SLICED TERIYAKI VENISON JERKY!

Last fall my brother shot this mature buck during shotgun season. It was a difficult hunting season for many hunters and so this was a end to the season. Along with the nice rack, came many great pounds of lean meat perfect for jerky. 

Over the past 6-7 years, I made jerky only one way, pressed and formed from ground meat. It always turned out well and it was really enjoyed by everyone in the family. This year I wanted to try it the sliced way. 

There are many ways to cut a slab of meat but I like to have uniform and nice cuts so in order to have those an electric slicer is needed. The best way to cut venison meat is when its slightly frozen or not thawed completely. The pieces of meat that were thawed completely were very difficult to cut because they would simply squeeze past the blade and not slice. 

Jerky meat is cut with the grain so that it produces the chewy, stringy consistency people associate with jerky. I tried it both ways, with the grain and against the grain. I have to admit that it really didn't make a different. In fact it was a lot easier to bit into the against the grain meat then the other. 

As with any automatically rotating blade, a little more thinking is involved when going through this procedure because it doesn't take much to slice off a finger. 

Some figuring out had to be done with the meat thickness. The more frozen pieces could be cut thinner for obvious reasons. The recommended thickness is 1/4" to 3/8."

I have been using a great jerky marinade for several years and here is the recipe: 

Teriyaki Jerky Marinade

3 lbs of venison meat

cure*

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 c soy sauce

1/3 c Worcestershire sauce

*if the meat can be eating in a relatively short period of time, less than 2 weeks then no cure is necessary 

liquid smoke can also be added if one desires fake smoke taste

Mix the ingredients in a bowl. Place the meat into plastic ziplock bags and pour the marinade into the bag. Make sure that the marinade coats every piece well by moving the pieces around. Remove access air from the bag and place in the refrigerator over night or until you will be dehydrating. Flipping the bag once or twice will help distribute the marinade throughout. 

Prepare dehydrator the following day. Arrange the meat on each rack to fit the maximum amount but don't let the pieces touch because those areas will not dry well. 

Set the temperature to the meat setting. After the first 2 hrs, its best to rotate the racks so that the meat dry equally. Bring the bottom rack to the top and rotating the rest ensure equal drying time. During the rotation process I check a couple pieces to see how well the meat is dehydrating.  

Checking the meat every 30-60 minutes towards the end of the process is important to ensure that the meat is not raw nor too brittle like jerky chips. A good method of checking is folding a piece in half and looking at the bend portion. Raw meat will be easily seen. 

It took 5 hours for total dehydrating time. I can proudly say that this is the best jerky I have ever made. There were also great reviews from the kids, wife, and siblings. 

Store jerky in paper bags after it cooled down really well. Place in a plastic bag if you will eat it all in 2-3 days and desire to maintain moisture of the meat.