I have to admit that I haven't tried a lot of free-form jerky experiments so take what I say with a grain of salt. (see what I did there?)
Jerky is a double action meat preservation method. You soak the meat with way too much salt and then dehydrate it. Bacteria don't stand a chance. As Alton says in that episode "Club med becomes club dead". Not one of his best puns but it gets the point across.
Salt (or soy sauce, same thing) isn't required for the drying process but it is important for long term preservation. I have seen recipes that try to reduce it but I would never leave it out altogether. I would expect a reduced salt recipe to not have the longevity that most jerky has- If stored in an air tight container it will last nearly forever.
The non-salt ingredients don't really matter as long as they won't oxidize or pick up bad flavors during dehydration. The type of sugar also doesn't matter- although the recipes I prefer don't include any.
I honestly don't know about viscosity- I would expect it to need enough liquid to carry the salt into the meat. That would take some experimenting.
It is very important that there be as little fat as possible. The leaner the meat the better and don't add any to the marinade. Fats will go rancid quite quickly when exposed to so much air.
Lastly- I think I've posted this recipe before as the answer to some other question but it bears repeating. This family recipe is my favorite by far and I use it as a starting point for any experimenting:
Auntie Fern's Beef Jerky
- 3 lbs. deer meat or beef, sliced thin
- 1 T salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 T pepper (I like coarse ground)
- 1/4 c. soy sauce
- 1/3 c. Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 c. liquid smoke (hickory flavor)
Combine and marinade 12 hours. Drain. Dry.
Best Answer
For me it very much depends on what meat I am making jerky out of.
With the grain is much more solid than against. Just as you might expect.
If you are using relatively tender meat then cutting across the grain will result in a batch of jerky crumbs. Cutting with the grain will be good.
If you are using very tough meat then cutting with the grain will be absolutely impossible to chew.
I often make jerky out of brisket which is very tough. I compromise and cut at a 45deg angle. This results in very tough, jerky but it separates into smaller, more manageable chunks when it is chewed.