Water needed? 5lb meat
-
GalvanAP Yes, what product you are making is key here. Id say a different amount for Jerky than I would for Snack Sticks and different than Brats or Breakfast sausage. If you are talking about using a marinade then we need to know you are injecting or letting it sit in a solution.
-
GalvanAP I’d add your cure and seasoning to just enough water to cover your Eye of the Round then. If you are using a big bowl and it is going to require more than 1 qt of water to fully cover your meat then I would say you should add more seasoning, but not more cure. For a 5 lb eye I would imagine you would not need more than a qt though. Putting your meat in a bag is a good way to use less water as it only has to fill the bag and not the entire container.
-
GalvanAP I exclusively use eye of round for my jerky and generally use 1 cup of water or vegetable glycerine per 5 lbs… I will massage the ingredients in a bowl for a few minutes to incorporate and then seal in a plastic bag and refrigerate. Every few hours (or any time I walk through the kitchen) I will flip the bag prior to smoking/dehydrating. I’m looking for just enough liquid to coat everything well but not leave much liquid in the bag after removing the meat.
-
thanks for the reply. With only that much water, how would I ensure all 5lbs get marinated? I do not have one of the marinate machines, so I either use bags or containers.
GalvanAP i like to vacuum seal it just enough so the liquid doesnt get into the vacuum chamber by stopping the vacuum and going right to seal. The meat will absorb the seasoning better then just putting in a ziplock bag but if your putting the whole eye in i suggest injecting as well. Typically i grind meat and form with jerky shooter but now that i got new smoker been trying whole muscle
-
GalvanAP i like to vacuum seal it just enough so the liquid doesnt get into the vacuum chamber by stopping the vacuum and going right to seal. The meat will absorb the seasoning better then just putting in a ziplock bag but if your putting the whole eye in i suggest injecting as well. Typically i grind meat and form with jerky shooter but now that i got new smoker been trying whole muscle
twilliams On my last run I did about 15 lbs using Eye of Round and bypassed the smoker entirely. I used the racks from my Westin 80L Pro and a sheet pan to heat the meat to 160 in the oven quickly (350 for 10 minutes) and then went straight to the dehydrator until I was happy with the moisture content. I cut down my processing time by at least 6 hours and ended up with a better product. Using this method was a game changer!
Better Living Through BBQ!
-
twilliams On my last run I did about 15 lbs using Eye of Round and bypassed the smoker entirely. I used the racks from my Westin 80L Pro and a sheet pan to heat the meat to 160 in the oven quickly (350 for 10 minutes) and then went straight to the dehydrator until I was happy with the moisture content. I cut down my processing time by at least 6 hours and ended up with a better product. Using this method was a game changer!
Joe Hell i will have to try it, thanks for sharing
-
GalvanAP So, you are making jerky? I don’t know why I didnt really pick up on that…I am slow today. Qt would be too much then but everything else I said still holds true in my opinion. Just enough water to cover the meat. Also, what Joe Hell says about the Glycerin is true, we did a few batches here with Glycerine and it worked out really really well, added sweetness without the sugar and it helps keep the jerky nice and moist while still maybe being shelf stable.
-
Thanks for all the information.
Because of this page I was introduced to the Vacuum Express Tumbler, which I intend to purchase. From what I took from the videos I viewed, I would just need to add the spice, water or glycerin, and the meat to the drum and sit back and wait? Also, I remember seeing the post or review on the Glycerin but cannot locate it now. Would the added amount be the same as if it were water?
-
Thanks for all the information.
Because of this page I was introduced to the Vacuum Express Tumbler, which I intend to purchase. From what I took from the videos I viewed, I would just need to add the spice, water or glycerin, and the meat to the drum and sit back and wait? Also, I remember seeing the post or review on the Glycerin but cannot locate it now. Would the added amount be the same as if it were water?
GalvanAP I use the same amount of glycerine that I would normally use for water. 8 oz. per 5 lbs… It only adds a slight sweetness to the product so depending on the spice mix it may vary in perceived ‘sweetness’. My theory on the water addition is that the least amount of liquid left over in the bag is a good thing and ensures the maximum amount of flavor in the meat.
I recently started using a tumbler to better incorporate my spices. I have been adding the spices to the meat in a bowl and distributing as evenly as possible before adding it to the tumbler. I add any liquid I might be using before sealing and tumble for one hour. Depending on how much I’m making that day I will then transfer to sealed bags or simply put the tumbler drum in the fridge.
-
GalvanAP Here is one of the posts about it with a TON of information/experiences https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/1047/soft-beef-jerky-without-sugar/
and here is pretty much just Joes https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/1203/soft-beef-jerky-with-glycerine-and
-
GalvanAP I use the same amount of glycerine that I would normally use for water. 8 oz. per 5 lbs… It only adds a slight sweetness to the product so depending on the spice mix it may vary in perceived ‘sweetness’. My theory on the water addition is that the least amount of liquid left over in the bag is a good thing and ensures the maximum amount of flavor in the meat.
I recently started using a tumbler to better incorporate my spices. I have been adding the spices to the meat in a bowl and distributing as evenly as possible before adding it to the tumbler. I add any liquid I might be using before sealing and tumble for one hour. Depending on how much I’m making that day I will then transfer to sealed bags or simply put the tumbler drum in the fridge.
-
-
Previous process:
sliced eye of round 1/4"combine spices and Allegro marinate for 24 hrs
(would submerge meat in solution)once removed from solution, would damp and place on dehydrator at 160 degrees for 4-5 hrs
-The jerky tastes great and really not complaints, but I am trying to experiment with the method listed in this discussion. For some reason, I feel that the meat HAS to be marinated in solution or it will not turn out properly. As I mentioned before, I do have a Vacuum tumble on order, and will try using glycerine with the meat, but still am second guessing myself. :confounded_face:
-
GalvanAP I had a similar issue trying to convince myself that when you pull a sausage product like summer sausage out of the smoker and finish it up in hot water that it had to be vacuum sealed. No matter how many times Parksider told me it didnt need to be vac sealed I kept doing it!
When you are marinating the meat you are giving the solution time to penetrate into the meat and that takes time. However, when you put it in a vacuum tumbler you are doing two things to vastly speed that process up. First, you have the mechanical impact energy of the meat being brought up to the top of the chamber and being dropped, the more it does this the more the fibers of the meat will loosen up and deeper anmd faster the solution will be able to get into the meat. The second thing you have working for you is that it is under a vacuum which by its very nature will slightly seperate the fibers of the meat. So with those two things you can go from needing hours of marinating time down to 20-30 minutes of tumbling and achieve the same or better results.
Get more help with your processing questions and learn more about processing meat by subscribing to our waltonsinc.com youtube page at https://wltns.link/waltonstv I am a Gorilla, love yourself
-
GalvanAP I had a similar issue trying to convince myself that when you pull a sausage product like summer sausage out of the smoker and finish it up in hot water that it had to be vacuum sealed. No matter how many times Parksider told me it didnt need to be vac sealed I kept doing it!
When you are marinating the meat you are giving the solution time to penetrate into the meat and that takes time. However, when you put it in a vacuum tumbler you are doing two things to vastly speed that process up. First, you have the mechanical impact energy of the meat being brought up to the top of the chamber and being dropped, the more it does this the more the fibers of the meat will loosen up and deeper anmd faster the solution will be able to get into the meat. The second thing you have working for you is that it is under a vacuum which by its very nature will slightly seperate the fibers of the meat. So with those two things you can go from needing hours of marinating time down to 20-30 minutes of tumbling and achieve the same or better results.
-
Joe Hell Yeah, depending on the tumbler I would say an hour is overkill. When I use the KMV even if I am going for tender jerky I dont go past 20-25 minutes max. With the Express I might go as long as 45 minutes just to make sure I am getting as much pick up as possible.
Get more help with your processing questions and learn more about processing meat by subscribing to our waltonsinc.com youtube page at https://wltns.link/waltonstv I am a Gorilla, love yourself
-
Jonathon I was planning on doing another batch this weekend. Perhaps I will split it into two and record the results. My only reason for the full hour was the guy that gave me the tumbler said that’s was the amount of time that he used when making jerky with it.
-
Joe Hell If it wasnt under a vacuum it could actually hurt doing it that long as the solution would/could foam up but with it being under vacuum that isnt going to happen. I don’t think you will see any real difference but just overkill, as always though would be interested in the results!
-
as Joe Hell advised in an earlier thread, after holding for 12hrs or overnight after tumbling, is there a need to “pad” the meat before putting it on the dehydrator, or just go from bag to dehydrator.
GalvanAP I’ve never dried the meat prior to smoking or dehydrating. I will bring my jerky up to the 160 degrees needed to kill bacteria prior to dehydrating. Most of the time that has meant a long and slow warm up in the smoker. The last batch I made I achieved this by using my dehydrator racks over a sheet pan in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. It seemed to work very well and sped up the process considerably. Keep in mind that oven temps will vary.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register LoginSponsored By:
