Meat-to-Fat Ratio
Grinding your own? Get the lean and the fat weights to hit your target ratio.
No added fat, grind trimmed lean and go. Jerky keeps best under 5% fat.
Lean for jerky.
Fat for sausage.
The same grinder makes both. The ratio is what changes. Jerky dries, so fat is the enemy; sausage steams inside its casing, so fat is what keeps it juicy.
| Making | Target fat | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Ground jerky | ≤ 5% | Fat won’t dry; it turns rancid |
| Snack sticks | 20% | Enough to bind and stay moist |
| Fresh sausage | 25–30% | Juicy bite, holds together |
Assumes ~10%-fat lean base and ~90%-fat trim. Adjust to your actual grind.
Straight answers
What fat ratio do I want for jerky?
As lean as you can get it. Jerky is dried, not cooked, and fat doesn’t dry. It stays soft and turns rancid, shortening shelf life and tasting off. Aim for 5% fat or less, which for most trimmed cuts means grinding the lean and adding nothing. Fat is the enemy of a batch that keeps.
So why would I ever add fat?
For snack sticks and sausage, not for jerky. Ground snack sticks, summer sausage and fresh sausage need 20–30% fat to stay juicy and hold together. Bite into a 5% sausage and it’s dry and crumbly. This tool covers both: pick jerky and it tells you to keep it lean; pick sausage and it works out the back-fat to add.
What does the calculator assume about my meat?
That your base lean grind sits around 10% fat (typical for trimmed round or venison) and that the fat you add is roughly 90% fat, like pork back-fat or beef suet. Real trim varies, so treat the split as a close starting point and adjust to what your grind actually looks like.
How do I hit the ratio accurately?
Weigh both piles before you grind. Weigh your lean, weigh your fat to the gram figures here, then grind them together, or grind separately and mix by weight. Keep everything near-frozen so the fat smears less and the grind stays clean.
Can I use this for venison?
Yes, and it’s where it earns its keep. Venison is almost fat-free, so for sausage you add pork fat to reach 20–30%; for jerky you add nothing and just trim the silverskin. Enter your batch weight and pick the use to see which side you’re on.
Does more fat make jerky more tender?
No, that’s the trap. Tenderness in jerky comes from slicing across the grain and not over-drying, not from fat. Added fat just gives you a greasier strip that spoils faster. Keep jerky lean and control texture with the cut and the drying time instead.