Anyways, Does anyone know where to get some cheap beef jerky? I have been scouring the net and have come up with 2lb specials for 29 dollars. Thats like 90 cents a pound.
Just seeing if anyone knows of a better deal.
I do know of a better deal. Do you live near a farm? Do you have access to a hammer, a sharpish knife, and a midget?
On my quest to jerky enlightenment I have found some invaluable information that I thought I would share.
Apparently a lot of people are making beef jerky using ground beef being shot out of high powered plunger guns of death! Sounds blasphemous to me. Here is the link.
Also a good dehydrator.
Now I have heard tell of people buying meat and spices and whatnot for about 30 bucks and making 5 lbs of jerky. That is like 2.6 ounces per dollar compared to the normal going rate of around a dollar an ounce.
That is with actual round or flank steak. Use cheap chuck and this gun and you might be able to make more jerky than you can shake a stick at.
I think i am going to try it.
[quote]Chickenmcnug wrote:
On my quest to jerky enlightenment I have found some invaluable information that I thought I would share.
Apparently a lot of people are making beef jerky using ground beef being shot out of high powered plunger guns of death! Sounds blasphemous to me. Here is the link.
Also a good dehydrator.
Now I have heard tell of people buying meat and spices and whatnot for about 30 bucks and making 5 lbs of jerky. That is like 2.6 ounces per dollar compared to the normal going rate of around a dollar an ounce.
That is with actual round or flank steak. Use cheap chuck and this gun and you might be able to make more jerky than you can shake a stick at.
I think i am going to try it.[/quote]
Thanks for the info!
I was thinking about making my own, but never knew how.
[quote]Chickenmcnug wrote:
Anyways, Does anyone know where to get some cheap beef jerky? I have been scouring the net and have come up with 2lb specials for 29 dollars. Thats like 90 cents a pound.
Just seeing if anyone knows of a better deal. [/quote]
Care to post any of these sites? And is the taste at least OK?
Excuse my ignorance on the subject, but does the dehydrator cook the meat, or make it edible without cooking it some how?
Yeah man, you can make jerky at home. Even if you don’t have a plunger dehydration gun of death. All it takes is cooking at a low temperature. Get some patio steaks or similar cheap beef, cut it into strips and season it, and cook it in the oven overnight at a really low temperature.
I want to say last time I did it I used something like 160-170 F, and left it for ten hours or so. I remember it wasn’t quite dried all the way through because the strips were too thick so it took a longer time to cook. Do a search on the internet and you’ll find plenty of info and recipes. Definitely beats the store prices and you can use your own seasoning.
I get mine at Costco. 18-20 oz. for about $10.
LJ
I was watching a programme on Bushcraft the other week and these guys were making traditional jerky. They caught and cut a beaver into strips, seasoned it, then just dried it out in the sun. No cooking involved at all. They would then use that jerky for the whole winter.
(Cue Beaver and Bushcraft jokes)
http://images.t-nation.com/forum_images/./1/.1128955077837.beaver_owned.jpg
[quote]Joe Daley wrote:
I was watching a programme on Bushcraft the other week and these guys were making traditional jerky. They caught and cut a beaver into strips, seasoned it, then just dried it out in the sun. No cooking involved at all. They would then use that jerky for the whole winter.
(Cue Beaver and Bushcraft jokes)[/quote]
If anybody here watches good eats, there is a great way to cheaply make beef jerky at home. Search on the food network website for more details.
Jerky is basically made by drying out of the meat (bacteria then dies). It is a similar idea to salting meats. Cooking the meat (using heat to create convection) lowers the shelf life considerably of jerky. Grilling, etc, is significantly different than making jerky.
Alton Brown suggests a large home fan and air conditioning filters. The cold air rushing past the meat dries it out within 8 to 12 hours. The meat will keep until world war 3. Alton uses flank steak in his recipe, and gives a good arguement in the show.
I have made the plunger stuff before. It’s actually not bad. My husband loves it and so far he hasn’t gotten sick on it. 
I am a semi beef jerky guru. Actually my mom came up with the idea, we have one of the cheap ronco things. Make sure you get some liquid smoke and wochester sauce a little soy sauce and some brown sugar. Mix it up, you don’t need very much liquid smoke, maybe a teaspoon or two for a whole batch. You could throw some other stuff in too, maybe a little oil & vinegar or italian dressing. Marinate this stuff over night and then you will have the best jerky ever.
I have never tried the meat gun, but it looks like it could work great. I’m not sure if I should marinate the whole thing of ground beef first or make it into strips then do it. Will try an report back.
V
[quote]LittleJohn wrote:
I get mine at Costco. 18-20 oz. for about $10.
LJ[/quote]
Me too, me too!
When I found websites with the 2lb specials I didn’t think to write then down after I found out how cheap it is to make beef jerky yourself. I do know, however, that you can get very good deals on ebay too.
Considering how easy it is to make the stuff with the advent of the jerky gun, and pre packaged spices. I believe this is a great idea.
Here is a website that tells how to make Beef jerky. It has instructions, marinade ideas, and even sells cheap prepackaged jerky spices that can marinade up to 12 pounds of meat.
Check it out:
http://www.leeners.com/jerkyrecipes.html
Littlejohn, I used to get 2 large bags of pemmican(i think) at Costco for 10 bucks. That is a great deal. Its too bad the membership fee got to be too much for the amount I used it:(
Anyone tried this with success?
Tips?
[quote]SWR-1222D wrote:
Excuse my ignorance on the subject, but does the dehydrator cook the meat, or make it edible without cooking it some how?
[/quote]
When you make jerky yourself, there is no cooking involved when using a food dehydrator. The marinade that you use must have a high enough salt content such that the meat is cured. Letting beef sit in soy sauce does the job.
I have made my own jerky many times using the ronco dehydrator. It turns out pretty well once you get the timing down - and its damn good to boot. Its cheaper than buying it packaged, and if your anal like me, you can throw in some splenda instead of brown sugar or maple syrup which some marinade recipes call for.
My family has a meat slicer like you’d find in a grocery store. (yard sale pick up) It’s great for slicing beef nice and thin for jerky.
[quote]LittleJohn wrote:
I get mine at Costco. 18-20 oz. for about $10.
LJ[/quote]
Walmart also has it as the same price. Menards carries beef jerky at a decent price. It used to be just as low as Wal-Mart, but its gone up $2/8oz. in the past year or so.