15
Presto
™
Jerky Seasoning, mix one packet of spice and one packet of cure with ¼ cup
of water.
Place marinade and meat strips in a resealable plastic storage bag. Seal bag and
shake to thoroughly coat the meat strips. Refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours. Turn bag
often to evenly coat the meat strips.
Refer to the CAUTION! note on page 14 about cooking the meat before or after
dehydrating. For a more desirable texture, cook meat after dehydration. Meat that
is precooked prior to dehydrating will have shorter drying times; however, the end
product will have a dry, crumbly texture. If cooking the meat before dehydrating is
preferred, follow the instructions below:
Cooking meat before dehydrating
—After marinating meat strips, place meat
strips and liquid marinade into a shallow pan. If no liquid remains, add enough
water to cover meat strips. Bring liquid to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.
Remove meat strips from marinade, place in a colander to drain off excess liquid,
and then position strips on dehydrator trays. Position strips on dehydrator trays close
together, but not overlapping.
CAUTION!
Pouring liquid or marinade over jerky
when positioned on the drying racks can damage the dehydrator.
Dry jerky at 160°F or 71°C for 4 to 8 hours. See “Determining Dryness” information
below.
If you did not cook the meat prior to dehydrating, cook it after, following the
instructions below:
Cooking meat after dehydrating
—Preheat oven until the internal temperature
is 275°F. (For an accurate temperature reading, check with an oven thermo-
meter.) Remove jerky strips from dehydrator trays and place on a baking sheet
close together, but not touching. Heat jerky in preheated oven for 10 minutes
(jerky strips should be sizzling when removed from the oven). Remove jerky
from baking sheet and cool to room temperature.
Preparing Jerky from Ground Meat
Use one packet of Presto
™
Jerky Seasoning Mix and combine entire contents of one
packet each of jerky spice and cure with 1 pound ground meat that is about 93%
lean. Mix until meat and seasoning are blended.
Place the ground meat mixture in a Presto
™
Jerky Gun* or a cookie press and extrude
meat directly onto dehydrator trays, making sure that the meat does not touch or
overlap. Dry jerky at 160°F or 71°C for 4 to 8 hours. See “Determining Dryness”
information below.
Cook the meat after dehydrating, following the instructions above.
Determining Dryness
Begin checking jerky after about 4 hours and every 30 minutes thereafter. Drying time
will depend on a variety of factors. These factors include the type of meat, the amount
of fat in the meat, and whether or not you precooked the meat before dehydrating. In
addition, times will vary depending on size/thickness of the pieces and how full the
trays are. Jerky that is acceptably dry will crack when bent but will not break.
*Presto
™
Jerky Gun sold separately (see page 18).
