I'm going to assume you're gonna be slicing the meat to be used and brining it,,,, as opposed to using ground meat and a jerky shooter. That being said I'll start ya off with a really super simple recipe and you can build on it from there,,,,, experimenting in future batches with whatever spices and flavorings you like and think might give your jerky a good flavor.
OK,,, here it is,,, really simple but will give you good results.............................
1) Slice your meat. 1/8 to 1/4 inch slices are fine, whatever you prefer. I like mine a little thicker so I usually slice it in 1/4 inch thickness. You don't want it to thin and you don't want it to thick. You will find it easier to slice the meat uniformly if it is put in the freezer until it's just starting to firm up and freeze. The reason you want all the slices uniformly sliced is so that they all dry at the same rate in the dehydrator.
2) Pour into a large glass bowl enough teriyaki or soy sauce, whichever you prefer, to completely cover the sliced meat. To the teriyaki/soy sauce you can add whatever spices/flavorings you like. I usually add some fresh crushed garlic cloves, some onion powder, some black pepper, a few squirts of fresh honey and a small amount of "liquid smoke". Important to remember that liquid smoke is VERY VERY concentrated and POWERFULL,,, so don't use to much !!!!!! I usually add in 2 -3 capfulls of the liquid smoke and it works out well. If you are sodium conscious you can use the lower sodium soy or teriyaki sauce,,, it works just as well. Mix all the ingredients well so they blend into the sauce......
3) Add the sliced meat to the bowl,,,, make sure all the meat is below the top of the liquid,, take a glass dish that will fit into the bowl and place the dish on top of the meat. This serves to keep the meat completely submerged under the brine.
4) Put the bowl in the refrigerator and let it sit overnight.
5) Remove the meat from the brine, place it in a large draining bowl and let the excess fluid drain off the meat.
6) Place the sliced meat onto the racks of your smoker, insuring that the edges do not touch so that the air will flow completely around the meat. Before turning on the dehydrator you can sprinkle a veryl ight amount garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, or any other spice you like on the meat. This is optional, it's up to you.
7) Turn on the dehydrator and dehydrate the meat until it reaches the level of dryness that you like. Some people like it real dry, some like a little more moisture,,, it's up to you.
That's it,,,, really simple. If you decide to go the "jerky shooter" and ground meat option you just follow the directions on the box of commercially purchased jerky mix. I personally like sliced meat better than the ground meat jerky, but I do make the ground meat jerky at times and do enjoy it.
Here's the most important advice....... Keep detailed smoking notes in a notebook for each batch you make. This is very important. It will help you "fine tune" your own recipes and smoking technique. Document the brine ingredients and amounts, how long you brined it, how long you dehydrated it,, document every step and of course add your final taste testing results for each batch in your notes. This process can help you avoid making the same mistakes twice and also help you insure that you follow steps that have worked well in the past.
I really enjoy smoking meat and fish and me and my family just love eating the results. No better snack in the world. Try this recipe first,,, in the meantime I'll go back through my smoking notes and come up with a couple other fish and game recipes for wood smokers and dehydrators. Let us know how you make out..
Jeff
