romper wrote:
> I'm using up to 1/4" slices. Anyone have opinions on slicing grainwise
> vs. against the grain?

We ask for the thinnest possible slice which usually turns out to be
about 1/8 to 3/16 inch because we also get enough for jerky at the same
time and we think the thinner the better, but that's our preference.
(Also makes it easier to whiz in the blender.)

For jerky, slicing grainwise vs against the grain doesn't really matter
too much when the starting meat is real thin, like we like it.  But you
can definitely develop a preference when the meat is thicker i.e.
experiment to find your choice if you are cutting it yourself (peaking
thru the butcher's window, he does it all which ways unless specifically
told.)

> > - lay it out in a dehydrator till when you bend it, it cracks

> I made a batch where I didn't wait until
> cracking. It was too *raw* for me.

We leave our pemmican beef in longer than the beef for jerky.  We've
found a nice powdery whizzed beef (real dry) to be best, easier to make
pemmican with, but for jerky we like it a tad bit chewy (but thoroughly
dry, just not to the cracking point.

I think the issue of moisture left in the meat is the only cause of
possible deterioration i.e. a shorter shelf life.  About the only way
bacteria could grow would be if the meat was too moist -- at least that
is how we understand it.

We buy 1 pound plastic bags of SUET in the freezer section for the fat
and go to great efforts to process it "wisely" i.e. in such a way that
doesn't heat it too much creating tans fatty acids and to insure it is
filtered real well.

Grant