Jerky Making Tip: Safety

Raw meat is no joke! That's why we put together these quick safety tips for you when you're making jerky at home...

 

If you are interested in checking out the USDA Fact Sheet on Jerky & Food Safety,
please follow this link.

Jerky Making Tip: Marination

Let's be honest: No one likes bland jerky. If you're a regular home jerky maker, you've probably had a batch or two that just didn't taste as delicious as you had hoped. You put all the right ingredients in there, but they just didn't... pop.

It's all in the marination. We put one habanero pepper and a cup of mango juice in a bag with a pound of pork and ended up with some of the most flavorful, dynamic jerky we've ever made. And it was only marinating in the fridge for 12 hours. The secret? Our vacuum sealer. We explain further in the graphic below.

Homemade Snack Sticks with Weston Jerky Tonic

  

Our Sweet & Spicy Jerky Tonic also just so happens to make for a mean Snack Stick! With a Weston Grinder, Stuffer, and Smoker we made homemade Slim Jims unlike any other we've ever tasted.

  
- Ingredients - 
2 lbs beef, trimmed completely of fat and cubed
1/2 cup Weston Sweet & Spicy Jerky Tonic
2 tablespoons non-fat dry milk powder

- Tools - 
Weston Meat Grinder
Weston Sausage Stuffer
Weston 19mm Collagen Casings
Weston Smoker with sausage hooks
Hickory Wood Chips

Use a Weston Meat Grinder to grind beef once through a coarse grinding plate, then a second time through a finer plate.

Mix Jerky Tonic and milk powder into the ground beef.

Preheat your Weston Smoker to 200 degrees F. Soak wood chips for at least a half hour prior to smoking.

Attach a 19mm funnel to your Weston Sausage Stuffer.  Thread your casing onto the funnel and fill the canister with meat. Turn the handle just until the meat begins to exit the funnel. Push the air out of the casing and tie a knot in the end. Turn the handle, filling the casing, until you have used all of the ground meat.

Fill the water bowl of your smoker and pour the wood chips into the smoke box. String your snack stick link across the Smoker's sausage hooks. Smoke for about 5 hours, or until the internal temperature of the meat is 155 and the meat sticks are dry and firm.

Remove from the smoker, allow to cool, then refrigerate overnight. Cut your link into snack sticks and enjoy!

Jerky Making Tip: How to Make Your Own Seasoning

There are plenty of jerky seasoning kits out there (heck, we make seven different flavors ourselves); but sometimes you want the satisfaction of doing it yourself. Don't get us wrong, we personally labored over the recipes for the Weston seasonings you see on the shelf. But still, there's just something about rummaging the spice cabinet that feels so right.

In the countless jerky recipes we've come up with on our own, we've learned that there are some basics you can't ignore. We figured we'd save you do-it-yourselfers some time and lay out for you the undeniables:

...And of course, don't be afraid to get creative. These are just the very basics to consider. We've sweetened with mango juice and molasses, spiced with habanero peppers and chilis, and marinated in Jack Daniels and lime juice. Make it your own!

Mango Habanero Jerky with a Weston Dehydrator

 It's everything a jerky should be - spicy, sweet, and delicious. But here's the kicker: it's pork! With a few simple ingredients, a Weston Vacuum Sealer for marinating, and a Weston Dehydrator, you too can make this tasty pork jerky. 

- Ingredients -
1 lb pork, completely trimmed of fat (you could use any meat for this recipe, really)
1 cup mango juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 habanero pepper, diced finely

- Tools - 
Weston Knife Set or Jerky Slicer
Weston Vacuum Sealer with Vacuum Bags or Vacuum Canisters
Weston Dehydrator


Use your Weston Knife Set or Weston Jerky Slicer to slice your pork into thin pieces. Place them into a Weston Vacuum Sealer Bag or Canister and pour in the remaining ingredients. Use a Weston Vacuum Sealer to seal it up. Place in the refrigerator and allow to marinate 24 hours.

Once marinated, pat your jerky strips dry and lay out onto your Weston Dehydrator trays.

Turn the dehydrator to 155 and dehydrate for six hours or until completely dry but still flexible (not brittle).

To be safe, because pork tends to be very fatty, we recommend refrigerating this jerky and consuming it within two weeks.

Pesto Ravioli with the Roma Ravioli Rolling Pin

Basil-specked pasta dough pockets filled with a creamy pesto sauce -
accomplished with the aid of the Roma Ravioli Rolling Pin.

- Ingredients - 

Dough
1 cup semolina
2 eggs
1 tablespoon dried basil leaves

Filling
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1/8 cup Romano cheese, grated
1/8 cup fresh garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon crushed rosemary leaves

- Tools -
Weston Manual Kitchen Mixer
Roma Ravioli Rolling Pin


Prepare your dough by pouring the semolina into a large bowl, mixing in dry basil leaves, then breaking eggs into the center of the mound of flour. Fold the flour into the center until a smooth, elastic dough forms. Roll the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare your filling by placing all filling ingredients into your Weston Manual Kitchen Mixer with the chopper attachment inserted, and turn the handle to blend completely. Remove the handle but keep the lid on and chill in the refrigerator while your dough finishes resting.

Once rested, place a large round of dough onto a floured surface, and use the Roma Ravioli Rolling Pin with the cover intact to roll out a sheet of dough. Set the sheet aside. Roll out a second sheet of dough (attempting to make the two sheets as close in size and shape as possible).

Cover a third of this sheet with filling. Place the other sheet of dough on top of the filling, aligning the two sheets as closely as possible.

Remove the cover from the pin and use the Ravioli Pin to press the top sheet out and away from you. As you press, you will fill, seal, and cut the ravioli.

Continue for remainder of dough and filling.

Smoked Pulled Pork, Apples & Cheddar in a Weston Smoker

For us, the best pulled pork means pork marinated in root beer, Jack Daniels, and a few other homemade barbecue sauce ingredients, then smoked in a Weston Smoker with cheddar-filled apples.


- Ingredients -
5 lb pork roast, bone in
12 oz rootbeer
12 oz tomato paste
1 yellow onion, sliced
1/2 cup Jack Daniels
1/2 cup brown sugar
3  tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons coarse black pepper
2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce

3 Red Delicious Apples
1 cup mild cheddar, cut into small pieces

- Tools -
Weston Vacuum Sealer + Bags
Weston Smoker
apple wood smoking chips
Aluminum roasting pan, large enough for roast, but small enough to fit into smoker
Weston Apple Peeler

For the Pulled PorkFirst, count the bones in your roast and take note of them. You will be marinating and smoking with the bones in, so you will need to take care to remove all of them once you're done.

Mix together all ingredients for marinade. Place the roast into a Weston Vacuum Sealer Bag, then pour in the marinade. Use a Weston Vacuum Sealer to seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight at least.

Once you're ready to smoke the roast, soak Apple Woodchips for at least a half hour. In the meantime, preheat your Weston Smoker to 200-250 degrees F. Once preheated, fill the water bowl and wood chip box. Open the vacuum-sealed roast and pour both the roast and the marinade into the aluminum pan.

Place the pan into the smoker and smoke for 8 hours or until the internal temperature of the pork is 165 and the meat is fork tender. Once the pork is finished smoking, remove all bones, then use two forks to shred it. Smother with pan drippings.

For the Apples
When the pork is about two hours away from being done, use the Weston Apple Peeler to peel and core your apples, leaving them in one piece.

Place the apples onto foil and fill the hollow middle with the cheddar cheese. Place into the smoker and allow to smoke for an hour, or until apples are soft and browned.

 Serve smoked apples alongside your pulled pork.

Sweet Chili Beef Jerky with a Weston Jerky Gun

Our Sweet Chili Jerky is tangy, spicy, sweet, and oh-so-good: Fresh beef ground with a Weston Meat Grinder, mixed with red pepper flakes, garlic, and ginger, pressed through a Weston Jerky Gun, and dehydrated in a Weston Dehydrator.

- Ingredients - 
2 lb beef, fat trimmed off and meat cubed
1 cup rice vinegar
1.5 cups brown sugar
.5 cups honey
5 gloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons liquid smoke
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons minced ginger
2 teaspoons cayenne
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

- Tools -
Weston Vacuum Sealer + Canister
Weston Meat Grinder
Weston Meat Lug
Weston Jerky Gun
Weston Dehydrator + Dehydrator Netting

Place the beef and remaining ingredients, except the sesame seeds, in a Weston Vacuum Canister. Attach the canister to a Weston canister-capable Vacuum Sealer and seal. Place the canister into the refrigerator and allow to marinate at least 12 hours.

Drain the meat of all liquid and place it onto the tray of your Weston Meat Grinder. Using a coarse grinding plate, grind the meat through once, then grind it again through a fine grinding plate into a Weston Meat Lug.

Fill a Weston Jerky Gun tube with the meat, and be sure to use the stomper to push the meat down as much as possible. Dispense the jerky meat onto Weston Dehydrator Trays covered with Dehydrator Netting.

Place the trays into your preheated Weston Dehydrator, sprinkle the jerky with sesame seeds, and dehydrate for 6 hours at 155 degrees F or until jerky is dry, but still soft.

Salmon Jerky in a Weston Dehydrator

A sweet, smoky jerky sprinkled with coarse black pepper & smoked sea salt and dried in our Weston Dehydrator.

- Ingredients - 
2 lbs salmon
1 orange
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cracked black pepper
1/4 cup mesquite flavored liquid smoke

3 tablespoons Mesquite Smoked Sea Salt
3 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper

- Tools - 
Weston Game Processing Knives
Weston Manual Kitchen Kit
Weston Vacuum Sealer & Canister
Weston Dehydrator

Use the Weston Game Processing Set to remove the skin from the salmon and cut it into jerky strips. Place the salmon into a Weston Vacuum Canister. Use the Weston Manual Kitchen Kit to zest the orange, then set the zest aside. Cover the zest and refrigerate it for later.

Next, use the kit to juice the orange, then combine the juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, black pepper, and liquid smoke in the Kitchen Kit and mix. Pour the marinade over the salmon, cover, and use a Canister-capable Weston Vacuum Sealer to seal the canister. Refrigerate 12-24 hours. 

Preheat your Weston Dehydrator to 155 degrees F. Remove the salmon from the canister and pat dry. Lay the salmon onto the dehydrator trays and sprinkle with the orange zest, smoked sea salt, and coarse black pepper. Dehydrate for 5 hours.

Mesquite Smoked Sea Salt with a Weston Smoker

No need to spend the extra money purchasing smoked sea salt at the store. You can make your own quite simply.

- Ingredients -
Sea salt (as much as you'd like to smoke)

- Tools -
Weston Smoker
Mesquite wood chips (you may use any flavor you choose - just keep in mind that it will be the flavor of the salt)

Soak your wood chips in water for a half hour. In the meantime, preheat your Weston Smoker to 350 degrees F. Spread the sea salt across a sheet of foil on your smoker rack. Place the rack in the lowest position.

Fill the wood chip box with soaked wood chips. Smoke for two hours with the side dampers open slightly and the top damper closed completely. After two hours, your salt should be darker and slightly pink and grey in color. Remove and allow to cool before storing in an airtight container.