samus79
Veteran Member
So I picked up a cheap dehydrator to make some jerky. I’m planning on using ground beef for the first test run. The instructions with the dehydrator say to add the curing salt (potassium/sodium nitrate) to prevent bacterial growth while it dries out.
Is it really necessary to use the curing salt? The dehydrator will dry the ground beef at 160 degrees which is enough to kill any bacteria and I’m planning on storing it in the fridge. Anyone have any experience with this? Any good recipes for ground beef jerky?
Also wondering about the fat content of the beef, I realize you want the leanest ground beef to prevent it going rancid, but I’m planning on eating it all long before it would go rancid, especially being that it will be stored in the fridge. Would it be alright to use beef with a higher fat content to possibly improve the flavor? My only concern with higher fat would be it dripping into the internals of the dehydrator and having to clean it out.
Is it really necessary to use the curing salt? The dehydrator will dry the ground beef at 160 degrees which is enough to kill any bacteria and I’m planning on storing it in the fridge. Anyone have any experience with this? Any good recipes for ground beef jerky?
Also wondering about the fat content of the beef, I realize you want the leanest ground beef to prevent it going rancid, but I’m planning on eating it all long before it would go rancid, especially being that it will be stored in the fridge. Would it be alright to use beef with a higher fat content to possibly improve the flavor? My only concern with higher fat would be it dripping into the internals of the dehydrator and having to clean it out.