What is Kippered Beef? (And How to Make it)
What’s the Difference Between Kippered Beef & Jerky?
There are differing opinions, but the most common answer is the amount of water activity present. While both products are good to eat, jerky is going to be dryer. You’ll notice similar smoking schedules as well. And of course the appearance. True kippered beef is julienned into strips before thermal processing. So we just threw them on our smoke screens and gave them a few slices.
Slicing & Mixing
The first thing is we have to slice the meat into usable pieces. We have trimmed and partially frozen our meat to make slicing it easier. We like to get our meat into manageable fist-size pieces that can easily have the fat trimmed off.
We can now use our Walton’s slicer to get these pieces to the exact thickness we want. As you can see, some of the strips vary in size; this is fine as long as the thickness isn’t too different. We went for closer to 1/2 inch this time. So slice up some pieces and set them aside until the slicing is finished.
Next is to mix the seasoning with the correct amount of water. We threw all our sliced meat and seasoning with the correct amount of water in our vacuum tumbler. This will help loosen the fibers of the meat and allow the seasoning to penetrate it, making for a bolder flavor. Once under a vacuum, we let it tumble for about an hour.
Smoke Schedule
1. Drying Phase: 90 Minutes at 110 degrees
2. Smoking: for 30 Minutes at 140 degrees
3. Drying Phase: for 15 Minutes at 145 degrees
4. Cook: for 15 Minutes at 150 degrees
5. Cook: 15 More Minutes at 155 degrees
6. Up Temp to 170 degrees until internal is 165 degrees
We know some of these temperatures and times are hard to replicate. Here’s a video on how we fared making jerky in our oven. So please use this video for inspiration and/or advice!
Meat Processing Equipment: 208 Low Temp Oven
Dragon’s Breath
The awesome new seasoning we tried is Dragon’s Breath. We heard the name and knew we had to try it! While mixing, the seasoning stuck in our nostrils and helped clean out our sinuses for sure. However, the seasoning wasn’t too overwhelming when it came to taste. So trust us, some heat but NOT burn your mouth hot!
