Ian
Notorious member
One of our mechanics got a Red Deer cull and was generous enough to give me half of it. Made steaks out of everything I could and decided to jerk the rest of it. We have one of those really expensive Cabela's food dehydrators that doesn't work worth a crap so I decided to try the oven route per this method: http://www.gundigest.com/survival/stop-looking-best-venison-jerky-recipe
I soaked the strips in brine water for 24 hours to get the blood out, rinsed and drained, coated in nitrate cure/seasoning and put in a bag for another 24 hours in the fridge, then stuck it in the oven with the door cracked at 200°F for about four hours (two hours on each side). Jeff Quinn did a video on a similar method with some beef, his was done in 2-1/2 hours or so but he sliced it very thin. I sliced these about 3/8" thick and that was good enough to be done in four hours, might take five or six if the cuts are thicker but I wouldn't do thicker as after a certain point the moisture just gets trapped in the center of the meat.
Two screw-ups on my part: Brine water was too salty and I should have re-soaked the meat in plain water for a few hours before draining and coating with cure. Other mistake was not using enough seasoning or adding extra pepper...this is just a taste thing, I like lotsa black pepper on my jerky and not much else. Anyway, it's plenty good albeit a bit salty and is super tender, I'll be doing it in the oven like this from now on.
I soaked the strips in brine water for 24 hours to get the blood out, rinsed and drained, coated in nitrate cure/seasoning and put in a bag for another 24 hours in the fridge, then stuck it in the oven with the door cracked at 200°F for about four hours (two hours on each side). Jeff Quinn did a video on a similar method with some beef, his was done in 2-1/2 hours or so but he sliced it very thin. I sliced these about 3/8" thick and that was good enough to be done in four hours, might take five or six if the cuts are thicker but I wouldn't do thicker as after a certain point the moisture just gets trapped in the center of the meat.
Two screw-ups on my part: Brine water was too salty and I should have re-soaked the meat in plain water for a few hours before draining and coating with cure. Other mistake was not using enough seasoning or adding extra pepper...this is just a taste thing, I like lotsa black pepper on my jerky and not much else. Anyway, it's plenty good albeit a bit salty and is super tender, I'll be doing it in the oven like this from now on.