Ham Jerky

[tailfeathers]

Did a batch of ham jerky today, turned out really good! Here is how I do my ham jerky:
equal parts teriyaki (I like Mr Yoshida's), honey, molasses, and maple syrup. (@3/4 cup each)
2 t grated ginger
ground white pepper and cayenne pepper to taste.
This will make enough marinade for 6-7 lbs of ham.
slice ham and cut into strips, marinate overnight. The better quality ham you start with the better your jerky will be (duh).
I cold smoke the marinated ham for several hours using maple, then move to the dehydrator until it reaches the texture I want.

[tailfeathers]

Here it is in the smoker. Sorry but I didn't get pics of the finished product.


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[muebe]

Never had ham jerky. Would love to try some.

[smokeasaurus]

I sure would like to try some of that as well.

[sparky]

I think your just going to have to make more.  Let me know when you need my address.   

[tailfeathers]

Here's how it turned out


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[IR2dum]

tailfeathers, that looks great.

[tailfeathers]

Mrs TF is not a jerky fan whatsoever but she eats this stuff like candy. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed. Just my preference to cold smoke then dehydrate but if you don't have a dehydrator you can certainly finish it in the smoker like you would any other jerky. Just keep in mind you are drying not cooking so low temps and long times are the key.


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[tailfeathers]

I'm doing another batch of ham jerky today and couldn't remember whether I had ever posted this method on LTBBQ so I went to check and when I found it I discovered something. I failed to mention that when I make this marinade I also add an equal part (@3/4 cup) of very hot water to help dissolve the honey, molasses, etc and thin the marinade just a bit. If anyone has tried this and found the marinade too syrupy I apologize for the omission!

[RAD]

looks interesting. What is used for the cure? Or does it go so fast you don't need any?

[tailfeathers]

Even though the ham is already cured I do add a tsp of cure 1 per 5 lbs of meat to the marinade just to be on the safe side. Thanks for asking, another omission from the recipe! If you like ham (and if you don't I consider it a character flaw nearly as heinous as not liking bacon and don't trust you) you should really try this. Due to time constraints and a general lack of ambition I skipped the smoker today and went straight into the dehydrator. Added a tsp of liquid smoke to the marinade last night to make up for the lack of smoker time. It's been on about 4.5 hrs at 160F and will be coming off shortly, I'll post pics. Started with a 10.1 lb Kretschmar Bavarian ham, I'll weigh the jerky to see what it yielded.

[tailfeathers]

The just over 10 lb ham ended up being 4 3/4 lbs of jerky so just under 50% yield. Came out just fine without smoke so I may just use this method going forward. Could have fit another ham in the dehydrator, only used 6 of the 12 racks in the 80 liter Cabela's dehydrator to do a 10 lb ham. Man I love that thing!


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[Saber 4]

Anybody have any idea if good quality sliced deli ham would be too thin for ham jerky? I have a bunch in the freezer because our local Walmart slices deli meats that have been in the case for a week and sells them at clearance prices.

[tailfeathers]

I'm thinking it would be way to thin to try to make into jerky. I slice mine somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/4-1/6". I sliced too thin on a batch and it wasn't very good. Kinda like ham jerky flavored potato chips. Not that it sounds bad when you think about it but it wasn't a jerky-like texture that's for sure. If you got it real cheap I guess you could try it.


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[Saber 4]

I'm thinking it would be way to thin to try to make into jerky. I slice mine somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/4-1/6". I sliced too thin on a batch and it wasn't very good. Kinda like ham jerky flavored potato chips. Not that it sounds bad when you think about it but it wasn't a jerky-like texture that's for sure. If you got it real cheap I guess you could try it.


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Sounds like it would be better to skip it...