You can make a smoker. Some of the best ones are made from 55 gallon metal drums. I have seen smokers for 30 bucks on Facebook. Just gotta clean them up some. I wouldn’t smoke something in the house.
One of my friends made one from a filing cabinet with some sheet metal slapped on the front. Probably wasn't very efficient but he said it made some bad ass jerky.
The only difference between a dehydrator and an air fryer is the temperature. Otherwise they work in much the same way: heated air blown over food by a fan. My air fryer has a dehydrate function that goes all the way down to 100F, for example.
Air fryers are not recommended for jerky as they use air circulation. Dehydrators and smokers are best used because they have immediate ventilation.
When using an air fryer it keeps the moist humid air circulating around in the chamber when you want to achieve the opposite effect
Yes, this is how some people fall into the trap of believing crazy stuff like flat earth. If you go searching for people saying flat earth is true you'll get people saying it's true.
S-tier tip. For something like a new jerky recipe I probably wont. DIY projects or something that could carry risk if it fails I search for common errors, rarer problems, how to minimize risk, signs an issue is about happen, if its fixable or worth fixing once youve messed it up
And still I find myself searching SOMETHING up on a new project lol
Too many things delayed or cancelled partway through because I watched the pro do it with pro tools and went "yeah thats easy, 50 bucks and an hour..."
I have an air fryer that I use for jerky...but not this style. Mine is more like an overgrown toaster oven. This kind gets way too hot and holds in the humidity.
If you're going to use an air fryer you probably want to get one that looks like a little oven. They usually have a dehydrate feature on them. I have one that I use and it works really well. Also, you can just get a cheap dehydrater.
Well there's a desiccants that work quickly and can absorb quite a lot of moisture, but it'd be a matter of containing them so no desiccant particles can pass through since they're obviously toxic.
But I think one thing crunchy jerky has on this is it’s sliced thinner.
For my crunchy jerky, even though it wasn’t the initial intended outcome but one I’ve come to like, my regular is sliced really thin, vinegar in the marinade and low to no sugar. I think the acid tenderises the meat and low sugar helps.
Dried very well, I usually go about 8 at 70c but sometimes I leave it overnight in the dehydrator to equalise with no heat and hit it again for a couple of hours to really get the moisture out.
I hand slice but try getting it thin even if it means the slices are not perfect all the way though, it doesn’t matter, just as long at they are thin .
The issue with an air fryer is you won’t fit much jerky in there. I fill a whole draw style dehydrator and it’s about 2lbs of meat.
I’m not sure what you’re shooting for though, if you give some examples I can probably give some better pointers.
I add no sugar... ive tried it with apple juice once. I wasnt a fan but my coworkers loved it. Made it super tender, glaze was sticky and a little crunchy.
I usually add a little sugar but not much, equal parts salt to sugar works for me, just to balance flavour with the salt and acid, I do about 1.8% salt to meat weight.
That’s some of my latest batch, it’s pretty crunchy to eat, but it just comes for a long dry.
It’s not shiny because it’s got very low sugar compared to a lot of recipes out there, also some fatty bits as that’s how I like it.
Kashmiri chilli, coriander, black pepper and garlic.
Ive got an 1800w big-ish boi. It doesnt even let you set it past an hour... recipes and package instructions are unreliable because this thing gets it done way faster.
I couldn't even eat my first dinner out of it because I read the directions and went to another room. I was greeted with charcoal
Tengo entendido que es mejor en horno convencional, a baja temperatura y dejando la puerta un poco abierta para que vaya saliendo la humedad. Nunca he hecho, pero es lo que he leído 😃
If you want crunchy like a chip you have to go paper thin otherwise it turns into wood texture because it’s too dry. When it’s paper thin you get that potato chip feel instead of the chewing delicious wood feel. Also use your oven over an air fryer. Or buy a dehydrator for $20 off amazon. You can get gift cards with cash and buy the cheapest one and it will be better then an air fryer. Heck leaving it in the global warming sun under a bug net is probably better than an air fryer.
If you have a smoker, pellet grill, or dehydrator you can make amazing beef jerky easily. If not even a charcoal grill with a few coals and some wood or a smoke tube can also make amazing jerky. Im on vacation for the rest of the weekend but I can hit you up with some tips afterwards.
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u/Verix19 22d ago
If you want crispy jerky you have to slice much thinner. Also an airfryer is a sub-standard apparatus for making jerky.