Harvest right freeze dryer

[IAfaug]

Ok I got a harvest right for Christmas and am learning more and trying different things
I really want to do jerky but am confused
Harvest right says I can marinate the raw meat freeze dry it and eat it. Says freeze drying gets rid of the bacteria
Is this true or do I need to smoke first then freeze it?
Thanks

 

[Mountain trapper]

Ok I got a harvest right for Christmas and am learning more and trying different things
I really want to do jerky but am confused
Harvest right says I can marinate the raw meat freeze dry it and eat it. Says freeze drying gets rid of the bacteria
Is this true or do I need to smoke first then freeze it?
Thanks

I make a lot of jerky in my smoker. The jerky "experts" say to start your jerky in the over at 350 degrees until the internal temp reaches 160 degs, to kill any bacteria. Then put in your smoker or dryer to finish. I don't do that. It goes straight in to my smoke house, which only goes up to about 150 degs.

 

[Caribou]

There are plenty of ways to kill bacteria, heat, sat, sugar, are ways to remove the water from bacteria. It makes sense to me that freeze drying would kill bacteria by removing the water. If you want the smoke flavor then smoke it before freeze drying. I found that canning increases the smoke flavor for some reason so I only kipper fish that I want to can. I doubt that freeze drying will do the same thing but I’d proceed slowly, don’t process 50# in your first batch.

 

[Neb]

There are plenty of ways to kill bacteria, heat, sat, sugar, are ways to remove the water from bacteria. It makes sense to me that freeze drying would kill bacteria by removing the water. If you want the smoke flavor then smoke it before freeze drying. I found that canning increases the smoke flavor for some reason so I only kipper fish that I want to can. I doubt that freeze drying will do the same thing but I’d proceed slowly, don’t process 50# in your first batch.

The vacuum would most likely kill bacteria sucking the water out. But this not my area if expertise so follow @Caribou 's advise and start slow.

Ben

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

I am getting lost in the terminology. Jerky, implies to me, that the meat is first marinated in salty flavoring or dry cured and then either smoked or dehydrated to cook/preserve it.

Are you planning to freeze dry the meat after one of these steps to get the rest of the moisture out? If so, the bacteria won't be an issue if it's used in the short term but it will need to be packaged in mylar/jars and o2 absorbers for the intermediate to
long haul.

For short term use I wouldn't bother freeze dying it.

If you just marinate raw meat and freeze dry it, you are not really making jerky and I have my doubts about eating it later without cooking it. I have freeze dried steak stir fry and that's pretty much the same thing. It needs to be treated as raw meat and cooked before eating.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

Jerky out of a smoker has a definite shelf life. Not indefinite.

Dehydrated may last longer. I haven’t tried this method.

Jerky out of a freeze dryer may have a bit longer. Fat is the problem. Fat does not freeze dry. Therein lies your long term enemy. I have freeze dried some eye of round (leanest cut of meat). I doubt it will last 25 years.

Just as a helpful side note-I have seen at a couple of Costcos, the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer for about $600 off MSRP.

 

[montanabill]

Make your jerky yearly and enjoy it for that year. Evidently you haven't done much meat in your freeze dryer.....it should come out extra crispy and dry.

Eating it dry definitely necessitates a lot of water be drunk. Whereas jerky can be snacked on and enjoyed without drinking a extra quart of water.

Most of the jerky I enjoy has a fair amount of fat in it which if you try to freeze dry meat with a lot of fat the fat stays oily and surely will spoil.

And if you do freeze dry some jerky then as soon as you open it the moisture from the air gets sucked into the meat and you are right back to unpreserved meat. For an experiment try FDing some raspberries and then open the mylar bag and let them sit on the counter. The super crispy snack food gets soft and mushy from absorbed moisture in a couple of days.

I do trail food and and group sized quantities as well. I tend to cook everything (except eggs) so all I have to do is add boiling water to the mylar bag or soup kettle and I have tasty nutritious food. In austere conditions cold water would work also,

I like my vacuum packer that sucks the air out and seals the mylar bags....It would also work for your jerky if you throw in some O2 absorbers and vacuum pack it. I do use the harvest rite mylar bags after having some aftermarket bags rip when I packed or handled them.

 

[Mountain trapper]

There's probably as many ways to make jerky as there are people making jerky. I've been making jerky for around 55 years now and I'm still learning a lot. Probably the first step is to start with lean meat and remove all of the fat you can. Most people like to add salt in their brine, plus curing salt. Rarely do I add salt, but when I do I rinse the salt off the meat before going in the smoke house. I don't like salty jerky. Usually I make a sweet jerky or a sweet/hot jerky. I like to use honey, molasses, maple syrup and brown sugar. That's the same basic recipe for my salmon squaw candy too.
Someone should start a thread just on smoking and jerky making.

 

[Tim Horton]

IAfaug... First, welcome... Greetings from just west of Lake Superior...

At one time I made a lot of caseless ground meat summer sausage with different mixtures of homegrown, and wild game meats.. I had a pack of young guys who would come to the ranch to play paint ball that never let any recipe get old..

I also had a cook book of sausage, jerky, biltong recipes for animals all around the world..

I follow a poster on an Australian forum of her ..Sauga of a Freeze Dryer.. It is interesting..

Good luck..