Mesquite Ground Beef Jerky on the Nesco Snackmaster Pro

This mesquite ground beef jerky has a really great smoky flavor to it, but it’s not overwhelming.

Course Dehydrator

Cuisine Jerky

Keyword BBQ, beef, dehydrator, jerky, nesco snackmaster pro, sweet

Prep Time 8

Cook Time 6

Total Time 14

Servings pound

Calories 1243kcal

Author Mike

Equipment

Ingredients

2 pounds lean ground beef
2 tablespoons Eastman Outdoors Mesquite Jerky Seasoning see my note below
2 teaspoons pink curing salt Comes with the seasoning. Optional if you're going to refrigerate the finished product
½ cup water

Instructions

Place beef in a resealable bag or container.
In a small bowl whisk together the seasoning, curing salt and water. Pour over the meat and seal. Shake to coat.
Refrigerate the meat for up to 8 hours, shaking or massaging every hour or so to get the marinade distributed and absorbed evenly.
Remove meat from the marinade and add to a jerky gun. Squeeze out onto Nesco trays. Do not overlap meat.
Add the dehydrator top, set to maximum temperature setting and dehydrate for 5 hours, rotating the trays (bottom to top) every 2 hours or so.
To test for doneness remove a piece and let cool slightly. Try to bend the meat. If it gives and starts to tear at the bend it is done. If it bends without tearing return to the dehydrator and let it run another 15 minutes and test again. If the meat is crunchy it is overdone but still good. It's really personal preference as to how you like your jerky. Soft, chewy, crunchy. There's no wrong here.
Let cool before storing in an airtight container.

Notes

The package for the Eastman Outdoors jerky seasoning states that it makes up to 5 pounds of jerky. I personally feel that the flavor is too mellow, so I use just about an entire package for 1 pound of jerky. I end up with a little left over seasoning, which I store in a labelled air-tight container. I'll eventually mix it with more seasoning. I think I can get 3 pounds of well-seasoning jerky out of two packages of Eastman Outdoors mix.

This recipe is for starting with 2 pounds of meat. You'll end up with about 1 pound in the end. You can easily double/triple/etc this recipe for large quantities of meat, however 5-6 pounds is about all you can fit onto a Nesco Snackmaster Pro fitted with 12 trays (the unit comes with 5).

Nutrition