Nesco Jumbo Works Beef Jerky kit, 1 Count (Pack of 1), Red

I use it for jerky and making dogs treats!

I tried out this kit as soon as it arrived. After reading so many reviews about the mix being too salty, I used one packet of seasoning for 3lbs of lean ground beef, plus 3 packets of the cure mix. The jerky gun is plastic but reasonably sturdy for a home kitchen gadget. After 7 hours in the dehydrator, the resulting jerky is simply amazing. I can see us getting a ton of usage from this nifty gadget, and probably upgrading to a better model in the future. UPDATE: I've now made 6 batches of jerky using this jerky gun, each batch was about 3lbs (which is pretty much the max capacity of my dehydrator), including turkey jerky and moose jerky. I ran out of jerky cure almost immediately, so I did some research and ordered Prague Powder from Amazon. The quantity of cure you use with the pink salt is SO MUCH LESS than the cure required with this kit, and the "way too much salt" issue has been fixed as well - I'm guessing the cure that comes with the Nesco kit contains a lot of salt. I've been making my own spice combinations, which have turned out much nicer than the spices contained in this Nesco kit! My family LOVES the jerky I'm producing. The jerky gun is still holding up, but there have been a few times where the pressure of extruding the meat has caused the gun barrel to 'pop' off of the handle - the plastic threads just couldn't handle it! When it finally breaks for good, I'll spend the extra money on the aluminum jerky gun, since these snacks are too delicious to just stop making.

Excelente producto cumplió con mis expectativas, gracias Amazon

I actually bought this as a gift. I bought one for myself more than a year ago and love it. I've made jerky from both ground beef and ground venison. Everyone who I share it with loves it, and it is very easy to do provided you have a good food dehydrator (like our Excalibur - the BEST!) A few tips: - When packing in your seasoned ground meat mixture use a wooden spoon or some similar tool to pack the meat down and reduce the number of air pockets which will cause your neat "slim Jims" to break apart as you extrude them. - Keep a knife or a pair of kitchen shears handy to cut off the end of the extruding meat when you get to the end of your dehydrator tray. - When you come to the end of one tube of meat there is always meat packed into the end piece. I leave it there and repack the tube and just keep going. That way you only have to pull the last bit of meat out and hand shape it when you are all done. - Use only 90% lean meat. - After about an hour in my dehydrator at 155 degrees I pull out the jerky and roll them in paper towels (or press them if making flat strips) to remove fat that beads up on the surface. I do this again when they are done. This helps extend your jerky's shelf life. - A cleaning/storage suggestion. When I am all done I clean everything by hand with very hot water and dish soap, DRY them completely, and then pack all the items in plastic zip lock bags. That way I know everything is clean and ready to go the next time I want to make Jerky. Everyone I give a same to loves the jerky made with the Nesco seasonings and are surprised to learn they are homemade. A final tip. The jerky keeps without refrigeration for a good while but will eventually spoil (grow mold) if the temperature is warm. I make really large batches and then bag them up in small batches and place them in the freezer. That way I can just pull out a few (or an entire bag) when I am going hiking or down to the garden. This product is a winner, and for the price you can't beat it. Happy in Syracuse

My wife and I ordered this Nesco jerky gun because we wanted to make our own jerky from ground meat. We have done so before with friends and family, but they had their own jerky guns and we wanted to get one of our own. Normally, I love Nesco, and their products have not done me wrong in the past, but this jerky gun was (in my opinion) a waste of $20. During our first time using it, we were halfway through our batch of meat and everything was going great. Until we heard a loud pop from the jerky gun, and it stopped working. Upon inspection, the metal piece inside of the trigger, which grabs on to the teeth that are on the plunger and help feed the plunger through the tube, has slipped off to the side and is only holding on to one side of the plungers teeth. This is causing the trigger to no longer push the plunger through the tube, and has rendered the jerky gun unusable. Like I said, I love this brand, but this product is a total waste of $20. We were only able to use it for roughly 30 minutes before the trigger stopped working. Thank goodness for wax paper and a rolling pin... saved our butts after the jerky gun broke.

Product packaging was damaged and included seasonings were open. As I have lots on hand I let it pass. First batch 3 lbs in, the trigger broke off and is now unusable.