# thickness for jerky



## Sarah J (Jun 28, 2003)

What is the ideal thickness (or thin-ness?) for slices of beef to be made into jerky? We have a manual meat slicer with variable width, but I've not had the chance to use it for this yet. We normally slice as thin as possible with a knife, so I'm super excited to use the slicer, but need to know to what thickness to set it.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

We slice ours about 1/4 - 3/8".


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## machinistmike (Oct 16, 2011)

Oh how nice to have the slicer. Have always wanted one. I cut the strips with a knife and like them an 1/8-1/4 inch thick. It really depends on how long and how hot you plan on doing the drying. The thinner the cut and the hotter the dehydration temp, I always ended up with crunchy chip like jerky. I like mine a little chewy so I keep the slices thick and keep the temp low while checking progress every couple hours. Maybe try a few slices at different thicknesses and see what results you have the best luck with.


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## Riverdale (Jan 20, 2008)

The fat percentage is more important than the thickness (IMHO).

Leaner is better. 

The uniformity of the thickness will give you uniform drying times. If the thicknesses are greatly different, you'll have to pull some of the jerky out or have it too dry.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

Eye of round is a good, lean cut.


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## Sarah J (Jun 28, 2003)

Thanks for all the suggestions!


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