[QUOTE=Josh;550441]Might wait and see how you go with yours Jaron and if it's good I'll just grab the same one :)

Anyone got any experience with the vacuum sealers on eBay too?[/QUOTE]
Cool, should be fine as long as the temp control is steady and will sit at 65 degrees.

I had a look at getting a vacuum sealer on ebay, but will wait and see how much jerky I can make each time and whether it's worth it or just buy ziplock bags. Vacuum sealer with bags will cost another $50 for a cheap one.

[QUOTE=KouNtS_UtM;548530]More secret herbs and spices then the Colonel haha[/QUOTE]

can i post up the recipies you gave me a couple of years ago? still haven't got my shit together to try them LOL

Yeah no worries, pretty sure they might even be at the top of this thread?? PSB has some good jerky ones as well which might be in there.

With the vacuum sealed bags... You're a better man then me if it lasts long enough to need them. I have brown paper bags from Woolies, pack up a few bags, few at home, few at work and they disappear pretty damn quick.

sweet , here they are:

Here are the two best recipies. It is really easy to make and everyone thinks its delicious so you wont go wrong. Just fiddle with the recipies a bit (extra chilly etc) to your taste when you have it down your laughing.
Beef Jerky
I buy about 2-3kg's of topside to make mine.

cut meat into strips some with grain some against grain. Against the grain gives you crumbly bits and with the grain gives you chewy bits.

3/4 cup soy
3/4 cup worcestershire
3/4 teaspoon of pepper. I stress use ground peppercorns or it won't flavour up.
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic. (I like to put more in)
tobasco sauce / chilli sauce. (lots of it for me, it doesnt make it too hot at this stage)
Lots of chilli flakes. (again they don't actually flavour it up much but you'll find the right mix)
I then add what ever is in the cupboard really. All purpose seasoning, bbq seasoning, steak seasoning, a little HP sauce, whatever.

stir up and marinate then put your meat in a container and pour marinate over every layer. Let it sit for 24 hours. Be sure to turn and lightly shake your container around every couple hours to get an even marinate.

When I start putting meat in the tray I also get my spices such as cracked pepper, death rain dry rub, peri peri, bbq seasoning etc. etc. and put different combinations over the meat before it starts to dry.

Depending on how you dry it just keep checking on it until it is dry enough for you then enjoy. I have a food dehydrator that takes about 10-14 hours until its ready.
Biltong (This is my favourite. I am South African though)
2-3kgs of Topside
Rock Salt
Coarse Ground Black Pepper
Coarse Ground Coriander
Vinegar (preferably Apple-Cider vinegar)

Cut the meat as usualy then liberally sprinkle rock-salt on each side of the meat and let them stand in a container (I use my marinade container) for about an hour (Usually 45mins. The thinner your meat the less time). The longer you let it stand the saltier it will become.

After the hour, scrape off all the excess salt with a knife (don't soak the meat it in water!).

Put some vinegar in a bowl and dip the strips of meat in the vinegar for a few seconds or so - just so that the meat is covered in the vinegar. Hold the biltong up so that the excess vinegar drips off.

Then sprinkle ground pepper and ground coriander over the meat on all sides and put in the drier (Only other spice I put on biltong is peri peri or death rain otherwise it spoils the taste). Keep checking until it is dry enough then enjoy.

Yeah the top one is jerky (Viper@PSB is king of this stuff), bottom one is biltong which is way better in my opinion.

I have changed how I make it a bit now but basics are still the same.

What's the difference between Jerky and Biltong?

[QUOTE=Giddyup;550424]Progressive IGA has bulk rump steak on special at the moment for $5.99/kg which is bloody cheap. I went and picked up 12kg yesterday. Only slight hiccup in my plan, I can'y cut the bastards up as I am in a sling :-([/QUOTE]

Farkn oath that's cheap!

Edit: I now know the difference between Progressive and Super IGA stores.

As far as I understand, jerky is marinated (sometimes for days) and dryed with a low heat, sort of cooking the meat. Biltong is salted, spiced then air dryed (can still use a dehydrator). Most of the flavour in jerky is soaked into meat while it sits in a tray in the fridge, most of the flavour of biltong comes from the salt/vinegar used and the spices shaken over the meat before drying. Way differnet flavours but both tasty, just personal choice.

[URL="http://www.jedsjerky.com/blog/difference-biltong-versus-jerky/"]Here's a link I found[/URL]

i was under the impression that it was different styles..

ie: jerky is peices, biltong is strips, stokies are thinner strips.. etc?

maybe I am wrong tho...

Also, I think Jerky is the American name for it, Biltong etc are Sth African names for it

Yeah kounts is on to it, jerky is kind of cooked at low heat, biltong is naturally dried and not cooked at all

biltong is good for you, jerky is certainly not healthy at all, based on what i've read on the topic

and kyms right except they're not the same things, biltong is a safa treat, and alot different to jerky, which is an american treat

they're not synonymous


also: does anyone know where i can buy biltong in bulk? i love it but i don't have time to make my own

Conways on Orrong Road have great biltong and will sell you a heap. Butcher in Metro Maddington near Woolies has it as well but would probably have less.

Pretty sure places like DJ's etc will have a heap as well but never been there.

My understanding is jerky was slow smoked/cooked (originally) and biltong dried.

Ok if Jerky is marinated and biltong isn't then I have a heap of jerky marinating in the fridge :)

It made it into the dehydrator this morning after marinating for 36 hours. Went in at 7am this morning, will see how it looks after 12 hours.

Recipe is:

Rock Salt
Apple cider vinegar (only did half the meat in this)
1kg Rump
1/3 Cup Soy Sauce
1/3 Cup Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 Teaspoons of Black Peppercorns roughly ground
1/5 Bottle of Tabasco
3 Teaspoons of Providore Steak Seasoning
3 Teaspoons of Chilli flakes
Few splashes of Nando's Peri Peri Hot sauce
I also added dried coriander to 1/2 tray

[URL=http://img710.imageshack.us/i/img0438r.jpg/][IMG]http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/8035/img0438r.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://img703.imageshack.us/i/img0439w.jpg/][IMG]http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/2659/img0439w.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

You did a half jerky half biltong hybrid! 12 hours is a long time in the dehydrator this time of year so just keep an eye on it. Also rotate the trays every now and then.

Yeh cheers, have the Mrs rotating the meat and the trays every 2 hours or so. I thought 12 to 16 hours was the norm? I have it set to 65 degrees.

My next batch I am going to do a proper biltong.

First batch is always good no matter what you put on it haha! Experimenting is the best way to find out what you like and dont like.

Depends on the thickness of the meat and how dry you want it. My dehydrator doesnt have an adjustable thermostat but seems to be set pretty low. If I left mine 16 hours it would be crunchy but every dryer is different so just keep an eye on it.

I have some marinating at the moment. Normally do it for 48 hours.

1.5kg of rump roughly cut into strips 1cm x 1cm.
1/3 large bottle of Tabasco
1/4 cup Worcestershire
1/2 cup soy
1/3 bottle of extra hot peri-peri
100g of some assorted secret herbs and spices
2 tablespoons of chilli flakes (more to go on after being places on trays)
4 cloves of garlic
1 Teaspoon of coriander paste
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Mix well

My dehydrator has an 'on' setting and an 'off' setting, simple really. Stays in there for 10 hours. This gives them just an ever so slight soft center.

You can lay them a lot closer together also than shown in the pics.

I like that recipe! I hope mine are spicy enough. If 10 hours is enough then they will be ready in perfect time for a beer when I get home!

[IMG]http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm9/Giddyup10764/Various/IMG_02401.jpg?t=1301718902[/IMG]

Some I am cooking at the moment with the previously mentioned recipe plus the following:
At the back has had cinnamon sprinkled on top
Left has mixture of Sea salt, black peppercorns, black mustard seeds, crushed dried chilli peppers and crushed sub-dried tomato sprinkled on top.
Right has lemon pepper sprinkled on top.

I wonder how they will turn out????

if anyone needs a taste tester..

Looks good! Apart from the cinnamon, why? :D

Mine were good although they either have too much soy or too much worceteshire in them. And they seem too crumbly will try cutting them all differently this time. Will also turn the dehydrator down to 55 as some seem a bit too cooked.

Glad it worked out, you'll get your mix cranking pretty quickly.

Getting crumbly meat probably means that you cut across the grain of the meat instead of with it. I do a mix of both when I cut mine.

Turning the temp down is a good bet, especially if your making biltong rather then jerky. Pretty much lowest it can go and check from there.

I thought I would give the cinnamon a go but it didn't make to much of a diff to be honest. But hey, you don't know if you don't give it a go.

[QUOTE=Jordiee;550552]
also: does anyone know where i can buy biltong in bulk? i love it but i don't have time to make my own[/QUOTE]


As KouNtS mentions: [URL="http://biltong.net.au/products-page/"]D.Jays[/URL]
We used to get bulk orders through work a few years back and was top quality...but havent been there in a fair few years - hope it is as good as it used to be!

cheers guysh, i'll order some and see how we go

Second batch done and it's heaps better! Only dried it for 8 hours between 55 and 60 degrees. Hardly any soy this time which is the improvment I think. I also added BBQ sauce and alot more tobasco, it now has a gradual bite which keeps getting hotter as you eat it. Also made some Biltong which is just as good and alot easier to make as you don't have to wait for it to marinade for 24 hours.

You're all doing it wrong:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/DPBew.jpg[/img]

I'm all for air drying in the right weather when you have the time but that is crazy!

Might rip up another batch this weekend I think.

I think its Jerky time again!!!

[url=http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Luvelo-Express-Food-Dehydrator-500W-9-TRAYS-INCLUDED-/160622905741?pt=AU_SmallKitchenAppliances&hash=item2565df098d#ht_8203wt_1159]Luvelo Express Food Dehydrator 500W 9 TRAYS INCLUDED | eBay[/url]

Nice!

I'm going to make a new box ready for air drying under the patio now that the weather is getting hotter.

Can't wait of summer to hit. Beer, biltong, jet ski & girls in bikinis. Can't go wrong.

Jerky and an Ice cold beer on a hot 40 degree day gives me a hard on!

Nice order you got going there Jaron.

Jerky. Beer. Hard On. Jerky :D

hi peeps

just wanting some advice, I want to give a family member a dehydrator for xmas so he can make his own jerky.

just wondering what the best kind of dehydrators to use? have found the eurolab ones and just seen the other unit posted on here.

is there much difference or pretty much do the same job?

Make sure you get the Eurolab one that has temp control.

Depends on what you want to spend. The drier Jason posted will be better but the Eurolab is fine for the Jerky hack. You can pick the Eurolab one up for $60 on Deals Direct if they have them in stock.

found a eurolab on ebay for $49.95 which isnt to bad. its for a beginner just for jerky to play with. he loves to cook so would be good to start him off and if hes keen he can upgrade later.

will have a look at both and will keep in mind the temp control :) thanks!

Bringing up an old thread...

I have just put in the fridge meat for marinating. I have only cut up about 400g of Top Side in which I did 2/3's cut along the grain, 1/6 against the grain strips and 1/6 against the grain offcuts/cubes.

My recipe is as follows:

100ml cup soy
1 teaspoon jokoba paste
1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon steak seasoning

Going to marinate it for 24 hours and then put it in my dehydrator.

^let me know when its ready and I'll head over ;)

I got a dehydrator for christmas... will me doing my own jerky very soon - as opposed to spending $30 a week at the Biltong store in town

Did you get the one with the temp control??

haven't opened it yet Jase. Not sure. I will look when I get a chance