Jerky: 205 Making Kippered Beef
Attend this intermediate-level class from Meatgistics University by watching the video, reading the article and post any questions you have!
What’s the Difference Between Jerky & Kippered?
This will by far be the most asked question regarding this post. When asking experts around Walton’s the most common answer is the amount of water activity present. While both products are good to eat, jerky is going to be dryer. You’ll notice similar smoking schedules as well. And of course the appearance. True kippered beef is julienned into strips before thermal processing. So we just threw them on our smoke screens and gave them a few slices.
Slicing & Mixing
The first thing is first we have to slice this into useable pieces. We have trimmed and partially frozen our meat to make slicing them easier. We like to get our meat into manageable fist-size pieces that can easily have the fat trimmed off.
We can now use our Walton’s slicer to get these pieces the exact thickness we want. As you can see some of the strips vary in size, this is fine as long as the thickness isn’t too different. We went for closer to 1/2 inch this time. So slice up some pieces and set them aside until slicing is finished.
Next is to mix the seasoning with the correct amount of water. We threw all our sliced meat and seasoning with the correct amount of water in our vacuum tumbler. This will help loosen the fibers of the meat and allow the seasoning to penetrate the meat making for a bolder flavor. Once under a vacuum, we let it tumble for over about an hour.
Smoke Schedule
1. Drying Phase 90 Minutes at 110 degrees
2. Smoking for 30 Minutes at 140 degrees
3. Drying Phase for 15 Minutes at 145 degrees
4. Cook for 15 Minutes at 150 degrees
5. Cook 15 more Minutes at 155 degrees
6. Up Temp to 170 degrees until internal is 165 degrees
We know some of these temperature and times are hard to replicate. Here’s a video on how we faired making jerky in our oven. So please use this video for inspiration and or advice!
Meat Processing Equipment: 208 Low Temp Oven
Dragon’s Breath
The awesome new seasoning we tried is Dragon’s Breath. We heard the name and knew we had to try it! While mixing the seasoning stuck in our nostrils and helped clean out or sinuses for sure. However, the seasoning wasn’t too overwhelming when it came to taste. So trust us, some heat but NOT burn your mouth hot!
