). The jerky ought to flex, then eventually snap, but not break off.
Is my beef jerky undercooked?
When jerky bends easily, it’s probably been overcooked and has lost too much moisture, making for a chewy, unpleasant product. The jerky may be undercooked and may have a higher risk of bacterial growth if it is too soft and doesn’t hold its shape when bent, on the other hand.
How long does ground jerky take to dehydrate?
Dehydrate beef jerky for approximately 3 1/2 to 5 hours on the highest setting, or until it reaches 160°F and has dried.
How long to let ground beef jerky cure for?
The suggested curing time is 24 hours for stripped meat and 12 hours for ground meat, so how long did you let it cure? It will become too salty if you let it sit for too long to cure. If done properly, you can reduce the cure by 1/2 teaspoon for every pound of meat.