Jerky in the Oven

[TxBrew]

For those who have done oven and dehydrator, oven method just as good?

 

[leftcontact]

Just got a dehydrator for the hos, curious as to responses.

 

[aeviaanah]

I do it all the time! Works great. My advice is to set to lowest setting (mine is 170F) and put a fork in the door to lower this even more.

A few wood chips on the coil turns this dehydrator to a smoker

 

[Beer Nuts]

I have found that an oven or dehydrator is too fast.
They dry from the outside in leaving the meat tough and crisp.

My hillbilly hack is a cardboard box with the meat strung up inside. A vent hole on top and a little space heater/fan set on low blowing through a hole in the side.

Takes 24 hours. Jerky comes out with great tear and chew.

 

[Oldskewl]

There are 2 two types of dehydrators. The ones with a fan to circulate the warm air seem to be more consistent than the oven method or the the dehydrators that just radiate heat.

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

I have made hundreds of pounds of finished jerky (used to work in a butcher shop) and IMO the homeowner model dehydrators are the best. I've used commercial convection ovens and a smoker that probably cost $100k and I still stand by my dehydrator. It seems to be more consistent (depending on how you slice the meat) and is more forgiving. Ovens tend to dry the meat too fast and smokers (though taste the best) are inconsistent and is hard to put the same volume in. If you do choose to do the oven method I've had the greatest success by cutting the meat thicker than usual (~3/8". stretching out each individual piece is a trick I use to get a little extra tenderness), marinating overnight, then use toothpicks to hang the meat underneath the oven racks. It takes a little work but I prefer hanging them over laying them flat on the rack. (If you take the rack out and prop it up on jars/cans on the counter it works pretty well.)

Hope my rambling helps somehow. Cheers!

 

[specialkayme]

I used my oven for the first few batches of jerky, before I was willing to commit to the cost of one of the home dehydrators. My oven's temp wouldn't go low enough for my liking (170 is the lowest setting), so I propped a wooden spoon in the door. Overall it worked just fine. I think I did 4 batches before I bought a dehydrator. Downsides to using an oven:

1) it takes longer. I think it takes me about 4 hours to do a batch of jerky in the dehydrator (depending on thickness), and it took me 6-8 hours in the oven.

2) it's A TON messier and more difficult to clean. I had to scrub the wire racks before and after a batch of jerky (and those things aren't the easiest to really scrub). Then scrub the bottom/sides of the oven before, place tin foil down, then scrub the sides after. Even at that, I usually missed something, and the next time the wife used the oven there was smoke everywhere. With the dehydrator, I just throw the meat on the racks and when its done I toss it in the dishwasher. Done.

Both return a quality product though. I like my jerky a little on the chewy side though, so a quicker finish works better for me. YMMV.

 

[WesBrew]

I Have a $50 Nesco digital at home that works great. can set temperature and time. 90-160deg. start a batch at night, jerky in the morning! love it. I think the timer can go up to 24hrs so you could lower below the recommended 160degrees for longer but I use the high temp for 5-6 hrs depending on cut. drying out some hot peppers for seasoning right now.

 

[applescrap]

I have made jerky in the oven and I don't recall it being bad. I can't really compare them because it has been so long, but it makes great jerky, sure. The meat type/quality and recipe probably matter more. Dry, chewy, whatever, the stuff is so tasty you'll be thrilled to have it no matter how it comes out. Another question is whether or not to use cure. I bought some cure because I wanted to make jerky, but we eat the stuff so fast I'm not sure that it would last long enough to spoil. One of the main reasons I bought the Cure was to make beef jerky out of ground beef. Ground beef jerky in the oven comes out really well and it is easy and affordable to make big batches. Roll out on a zip lock bag for ease or between parchment paper. Put two rulers, one on each side, as thickness guide.

 

[kodiakken]

I have done it both ways and also with my smoker. I think in my own twisted little mind that the dehydrator is the best.

 

[bracconiere]

this thread just inspired me! i just modded my oven temp probe with a toggle switch and 200ohm resistor so i can get it to go as low as 95f...thinking set my oven to low, set up a couple of my computer fans with and old power supply! "i don't eat meat often but when i do, i eat beef jerky!' or at least like it to be special...