Here's a quick and easyground beef jerky recipe that can be madewith or without a jerky gun. Simply season the meat, press into thin strips, then dehydrate. A perfect low carb snack!
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Quick and Easy Ground Beef Jerky Recipe
Recipe
We all know that meat is a perfect low carb keto snack because it has zero carbs. However, most commercially prepared beef jerky is prepared with marinades using sugar so carbs can add up.
We love homemade jerky, but hate the time it takes to slice and soak in marinade. That's why we make ground meat jerky now. It's so quick and easy to prepare!
In this post, I'll show you the method used for my ground beef jerky recipe. It's really easy to do and you don't need any special tools or equipment.
My husband is a serious deer hunter and his favorite way to eat the meat is venison jerky. We used to spend hours slicing up the meat for jerky.
It was so time consuming that I rarely made jerky more than once or twice a year. We grind up most of the meat because I prefer eating venison ground.
So, I came up with this ground beef jerky recipe to make our own ground venison jerky. The method uses a dry seasoning blend that requires no slicing or marinating. This saves tons of time when it comes to making jerky!
Now, I don't mind making jerky every few weeks. It literally takes less than a half hour to mix the meat with seasoning and lay it out on trays.
The time it takes to dry in my dehydrator is less than 8 hours. So it's easily started in the morning and enjoyed in the afternoon!
Although a jerky gun is not required to for making jerky out of ground meat, it is definitely preferred. Using the tool makes it a lot easier to form the strips.
I own an inexpensive jerky gun by Prestowhich I picked up at a kitchen store in a local mall. But there are much better ones on the market if you are willing to spend a little more money.
The great thing about using the jerky gun for the ground beef jerky recipe is that you can press the strips right onto the dehydrator tray.
If you don't have a jerky gun, you'll need to roll out the meat mixture into a thin layer and then cut it into strips. Then, you'll have to move the strips carefully onto the dehydrator trays.
Our dehydrator is very large so next time I'll make a double batch. I used about 3 pounds of ground venison for this recipe and it only took up about half of my large Excaliber dehydrator.
The prepared jerky can be stored for months in the freezer so no worries about having to eat it all within a week! And, it's one of my favorite portable keto snacks for taking on the road.
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to make low carb beef jerky, use a jerky gun with seasoned ground meat.
This ground beef jerky recipe requires no marinating because the seasoning is blended into the ground meat. That alone saves hours since you don't have to wait for the marinade to soak into the meat.
It also saves time in the dehydrator because the meat isn't dripping wet from the marinade. Now that we knowhow to make ground venison jerky, you can bet we will bemaking all our jerky with ground meat from now on!
Quick and Easy Ground Beef Jerky Recipe
Enjoy this super easy ground meat jerky. And if you have lots of ground venison, you may want to try my slow cooker venison chili.
Here's how to make ground beef or venison jerky with or without a jerky gun. Simply season the meat, press into thin strips, then dehydrate. A perfect low carb snack!
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Sometimes I combine ground venison and ground beef 50-50 to make a better mix for any recipe that calls for ground meat. If you do this, you can buy the cheaper ground beef that is a 75-25 mix of lean to fat, and when you add the leaner ground venison, you still get a pretty lean mix.
I like to grind the meat and fat for this right before making the jerky, but any ground venison will do. You will want at least a little fat in the grind, however, because otherwise the jerky will be pretty crumbly and dry.
The best cuts of meat for beef jerky are Top Round, Bottom Round, Lifter and Pectoral, but a variety of cuts can be used such as Flank Steak and Skirt Steak. These cuts of beef check all the boxes for beef jerky—economical, lean, and full of flavor. Selecting a lean cut of meat that has very little fat is key.
Beef fat is the preferred source when making deer burgers. It adds some great flavor (especially if you add some trimmed ribeye fat), but it also helps bind the meat together better and helps it hold in the patty shape.
If you do not have the ability to get Force of Nature patties, I recommend using a 50/50 blend of venison and beef from your local butcher and mix the ground meat together into a patty.
The short answer is that your jerky is so tough because it's too dehydrated. For some people, this is a great thing and the tougher the jerky, the better! But maybe toughness isn't what you (or your teeth) want in a jerky.
Once you have chosen the deer meat, make sure you rinse it before going any further. This way, you can get rid of any lingering hair or blood that may have stuck around during processing. Then, soak the meat for three to five days. This takes away the gamey flavor by draining out the remaining blood.
Depending on what you're planning to cook, you may want to add fat to your ground venison. This added fat can be bacon, pork shoulder, pork belly, beef tallow, etc. It's purely personal preference. I always add about 15-20 percent fat if I'm making hamburger or kebabs, which makes the meat juicier and more flavorful.
Dehydrators are much more effective at this than most conventional ovens or other heat sources, so it is much easier to make a consistent product with a dehydrator. This allows fast, even drying with little risk of food spoilage. Look for a unit with a high wattage fan and a timer for best results.
Is a cure necessary when making jerky? For safety, yes. Using a jerky cure will inhibit bacteria growth and prevent botulism or other foodborne illnesses, as jerky is dried at low temps, not cooked. Cured jerky will also lengthen the shelf-life of your product.
And here is even better news, you don't have to have strips of meat, you can use ground beef! You heard me right! My husband and I buy a half a cow at a time for our large size family, but we always end up with more ground beef than we need. That is where the jerky comes in.
Bacon Jerky takes that smoky delicious porky goodness and combines it with the texture of beef jerky. It literally blew my mind the first time I made it. There are only a few steps to making Bacon Jerky and it all starts with thick sliced cured and smoked bacon. This will give you the best results.
Traditionally, jerky was made using the sun, wind and smoke from fires to preserve and extend the shelf life of meat. Drying and smoking results in meat products that have a long storage life, allowing for the preservation of large amounts of meat that could be stored and consumed later.
This means you can combine types of ground meats in order to influence the final texture. For example, add ground pork to your meatballs to give them a smoother, softer texture than just using ground beef alone. Or better yet, you could mix in diced bacon, pancetta, or prosciutto!
Wondering what to mix with ground venison? Beef and pork are your best bets. Ground venison, or deer meat, is gamey-tasting and has very little fat. Because venison is so lean, you can improve its taste and texture by mixing it with pork sausage or beef for some added fat.
For best results, they would be ground together. However, if you have ground fat, you can absolutely add it after the fact. We have even used 70/30 beef and cut it with 100% venison to make it closer to 80/20 or whatever. I grind pork butts into mine for sausage.
Introduction: My name is Carlyn Walter, I am a lively, glamorous, healthy, clean, powerful, calm, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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