Drying Beef Jerky in the fridge?
Markus Fuenfrocken
follow-up to rec.food.preserving
Hi all,
i was wondering if anybody ever tried to dry jerky in the fridge and like to
share some expiriences... right now i use a standard dehydrator and dry my
jerky in a bout 8 hours with around 100-110 F (40-50 C) warm air. It愀 a
fast and convenient way to dehydrate the meat. I惴 also quite satisfied with
the results i get, but sometimes i think that it might just be a little more
tender... now i remembered a discussion with a guy living in the US and he
told me that any form of "heat" is a no-no and makes jerky hard ... he said
that it would be very simple to dry meat in the fridge, with a ventilator
inside to have air flow... he said it愀 simply important for the meat to
produce a "pellicle", a membrane made of denaturated proteine, and that the
resulting jerky would be very tender...that sounded reasonable to me, b/c i
always wondered about how fast sausage and other stuff is getting "dry" in
the fridge. I always hat the feeling that bread, for example, becomes dry
much quicker when stored in the fridge in opposite to storage at room
temp...
Another positive effect could be that at these low temperatures, bacteria
will not grow or grow much slower than at room temperature or at 100F ... i
was just about to try building a biltong box to make some experiments with
"slow drying" Jerky, but maybe it might be more clever to look for a big old
fridge and a fan ...
Any comments on this topic?
Thanks,
Markus
Btw, if you愉e interested in Jerky and looking for a good jerky recipe
please take a look at the step-by-step pictorial i made (no, it愀 not SPAM,
it愀 just a private project), maybe you like the marinade:
http://www.fuenfrocken.com/
Geoffrey S. Mendelson
> I always hat the feeling that bread, for example, becomes dry
> much quicker when stored in the fridge in opposite to storage at room
> temp...
Where does the moisture go? I thought refrigerators were humid.
Commerical refrigerators have built for restaurants ("walk in boxes")
often have a system for collecting and draining the water.
I've always wanted a way of doing this, I'd love to make a variety of
Chinese sausages called "December Sausages" which are dried in open air
at about 40F. Here in Jerusalem, it never stays both dry and below 40F for
long enough to dry the sausages.
Geoff.
--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel g...@mendelson.com N3OWJ/4X1GM
IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 Fax ONLY: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838
Visit my 'blog at http://geoffstechno.livejournal.com/
yetanotherBob
says...
> Markus Fuenfrocken wrote:
> > I always hat the feeling that bread, for example, becomes dry
> > much quicker when stored in the fridge in opposite to storage at room
> > temp...
>
> Where does the moisture go? I thought refrigerators were humid.
>
> Commerical refrigerators have built for restaurants ("walk in boxes")
> often have a system for collecting and draining the water.
>
> I've always wanted a way of doing this, I'd love to make a variety of
> Chinese sausages called "December Sausages" which are dried in open air
> at about 40F. Here in Jerusalem, it never stays both dry and below 40F for
> long enough to dry the sausages.
>
> Geoff.
>
In the U.S. most home refrigerators sold are "frost free", recirculating
cold air through the insulated compartment using fans. These tend to be
quite dry compared to other types, to the point that special drawers
and/or other compartments that can retain moisture are usually provided
for things like meats, cheeses and vegetables. Moisture that condenses
out of the chilled air is usually either collected in a pan or
evaporated by heat from the compressor equipment.
This type of refrigerator can do a good job of drying meats as you
describe. I don't think it would work well for jerky, though, assuming
that you still need a minimum level of heat to kill off bacteria and
parasites, some of which will go dormant in a lower temperature, but not
be killed off.
Bob
Kswck
"Markus Fuenfrocken" <mar...@fuenfrocken.de> wrote in message
news:eor8fa$bmj$1...@online.de...
> x-post to rec.food.cooking, rec.food.preserving
> follow-up to rec.food.preserving
>
> Hi all,
>
> i was wondering if anybody ever tried to dry jerky in the fridge and like
> to share some expiriences... right now i use a standard dehydrator and dry
> a fast and convenient way to dehydrate the meat. I´m also quite satisfied
> little more tender... now i remembered a discussion with a guy living in
> the US and he told me that any form of "heat" is a no-no and makes jerky
> hard ... he said that it would be very simple to dry meat in the fridge,
> proteine, and that the resulting jerky would be very tender...that sounded
> reasonable to me, b/c i always wondered about how fast sausage and other
> stuff is getting "dry" in the fridge. I always hat the feeling that bread,
> for example, becomes dry much quicker when stored in the fridge in
> opposite to storage at room temp...
>
> Another positive effect could be that at these low temperatures, bacteria
> will not grow or grow much slower than at room temperature or at 100F ...
> i was just about to try building a biltong box to make some experiments
> with "slow drying" Jerky, but maybe it might be more clever to look for a
> big old fridge and a fan ...
>
> Any comments on this topic?
>
> Thanks,
> Markus
>
> please take a look at the step-by-step pictorial i made (no, it´s not
> SPAM, it´s just a private project), maybe you like the marinade:
> http://www.fuenfrocken.com/
Seems to me you have to have 'some' kind of heat. If you want it chewey-er,
cut the slices thicker.
I use an Excalibur Dehydrator at 145 degrees-never had a problem. Jerky is
supposed to have some kind of dryness and toughness. When it was 'invented'
as it were, it was basically just leftover meat that had been dried in the
sun and taken out into the wilderness-not requiring refrigeration. And it
lasted virtually forever.
Wouldn't the lack of heat just invite bacteria?
>
The Joneses
"Kswck" <ks...@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:oywsh.154$927...@newsfe09.lga...
recommended MINimum is about 1 teaspoonful of salt per pound. I like it
saltier. I've heard of others using the nitrite preparations for jerky -
that might be a good idear for the refrig type. I use the Excalibur also,
and cut my slices pretty thick. In fact, I'm thinking of finding some leetle
dehumidifier packets for food to package mine with as I've had a problem
with mold after just a couple weeks. Been keeping the stuff in the freezer,
also dried to a crisp & vacuum packed in mason jars works pretty good too. I
*think* that white stuff on the surface is just salt, and I've not gotten
sick so far.
Edrena
zorro
"The Joneses" <famj...@swbell.net> wrote in message
news:Bpxsh.12022$ji1....@newssvr12.news.prodigy.net...
>
> "Kswck" <ks...@optonline.net> wrote in message
> news:oywsh.154$927...@newsfe09.lga...
>>
>> "Markus Fuenfrocken" <mar...@fuenfrocken.de> wrote in message
>> news:eor8fa$bmj$1...@online.de...
>>
>> chewey-er, cut the slices thicker.
That's what I do. If I can get 1/4" slices its a bonus. Usually they're
3/8-1/2". I dry mine in a warm (about 150F) oven for 8 hrs to start. Usually
have to rotate the racks and let it dry for another 1-2 (I start the oven
before going to sleep or before going to work, else I'd rotate the racks
more ofter).
>> I use an Excalibur Dehydrator at 145 degrees-never had a problem. Jerky
>> is supposed to have some kind of dryness and toughness. When it was
>> 'invented' as it were, it was basically just leftover meat that had been
>> dried in the sun and taken out into the wilderness-not requiring
>> refrigeration. And it lasted virtually forever.
>>
>> Wouldn't the lack of heat just invite bacteria?
>>
> Well, there is that salt thing. Most of us salt our jerky. I think the
> recommended MINimum is about 1 teaspoonful of salt per pound. I like it
> saltier. I've heard of others using the nitrite preparations for jerky -
> that might be a good idear for the refrig type. I use the Excalibur also,
> and cut my slices pretty thick. In fact, I'm thinking of finding some
> leetle dehumidifier packets for food to package mine with as I've had a
> problem with mold after just a couple weeks. Been keeping the stuff in the
> freezer, also dried to a crisp & vacuum packed in mason jars works pretty
> good too. I *think* that white stuff on the surface is just salt, and I've
> not gotten sick so far.
> Edrena
>
>
Whoa. Your jerky lasts a couple weeks?
I guess I shouldn't call my jerky "jerky", 'cause I don't expect it to last
more than a couple days! I start w/ about 8-10 lbs of bottom round roast
(before trimming). But I end up giving most of it away to people who like
it; i.e. the bar maids, the regulars, the cooks
roman
Geoffrey S. Mendelson
> Seems to me you have to have 'some' kind of heat. If you want it chewey-er,
> cut the slices thicker.
> I use an Excalibur Dehydrator at 145 degrees-never had a problem. Jerky is
> supposed to have some kind of dryness and toughness. When it was 'invented'
> as it were, it was basically just leftover meat that had been dried in the
> sun and taken out into the wilderness-not requiring refrigeration. And it
> lasted virtually forever.
The thing that always seems to be forgotten in these discussions is
that when jerky was invented, people did not understand bacteria and
infections. The average life expectancy was in th 30-40 range and many
people died from infections.
During the U.S. Civil War, a bullet wound was almost always fatal. Not
from the wound itself, but from the inevitable infection.
Heating meat to 145F is a little on the low side, the U.S. FDA recommends
160F. However the meat does not have to be dried at that temperature,
just heated to it and kept for 1 hour. After that it can be dried at
lower temperatures.
It is also important to note that now people don't want to really "cure"
meat. The amount of salt and nitrates/nitrites used is far less than
150 years ago.
> Wouldn't the lack of heat just invite bacteria?
Yes.
The sausage I was refering to was eaten cooked. Jerky is not and needs
to be cured to preserve it and should IMHO be sterilized.
kev...@paradise.net.nz
dehydrating meats. What kind of fan would be needed, or could a
dehyhrator itself be put into a fridge?
The refrigerator method would be excellent for making cat and dog
treats, as heat treating for bacteria would not be unnecessary (they
are naturally resistant to infections). Dehydrated liver with a little
bit of kelp and powdered garlic sprinkled on is a healthy treat.
Rhys
Markus Fuenfrocken wrote:
> x-post to rec.food.cooking, rec.food.preserving
> follow-up to rec.food.preserving
>
> Hi all,
>
> i was wondering if anybody ever tried to dry jerky in the fridge and like to
> share some expiriences... right now i use a standard dehydrator and dry my
> jerky in a bout 8 hours with around 100-110 F (40-50 C) warm air. It´s a
> fast and convenient way to dehydrate the meat. I´m also quite satisfied with
> the results i get, but sometimes i think that it might just be a little more
> tender... now i remembered a discussion with a guy living in the US and he
> told me that any form of "heat" is a no-no and makes jerky hard ... he said
> that it would be very simple to dry meat in the fridge, with a ventilator
> inside to have air flow... he said it´s simply important for the meat to
> produce a "pellicle", a membrane made of denaturated proteine, and that the
> resulting jerky would be very tender...that sounded reasonable to me, b/c i
> always wondered about how fast sausage and other stuff is getting "dry" in
> the fridge. I always hat the feeling that bread, for example, becomes dry
> much quicker when stored in the fridge in opposite to storage at room
> temp...
>
> Another positive effect could be that at these low temperatures, bacteria
> will not grow or grow much slower than at room temperature or at 100F ... i
> was just about to try building a biltong box to make some experiments with
> "slow drying" Jerky, but maybe it might be more clever to look for a big old
> fridge and a fan ...
>
> Any comments on this topic?
>
> Thanks,
> Markus
>
> Btw, if you´re interested in Jerky and looking for a good jerky recipe
> please take a look at the step-by-step pictorial i made (no, it´s not SPAM,
> it´s just a private project), maybe you like the marinade:
> http://www.fuenfrocken.com/