I have made pork loin jerky 3 times now. It's MUCH cheaper and tastes just the same if not better.
I buy mix from Mad Hunky for 5lbs. I add, I like heat. I buy full loins from Costco and trim them. I make chops and a small roast and the rest is trimmed for 5lbs of lean pork.
I have done eye of round $$$$ many times, it is a bit more lean trimmed properly, but we all know fat is where the flavor is at and pork is CHEAP AND TASTES THE SAME for jerky. My pork cut has a bit more fat once trimmed. I slice at 1/4" or so. I marinate (my marinade does have cure) I'm safe like that and it's not sooo salty.
I smoke at 105f or so for 4 hours then move to the normal inside dehydrator. I pull bits off as done throughout the day when done. Once all done, about 8 PM I put it all in a big 2 gallon freezer bag and into the fridge overnight. The cold temps and in the same bag causes the pieces to equalize humidity levels. Next day when I get to it I'll vacupack about 3 bags, throw them into the freezer, and the leftovers into the fridge in bags.
Sometimes when I open a bag from the freezer (and that's 7 months later) and move to basic sealable fridge bags, I get a bit of fat slime on the inside of the bag. I know those bits had a bit of fat on it, not much, and it tastes WONDERFUL.
Soo, in summary, pork jerky is cheaper and much better And wow you won't know till you try it...
