Try cherry tomato and cape gooseberry!

made my own 'biltong box' out of MDF (was a prototype, and still going strong), use special spice mix from South Africa with a marinade. hang to dry 4 - 10 days depending on weather. The $100 one sounds pretty good, I must go and check it out! 

i too have been using the commercial dehydrators and it makes beautiful jerky two batches going in this coming week for the trip to Perth, can't beat a healthy meat snack

i've had one for about a year, and have pulled out countless batches of my now famous chilli jerky. i call it flamehole, and man, it puts hairs on ya chest. i even got some naga jolokia seeds delivered last week, so i can make a super-hot batch once they start producing chillies.

the other flavour i do is just a simple BBQ flavour. my brothers mate was one of the dudes that originally started "roadkill" jerky, and my bro told me a few of their secret ingredients.  

by all accounts, my home made jerkys shit all over any that you can buy in the shops.

yep had one for a year or 2.heaps better than any ive paid for .easy as to make just gotta hide it from my kids as they scoff it by the handful "yaahhh that ones spiciey dad "scoff scoff.was thinking about trying a chicken one but scared of the salmanila factor

try this recipe which i poached of the net......it works well and much better than roadkill and the other pre made stuff ive brought over the yrs....the only things i changed was i never put in the curry powder and ginger.........also next time id put in two xtra tablespoons of worcestishire sauce to reduce the saltiness

also 1 table spoon of chilli is comfortable for this mix if ya cant  handle chill, two is also fine and 3 or more is ringer burner

otherwise all my mates who have tried it demolished it quick smart....i used topside and was tasty....next time ill try girello.........and the sunbeam food dehydrater takes a bit over two kg of meat just fine

the below mix is ok for up to 2 kg of meat and slice no more than 5mm thick, otherwise taste prior to marinading........2kg of meat will make about 500gr of jerky and marinde overnite

Basic Beef Jerky
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp grated root ginger
• 1 tbsp curry powder

1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients (except meat). Mix well.
2. Place meat three or four layers deep in a container, spooning beef jerky marinade mixture over each layer.
3. Cover tightly.
4. Marinate six to 12 hours in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally.
5. Make your jerky!

this was taken of the net so i cannot claim the recipe but its  a very good base to work with and u can add other bits as u like

Yeah I got myself one over the Chrissy period also.

Have only done one batch so far, used a similar recipe to the above but without the tomato or the worcestshire sauce, with some Sake and some of the Blair's Ultra Death Sauce (pretty damn hot) added in.

Came out well for a first attempt. Think ill back off on the soy next time and maybe try some ground fennel seeds or something to add a bit of something different.

 Once you start making jerky it becomes addictive... not only for your family but for your fishing buddies too. 

I use a Fowlers Vacola 4000 dehydrator.

does any1 know were i could buy liquid smoke in the perth metro area

cheers

i use a base of Worcestershire sauce, Soy sauce and vinegar with lots of chilli some garlic and loads of pepper, then get creative from there, add tomato sauce, hoi sin, fish sauce.

I like my jerky salty and loaded with pepper with a small amount of heat in the marinade, 24 hours is my preffered maninade time

shit im gunna have to buy one of these , at the cousins place yesterday n man with a few beers that beef jerky tasted awesome .

Bruce mate, im after liquid smoke........ive made this b4....i have recipes

cheers

i realise that 499, don't get your knickers in a knot. The post is about dehydrators and beef jerky, not liquid smoke so i feel i'm on topic here and helping those out who are looking to make there own. As for the liquid smoke 2 mins on the internerd got me the following site http://www.montereyfoods.com.au/ under liquid seasonings and they are an australian site too.

another site i have been given by a freind with some cool stuff for jerky and smoking food.

http://www.mistygully.com.au/catalog/index.php

Misty Gully has everything you could want and even stuff you dont but is always worth a look.

cheers mate

the liquid smoke is on its way shortly so lookin forward to trying that with the next batch

made a batch last nite of jerky 4 different flavours using under 3kg of girello with a 24hr marinade time,,,,,,gota say though that i reckon the basic recipe i posted above is the best and just adding various flavours to change it up works best

tried one recipe, was more italian style with bit of olive oil and variuos herb,s was ok but needed more soy

another with paprika was fine also but needs fine tuning,,,,,,,,,,,only used those reicipes once though so after more 'development' should see them work fine me thinks

have you tried smoked paprika 499, i use that with some liquid smoke to get that cajun flavour really going

I gotta get me one of these things!  I love jerky!

 have the sunbeam also... along with 200 other kitchen appliances. I made a massive batch to take with me to the abrolhos and the boys ate the lot. Love it! bretty good value for what it is. Awesome machine. I am sure the professional ones are better, but the sunbeam is all one needs for home. Yum Yum Yum!

I tried putting some Maker's Mark in the marinade on the last batch. Worked a treat

The sweetness of the bourbon contrasted really well with the spiciness of the chilli

Will definitely be doing it again.

how much burbs did you put in mate ......my next batch om going to put in some jacks or turkey

I didnt really measure it or anything. Roughly 60% as much bourbon as I used soy - if that helps...

Normally with my marinades I dont really measure stuff or write it down, which makes it hard for me to replicate the awesome batches! Just do it by feel

Cool cheers for the heads up 82

Brucesta, ive tried some paprika but didnt do much for the taste buds actually.....ive never tried smoked paprika though

made some roo jerky for some mates prior to a recent fishing trip......gotta say the meat really stinks whilst its drying and def has the gamey tatse to it but was ok for me..my mates demolsihed it....ive tried lots of recipes and i keep coming back to the basic recipe using topside  i posted above and for me personally 8 to 12 hrs in the marinade is enough.....too long in the marinade makes it way too strong and aint a balanced taste.....must be the soy or worcetishire thatdoes something wierd

also that liquid smoke is strong on the nose if ya use too much....about 1 teaspoon gives a hint of smoke flavour for 1kg of meat

 that back in the day when droving cattle on horseback across long distances off baren country that the drovers jumped on any beast that fell lame and put strips of the meat under the saddles of their horses and pack camels.

The salt from the animals sweat would cure and preserve the meat  to supplement supplies.

Just some story I heard, camel sweat jerky anyone?

 Also have the sunbeam... Good little unit, doesn't matter how much I make it never latest lol :) like the soaking of the meat to be at least 24hrs prior 

 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Round-Adjustable-Food-Dehydrator-with-Removable-Trays-/310422114788?pt=AU_SmallKitchenAppliances&hash=item48469991e4&_uhb=1

$40 can't go wrong.

The dehydrators are great , but not necessary.
I grew up making biltong with my Dad, air dried, max 10 days. Always came out great.
Now days I have a box frame with fly screen sides and I just buy a good topside / rump , slice it up, spice it and hang it. In summer its usually ready in about 5 days. Similar to the way I have seen some members on here hang salami.

For the homemade dryers if you add a small PC type cooling fan (I got a 240v one from Dick Smiths so no transformer required) it cuts the drying time down to about a day and half in summer and just over 2 in winter with the box in the garage.  Would be quicker again with the box in the open (sun) but then the kids tuck in before I get any ...... out of sight out of mind!