turkey jerkey

[Farr Away]

Made my first batch of jerkey last night.

2 1/2 pounds of 97% lean ground turkey
2 seasoning packets \
2 cure packets ____/ from Nesco Jerkey Works

Mixed well; loaded the jerkey 'gun', and extruded strips on the dehydrator trays. Fast and easy - my 6 year old helped with it. Dried overnight.

Results- 17 ounces of jerkey
very salty, but still tasty
a little overdried

I'm glad I didn't use the packet per pound that Nesco recommended. Next time, I think I'll only use one cure packet for this much ground turkey. (I expect the jerkey will be eaten by tomorrow, so it's not like I need to worry about how well it keeps.)

[Old Hiker]

I've always been curious: has anyone ever had or heard of food poisoning problems with homemade jerky products, esp. the poultry kind? I'm deeply paranoid about poultry. Had salmonella one time for a week because of undercooked chicken on an weekend hike. My fault - hungry as anything and wasn't thinking.

I've made my own beef jerky from lean roasts and such, but never poultry or ground type meats.

Thoughts?

[Wise Old Owl]

actually Old Hiker we explored this some time ago, the Ground Turkey is now shipped in a container that contains a gas, when you open it to get the turkey out the gas vaporises harmlessly and the Turkey is safe.

Here it is,
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=61402

[Fiddleback]

Just a little OT...

A year or so ago on this or another forum one of the members posted about eating doggie treats that were basically turkey (or chicken?) jerky. The poster seemed to enjoy them. In response, some warnings were posted that the pet treats weren't prepared with the same health standards as human 'treats.' Additionally, I'd be concerned if the pet product was manufactured in China as so many are...

Wise Old Owl: The gas you refer to (generally nitrogen) in the meat packaging is used to keep the meat fresh or, at the least, fresh looking. It delays oxidation and the growth of bacteria. In other words, it allows us to eat foods that are older than we would otherwise find at the supermarket.:rolleyes: But I don't think it has any other pathogen control benefit, i.e., if the meat was already contaminated when packaged it's still contaminated when it's opened. And after opening, spoilage will occur at about the same rate as if it had been packaged without the inert gases. I think.;)

FB

[beartripper]

Last week I did half of a wild turkey. IMHO it was great. I agree with post #2 eating
chicken can be risky.

[Wise Old Owl]

Fiddleback I agree with you, the butcher was telling me if the seal was broken though he was required to throw it out.

[Farr Away]

Freezing the meat first for a minimum of 30 days is supposed to take care of possible pathogens. I doubled that time for the turkey I used.

[Wise Old Owl]

Freezing the meat first for a minimum of 30 days is supposed to take care of possible pathogens. I doubled that time for the turkey I used.

I didn't know that so I looked it up... Here is what I found as an addendum.

From a NZ website....

In general, frozen foods have an excellent safety record – it is extremely rare for a foodborne illness to be traced back to a frozen food. Freezing preserves food by either stopping microbes (bacteria, fungi etc) from multiplying or halting the foods own enzyme activity that would otherwise cause the food to rot.
This fact sheet outlines some safety recommendations about handling and thawing frozen food to reduce the growth of pathogens and reduce the risk of them contaminating other foods via drips. (Pathogens are microbes such as Salmonella and Campylobacter that cause illness in people.)
How does freezing preserve foods?

Most pathogens don’t multiply at freezer temperature and many of them perish because their enzymes don’t work properly to maintain normal cell activity. Also, pathogens need water to grow and freezing turns the available water into solid ice crystals. The slower the freezing process the larger the crystals become and the more cells they damage.
How quickly the food freezes also depends on the amount of solutes (soluble salts, proteins and carbohydrates) which affect the temperature at which ice crystals are formed1 (http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/consumers/food-safety-topics/foodborne-illnesses/freezing-thawing/fact-sheet-frozen-foods4_6.htm#P9_1182). The higher the level of solutes the lower the temperature must be for the food to freeze.
Does freezing kill all pathogens and parasites?

No. A common misunderstanding is that freezing makes food sterile (ie, it kills all microbes including bacteria, yeasts and moulds) – this is NOT the case. The best way to kill pathogens and parasites in food is to cook food thoroughly.
Although pathogens don’t multiply in the freezer, certain species can survive the freezing process by going into ‘hibernation’ or forming resistant cells (eg, spores2 (http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/consumers/food-safety-topics/foodborne-illnesses/freezing-thawing/fact-sheet-frozen-foods4_6.htm#P13_1867)) and up to 70% may ‘come back to life’ again as the food begins to thaw.3 (http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/consumers/food-safety-topics/foodborne-illnesses/freezing-thawing/fact-sheet-frozen-foods4_6.htm#P14_2123) Salmonella have been known to survive for 7 years at –23°C in ice cream and Campylobacter can survive freezing if the initial contamination levels are high. Also, freezing does not affect toxins left by certain bacteria (eg, staphylococcal enterotoxin and botulinum toxins).