MAKING JERKY

After making venison jerky before, I learned that its not very time consuming therefore I began to combine making jerky and sausage together because the meat prep is essentially the same.

The venison meat should be trimmed nicely after the butchering process and ground in a meat grinder. I also mix in a little pork shoulder that I also like to get already ground. If firmer and leaner jerky strips are desired then add less pork but there should be at least 10% pork fat added for better flavor and quality. Vise versa if softer and more fat content desired. It's important to keep in mind that the more pork added the more of the fat will drip during the drying process. Try it out! 

Using the jerky shooter makes the process easier. Filling it takes a minute but its worth it. It come out in a great shape. 

Temperature: settings are preset on the dehydrator for jerky at 160 *F. Usually takes around 5 hrs. May take longer if more pork used in the meat. 

Half way through the process I like to flip the jerky and rotate the trays for better dehydrating. I noticed that the lower trays dry quicker even though the top tray is warmer. If there a lot of fat in liquid form on the meat, I like to pat the meat with a paper towel.