Who makes their own beef jerky (or dried anything)?

[Feisters]

I've been drying beef for about two years. It's much better than anything I've been able to find on the market. My friends and family must agree, because it's quickly eaten.

 

[Rich]

I also make my own jerky. It wayyyyyy cheaper than store bought. I just buy rump roast when it's on sale for $1.29 a lb. I get 6 or 7 of tham and go crazy.

Rich

 

[Viper GTS]

I make freeze dried compost. I call it "InstaStool."

Just add water, shake, & serve.

Viper GTS

 

[Ultima200]

Hmmm Viper there could be a market for that. Would make flaming sh|t much easier

 

[prodigy]

Making your own is much better than that sh*t they call "slim jim" who knows what they put in there. :disgust:

 

[Overclocked]

How about some users tell us how you make your Beef Jerky

 

[zogar]

my grandfather makes real good jerky.
when i was in nigeria, they have jerky made from camel, red peppers, and peanuts, its very good.

 

[Ultima200]

I love jerky....i HATE slim jims!! Next time u have one, rip off a piece, and squieze, u will notice orange goo.

 

[Windogg]

<< Making your own is much better than that sh*t they call &quot;slim jim&quot; who knows what they put in there. >>

I read about how they make Slim Jims in the New York Time Sunday Magazine once and haven't eaten one since.

Windogg

 

[geno]

MMMMmmm, Orange goo...

 

[Dedpuhl]

i want to get one of those food dehydrators I see Ron Popeil selling on TV....

 

[Feisters]

Overclocked asked for recipes, so here's mine:
Feister's Beef Jerky

 

[prodigy]

Sounds good Feisters.

 

[atom]

Mmmm, nothing like homemade beef jerky. It isn't hard as hell like store bought stuff.

My parents used to have a dehydrator before it broke and I used to dry everything in that thing, just for the heck of it. Most turned out good (bannana, apple) but some were less than spectacular (honeydew, oranges, almost any citrus). My favorites were dried pinapple and mango.

 

[Feisters]

I haven't checked out drying fruit yet. The directions for my dehydrator does say to avoid drying citrus fruits. Bananas and apricots though should be pretty good!

 

[Zucchini]

I don't know squat about this stuff Are you drying raw or cooked meat?

 

[qacwac]

I just bought a dehydrator from SportsMansGuide. So far all I have done is apples, bananas, turkey, and figs.

The apples were great and I could eat them like candy.
The turkey was pretty good. I just pulled it if off the turkey we had for Thanksgiving and stuck it in.
The figs were okay. Figs aren't my favorite though.
Teh bananas weren't any good. I love babana chips but I think the ones I bought were too ripe and ripened even more during the dehydrtion process. I'll have to find out how to do them.

Any tricks for bananas would be greatly apppreciated.

 

[atom]

For bananas, you need to sprinkle sugar on them if you want them as sweet as the store bought kind. Without sugar, they are kinda bland. I usually picked bananas that were ripe, but still had green at the ends. It never really ends up like the store bought kind though, at least I've never gotten it to. Homemade banana chips were a lot more chewy.