Five-pound smoked jerky — existing Cure #1 standard
Organized existing canonical recipe, not a new flavor formula. The original 5.7-g labeled 6.25% Cure #1 formulation is retained; pre-drying moist heating and conservative storage are clarified. No successful Robert confirmation cook or independent preservation validation is claimed.
- YIELD
- Approximately 1 1/4–1 3/4 lb finished jerky; drying changes yield
- PREP / WAIT
- 30 minutes plus 18–24 hours refrigerated curing
- COOK
- Moist heating to 160°F first, followed by about 3–6 hours smoking/drying; texture determines finish
Ingredients
- 5 lb lean beef, weighed after trimming and sliced 1/8–3/16 inch thick
- 5.7 g labeled Prague Powder #1 or Insta Cure #1 containing 6.25% sodium nitrite, weighed on a 0.1-g scale; use only a product whose directions permit this application and rate
- 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon coarse black pepper
- 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1/2–1 1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- Optional: 2 teaspoons mustard powder
- Hot water below the roasting rack for moist preheating; enough to cover the pan bottom without touching the beef
Method
- Keep the trimmed five-pound batch cold. Confirm the cure identity and its directions before weighing 5.7 g; do not convert this amount using a nutrition-label serving weight. This recipe does not apply to Tender Quick, Cure #2, Fiesta dosing inferred from an old chat, ordinary pink salt or an unidentified product.
- Mix the measured cure uniformly into the Worcestershire, soy and seasonings before adding beef. Coat every strip. Cover and refrigerate at 40°F or below for 18–24 hours, turning several times.
- Complete the heating step before smoking or drying: heat an oven to 325°F. Drain the strips, discard the used marinade and put the beef in a single layer on racks over rimmed pans. Put hot water beneath the racks without submerging the meat, and cover the pans tightly with foil so the strips steam/roast while moist.
- Check several thick strips using a thin-tip food thermometer. Continue moist heating until they reach at least 160°F internally; begin checking after about 10 minutes, but let measured temperature determine the endpoint. Work in manageable batches and keep uncooked portions refrigerated.
- Immediately move the cooked strips to clean racks in a smoker maintaining 150–160°F for the separate drying/flavor stage. Leave airflow gaps. This low chamber temperature is used only after the measured 160°F moist heating step, never as a substitute for it.
- Begin checking thin pieces around 2 1/2–3 hours. Total drying often takes 3–6 hours but varies. Cool a sample for 5–10 minutes; it should bend with fiber cracks and have no soft wet center. Remove individual pieces as finished.
- Cool briefly, then pack in small clean containers and refrigerate within 2 hours. Keep at 40°F or below; for this unvalidated home batch, use within 3–4 days or freeze promptly. No pantry-storage or vacuum-packaging shelf-life claim is made.
Notes & storage
- The ingredient formula is copied from the existing DAT-0021 public standard, including 2 1/2 teaspoons EACH of garlic and onion powder. The download and FOOD-013 remain unchanged.
- The existing standard specifies 160°F before or early in drying. This presentation makes the USDA-preferred before-drying moist heat sequence explicit. Cure does not replace the heating step.
- The source still calls for a confirmation cook. This supplement does not turn the formula into a tested or independently validated shelf-stable process, and manufacturer instructions take precedence over a generic cure name.