Beef jerky should be dry and salty or moist and chewy?

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Posted: 7/20/2017 6:29:30 PM EDT

Arfcom, help me settle and argument. I made beef jerky. It is dry, somewhat tough, with a little taste of salt. That's how I like it. She says that's not how it is supposed to be. She said it is supposed to be more moist and more tender. To me making jerky that is moist is like cooking pulled pork in a crock pot!

So who is right?

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:30:41 PM EDT

[#1]

either or.

I've had good samples from both styles.

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:32:03 PM EDT

[#2]

I prefer wet jerky

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Posted: 7/20/2017 6:33:23 PM EDT

[#3]

Dry and salty with a touch of red pepper and made from deer is best jerky.

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:33:58 PM EDT

[#4]

Quote History

Quoted:
either or.

I've had good samples from both styles.

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This. Depends on the flavor and thickness. I personally prefer thin, dry peppered. But will not turn down thicker.

Biggest thing for me though is no MSG. I look for brands without it and no nitrates.

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:34:34 PM EDT

[#5]

Somewhere in between.

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:34:59 PM EDT

[#6]

It's just a preference.

I don't like having to hold it in my mouth like chewing tobacco for a couple of minutes before I can actually eat it.

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:35:50 PM EDT

[#7]

I don't like really dry jerky

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:37:20 PM EDT

[#8]

Quote History

Quoted:
I don't like really dry jerky

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Same. I like it moist and chewy. A little dry is OK as long as the flavor makes up for it.

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:39:35 PM EDT

[#9]

U can get dry and salty at pretty much any store.

If I make it I like more moist and soft but obviously it wont keep as long.

Thats how I look at it.

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:41:55 PM EDT

[#10]

Quote History

Quoted:
U can get dry and salty at pretty much any store.

If I make it I like more moist and soft but obviously it wont keep as long.

Thats how I look at it.

View Quote

Funny, I've always thought you can get moist and chewy at Walmart. Like Oberto. The stuff I've gotten from small time jerky makers has been typically drier, not like crack when you been it dry but definitely not moist.

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:43:29 PM EDT

[#11]

beans

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:43:29 PM EDT

[#12]

To me, if you want moist jerky you may as well get a jumbo pack of slim Jim's (which I do like)

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:44:05 PM EDT

[#13]

I like both, but if you can make it super soft/moist and spicy..well now I might ask you to marry me...

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:44:54 PM EDT

[#14]

Quote History

Quoted:
U can get dry and salty at pretty much any store.

If I make it I like more moist and soft but obviously it wont keep as long.

Thats how I look at it.

View Quote

Dry with salt is for survival use.

Moist is for taste/texture.
also see-
Hard Tack vs. Muffin

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:45:14 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
Arfcom, help me settle and argument. I made beef jerky. It is dry, somewhat tough, with a little taste of salt. That's how I like it. She says that's not how it is supposed to be. She said it is supposed to be more moist and more tender. To me making jerky that is moist is like cooking pork in a crock pot!

So who is right?

View Quote

For immediate eating the moist jerky will be better. It will be easier to chew and more flavorful. The drier the jerky is the more resistant it will be to decay and better for long term storage. This is what you want for your "prepper" stash.

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:46:14 PM EDT

[#16]

Quote History

Quoted:
Dry and salty with a touch of red pepper and made from deer is best jerky.

View Quote

Bingo. This right here.

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:47:57 PM EDT

[#17]

Quote History

Quoted:

Bingo. This right here.

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I'm with these guys (dry and salty).

I think the wet jerky thing came from up north. Lol.

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:52:00 PM EDT

[#18]

Depends.

The dry stuff needs to be thinner, otherwise it's like trying to eat your damn boots.

Thicker stuff has to be tender and a bit moist. This is how I prefer it, in great big slabs.

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:55:02 PM EDT

[#19]

Quote History

Quoted:
Depends.

The dry stuff needs to be thinner, otherwise it's like trying to eat your damn boots.

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Agreed.

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:57:50 PM EDT

[#20]

I'm going to commit GD Blasphemy...I quit making jerky.

I make biltong instead...well, an Americanized version of biltong.

It's better.

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:59:06 PM EDT

[#21]

Dry and salty. Anything else is not jerky.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:00:33 PM EDT

[#22]

... Semi-moist, chewy and salty

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:01:13 PM EDT

[#23]

YES.

my current favorite is old school though.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:01:52 PM EDT

[#24]

Real jerky that will last for long periods unrefrigerated is dry and salty. This modern moist jerky horseshit is crap that phaggoty metro sexual mommas boys eat. They thump their hairless chests and proclaim their manliness because they eat jerky just like the pioneers did. Lies, all lies.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:12:17 PM EDT

[#25]

I lean towards the dry side.
It's like bacon; there's a fine line...

Only store bought stuff I like is Cedar Creek or Mahagony Smokehouse.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:12:24 PM EDT

[#26]

Both are acceptable, i prefer moist and easy to chew.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:15:40 PM EDT

[#27]

If you're not using a preservative like prague powder you'll need to dry it to a lower water content.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:19:07 PM EDT

[#28]

I prefer a little more moist and chewy but dry and salty last longer.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:20:07 PM EDT

[#29]

I like my jerky like dried leather.

It comes down to preference.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:20:58 PM EDT

[#30]

I like when it's slightly moist but also salty. What I don't like is when it's hard as a rock. I want to enjoy it without worrying about cracking a tooth.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:22:11 PM EDT

[#31]

Quote History

Quoted:
I don't like really dry jerky

View Quote

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:23:10 PM EDT

[#32]

I like both, can't say I prefer one over the other.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:23:35 PM EDT

[#33]

Old fart here... the teetth just wont handle the dry stuff... so Im stuck on the softer stuff. If Tillimock made a 2" diameter beef stick Id be happy

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:26:19 PM EDT

[#34]

I prefer moist to somewhat moist, the dry is enjoyable sometimes when you just to want to take a bite and sort of have something in you mouth like gum or a mint. Flavor is the most important thing.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:29:10 PM EDT

[#35]

Quote History

Quoted:
Old fart here... the teetth just wont handle the dry stuff... so Im stuck on the softer stuff. If Tillimock made a 2" diameter beef stick Id be happy

View Quote

Buc-ee's has great beef sticks.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:29:43 PM EDT

[#36]

Texturally it should never be so dry that it's crumbly.

It should be moist enough to pull apart and be chewy, but not so moist that it needs to be refrigerated.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:32:12 PM EDT

[#37]

This is the best you can get.
Rays Own Brand
My family has been doing this for a long time. The stuff you normally see at the store or gas station is 99% crap. I've never had anything store bought or homemade that was better.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:32:41 PM EDT

[#38]

Traditionally it was dry. The drier, saltier and more thoroughly smoked it was the better it lasted.

We don't have to worry about it going bad so I prefer it moist and chewy.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:35:18 PM EDT

[#39]

Quote History

Quoted:

I'm going to commit GD Blasphemy...I quit making jerky.

I make biltong instead...well, an Americanized version of biltong.

It's better.

View Quote

Would like to try to make some mind sharing a recipe?

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:36:44 PM EDT

[#40]

I like dry and salty

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:37:06 PM EDT

[#41]

It's jerky, don't care.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:43:45 PM EDT

[#42]

Chewy, but not gristle chewy either.

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:46:03 PM EDT

[#43]

Quote History

Quoted:
YES.

my current favorite is old school though.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1458/26191001432_15d8622260_h.jpg

View Quote

So it is great jerky for the first 7 games of the year, then turns to shit for the rest, right?

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:48:17 PM EDT

[#44]

Dry

not too salty

but with a little chew!

eta

Homemade

is Bestmade.

Posted: 7/20/2017 8:02:32 PM EDT

[#45]

Quote History

Quoted:

Would like to try to make some mind sharing a recipe?

View Quote

Sure.

You'll need:

3 lb. eye of round roast, trimmed of fat and connective tissue. Slice with the grain into strips about thumb thick and 1.5-2" thick the length of the roast.

1 cup malt vinegar, substitute with cider vinegar if you can't find malt.

1 cup soy sauce.

3/4 cup pineapple juice.

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce OR 2 tablespoons of fish sauce.

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 cup toasted coriander seed

Optional-chili powder.

Dump all these into a gallon size freezer bag, seal bag and agitate thoroughly, then add the meat and press all the air out of the bag before sealing.

Place the bag into a large bowl and refrigerate for 24 hours, turning the bag every 8 hours or so. The bowl is just in case the bag leaks.

I have a Cabelas 10 tray dehydrator, but you can make up a drying box from a cardboard box, a fan and some wire to hang the strips from. You do not need a heat source, this is simple air drying.

Arrange the meat strips on your rack, and then give them a light sprinkle with sea or kosher salt and cracked black pepper.

Put it all in the box, turn on the fan and leave it alone for 48 hours. It takes a while to dry, don't get in a hurry.

It's done when you press your finger into the meat and it's firm in the center, not squishy.

I keep mine in a paper bag in the fridge, if you keep it in plastic it will sweat and get all manky on the outside.

How to eat it-thin slice or use a meat shaver...trying to gnaw on a stick will just wear you out. Pile some on a cracker and add a bit of cheddar.

It will keep a month or so, but it won't last that long.