Re: [CH] Jerky Recipes?
Steve Nearman (UncleSteve@ushotstuff.com)
Sat, 6 Dec 2003 00:36:05 -0500
{ Exported from MasterCook Mac }
Uncle Steve's HOT! Jerky
Recipe By: Uncle Steve <usHOTstuff.com>
Serving Size: 1
Preparation Time: 0:00
Categories: Beef Jerky Wild Game Uncle Steve's
Amount Measure Ingredient Preparation Method
5 pounds beef brisket or venison cut in thin strips*
1 large fresh white onion or 1/4 cup onion powder finely chopped
1 large head fresh garlic or 3 tbl. garlic powder minced
1 bottle liquid smoke "Colgin®" (4 fl. oz.)
1 1/2 cups soy sauce "Kikkoman®"
3/4 cup worcestershire sauce "Heinz®"
2 tablespoons steak sauce "A.1.®"
1 teaspoon monosodium glutamate "Acent®"
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
1/3 cup black pepper ground fresh
1/4 cup brown sugar or molasses
--- THE HOT STUFF ---
6 whole fresh Habanero chiles (more to taste) with seeds
1 tablespoon dried Pequin chili pepper with seeds
4 tablespoons dried Cayenne Chile Powder
*Prepare meat by cutting into strips 3/4" X 1/2" and as long as you prefer.
*Cut across grain for tender and lengthwise for chewy. The more consistent
*you are when cutting the strips the better your jerky will dry evenly. Very
*cold or lightly frozen meat cuts easier.
Mix all ingredients in blender except meat and Cayenne.
Soak strips of meat in the above mixture and refrigerate for 24-48 hours in a
close container (I use a Tuppleware® bread box). Shake several times to mix
well.
Remove meat from brine (save brine) and pat dry. Place directly on oven racks
that have been covered with tin foil and sprayed with Pam. Cook in pre heated
oven @ 160F for 2 hours (with door closed). This kills bacteria, removes a
lot of the excess moisture and melts any excess fat.
Return hot strips to brine mixture and refrigerate for another 6-12 hours
(remember to shake several times). Remove meat from brine, pat dry and sprinkle
with Cayenne powder. Spread in dehydrator. Set dehydrator at 145F. The final
drying usually takes about another 6-10 hours. Do not over dry (Check every
hour). Jerky should be tuff, hard and leathery, not brittle. A real mouth
watering HOT treat! Enjoy.
If you don't have a dehydrator return Jerky to 140-150F oven for 6-8 hours,
leaving door open a little. Do not over cook. Check texture often.
An alternate for the drying is to use a low heat smoker (cold smoking is
generally done at 90 to 115 F. over 5-10 days). Leave out the Liquid Smoke®
and add 1/8 cup more salt in the Marinate. Remove meat from Marinate pat dry,
sprinkle on the Cayenne, then into the prepared smoker. I have done this
several times and my taste buds have always voted this method first place. It
takes longer, you need some equipment (if you have a smoke house you are truly
blessed), and time spent tending the fire, but the result is worth every hour.
Also look at "Dan's Smokehouse Jerky" recipe on my site for details on cold
smoking.
Store refrigerated or freeze in closed containers for long storage time (if not
consumed in 4-5 weeks)
Note - Venison has always cooked faster for me than beef (less moisture?). So
check it more frequently.
Yields about 1.5 - 2 lbs. dried jerky.
Visit, http://usHOTstuff.com/wg/ for more wild game recipes.
-----
Notes: I make this nice and hot for a reason. If I leave out most of the hot
ingredients my children eat it like candy (2 lbs. in 3 days!). Experiment with
the heat factor to your taste.
{ Exported from MasterCook Mac }
Dan's Smokehouse Jerky - The Best
Recipe By: Dan Sawyer <dan813@aone.com>
Serving Size: 1
Preparation Time: 0:00
Categories: Jerky Wild Game
Amount Measure Ingredient Preparation Method
-- Meat --
venison
top round steak
turkey breast
-- Brine --
kiln dried medium salt
molasses (Brer Rabbit light or Grandma's)
black and/or red pepper
The Meat: Generally, the lean scraps from most venison (elk, deer, caribou,
antelope and moose) work very good. Bear is greasy(sorry Bear), as is pork.
Buffalo is similar to beef and makes good jerky. The best cut of beef that
will yield the most usable lean meat is the top round. If you like turkey,
use large bone in breasts and remove the bone. I haven't done reptiles, but
what the hey, if that's your bag give it a shot. The meat should be
reasonably aged, at least kept cool for a week or so after it's dressed out
and skinned. It is important to trim as much fat off as possible, even if
you have to cut it out or scrape it off. The fat will not take salt very
well when the meat brines, it will become rancid and grow mold quickly.
Cut the meat with the grain, into strips as big around as your thumb (3/4-1"
square) and as long as possible.
The Brine: This is a self brining method and works in two stages,
dehydration and rehydration. The ingredients needed are: A kiln dried
medium salt. Most feed stores have 50# bags for about $3. which will make
about eight thousand pounds of jerky. Medium salt is about the size of salt
that comes on a pretzel. Molasses. I use Brer Rabbit light or Grandma's.
Brer Rabbit comes in pint bottles and have a small top that you can pour a
nice 'string' from. Grandma's comes in a large mouth bottle and it's best
if you transfer it to some sort of a squeeze top ketchup or pancake syrup
bottle (1 pint = about 20# of meat). Black Pepper, medium grind or coarse -
your choice. If you like it hot, use red pepper flakes instead, if you
don't like pepper leave it out. This brine process goes easier and more
quickly if you have a few extra happy hands joining in - the kids, the wife
and myself usually make it a project and when it's done everyone gets to pat
each other on the back. Since we're all together and helping each other,
some interesting conversations usually surface. Anyway, you will need a
flat bottom non-corrosive container and lid, a Tupperware storage bin, a
plastic bus tray or a stainless steam table pan will work well. The size
depends on the amount of meat and the room in your refer - the lids keep
things out and are handy for stacking the containers. Salt the bottom of the
pan evenly, making sure to get in the corners as well. This may not be as
easy as it sounds. Put a few pounds of salt in a bowl, cup your fingers
together and scoop out about a half a handful - not in your palm. Shake
your hand back and forth across the top and about a foot above the top of
the pan. As the salt starts to leave your hand, slowly open your fingers
and let the salt run through evenly. Hand salting may require some
practice. Practice salting the bottom of the pan until it becomes
comfortable and the coverage is without gobs or streaks or voids. If this
method becomes too frustrating, a shaker top jar works too - a mayonnaise
jar with the metal lid poked full of holes by a 16 penny nail. The coverage
amount should be between light coverage (barely covering) and full coverage
(completely covering) - the only comparison I can think of, is sugar on a
pie crust, or, sugar on your cereal. You don't want it too salty, so, one
might consider their first batch of jerky experimental and take it from
there. String the molasses. Same kinda deal as the salt, hold the bottle
about a foot above the pan, start moving it from side to side and pour.
When the molasses starts running try to get a 'string' about the size of a
pencil lead and let it crisscross the pan bottom over the salt. Once the
strings are even in one direction, change directions (perpendicular) and
string evenly across again. Don't forget the corners. When it's done it
will be an even grid about 1/2" square covering the pan bottom. Good
luck... don't worry, 10-12 layers and you'll be able to sign your name with
it. The pepper will vary as to individual taste. One note though, pepper
almost doubles its intensity as it soaks and is easy to overpower the
finished product. I would recommend that a light dusting would be
sufficient for most people (about the way you would pepper a baked potato).
Red pepper flakes, even more so. Again, hold the pepper can about a foot
above, and dust it evenly - good, you remembered the corners. Layer the meat
strips across the bottom of the pan one at a time. Starting on one side,
place the strips next to each other without overlapping and with all of the
strips running in the same direction. Work the meat across until the layer
is complete, without voids. Pat the surface, edges and corners down smooth
and flat. Salt, molasses and pepper the surface as was done to the bottom
of the pan to start. The second layer of meat is done the same, but it is
ran perpendicular to the first layer. Pat smooth,
salt, molasses and pepper. Each additional layer is placed perpendicular to
the layer before it. Continue layering the meat until it reaches to a level
about 2" from the top of the pan. The last layer, or partial layer, gets
the salt, molasses and pepper treatment as well. This brining method will
cure the meat in two days. Place the pan in the refer, cover and let sit
undisturbed for the first day (refrigeration is not necessary if prepared
in a cool climate 35-45F). After about 24 hours the meat should be 'turned'
- Dig your hands in the pan and separate all of the strips, turning it over
several times to get the meat redistributed into a random order. Mash the
meat back down into the brining juices ( at this point the juice will be
thin and watery) cover and let sit for another day. I usually taste the
juice at this point - if it tastes too salty it can be rinsed with water,
but it will not be as good. If the salt is right it will have a slightly
sweet, peppery flavor. During this next day the meat will soak up the brine
juices and when the meat is removed before smoking, it will have a 'candied'
texture - sticky and pliable. There should be very little, if any, brine
solution left in the pan. The meat will have soaked up the brine and be
somewhat swelled up, as compared to the first turning.
Smokehousing the meat: The smoking process will require a smokehouse or
smoking unit that is capable of maintaining 80-90F. If there is a small
volume, piping the smoke from an external source will provide a cooler
smoke, and a hot plate or a few briquettes/lump charcoal could provide the
heat source. In a medium size unit (refrigerator size), a cast iron frying
pan with chips set on a hot plate will work - although it may be difficult
to maintain a constant temperature. The more volume, the easier it is to
control the temperature. I would recommend that a fire be built and
maintained throughout the smoking process, which will take from 48 to 70
hours - depending upon the thickness of the meat. The smokehouse that I use
is medium - large (350) cu.ft., it will maintain a good smoky 80-100F
with 2-3 half gallon milk jug sized pieces of wood burning. Use seasoned,
barkless wood - your choice, I use red alder, apple, plum, cherry, oak, pear
and some of the best I've ever done was with some 75 year old grape stumps.
Citrus works good too. Get the smokehouse going and rack or hang the meat
while the temp becomes stabilized. If you rack the meat, place it
*without* the pieces touching each other - just enough room to run a finger
between the strips. Stainless 3/16" rod sharpened on both ends works good
for hanging - again, leave some space between the strips. As you place the
strips, run them through your thumb and index finger to squeegee off any
excess brine. Before placing the racks or skewers into the smokehouse,
coarse black pepper or additional red pepper flakes may be added - for those
who like lotsa zip. Load the smokehouse and leave the door cracked open for
the first couple hours, or until the surface of the meat has dried to the
touch. Close the doors, poke the fire and keep an eye on the temps for a
couple of days. Don't worry about the meat spoiling if the fire goes out.
The meat is cured. It's said that the old timers used to make their jerky
while they traveled. When they made camp at night they would hang the jerky
over the campfire until dawn, when they broke camp they simply packed up the
jerky and continued smoking the next night. This process takes about 4-5
days and is worth every minute. Probably the two most important items would
be too much salt and too much heat. If you decide to try this method, I
garr-own-tee you'll never find another piece of store bought jerky that even
comes close.
-----
Notes: I would like to share a jerky making process that goes back a long
way, before refrigerators, before electricity. To the best of my knowledge
it has never been written down, just passed along from one old timer to the
next - until now....Showing a person how to do something is one thing, but
putting it into words is,......an incommodiously arduous task?
Enjoy the heat,
Uncle Steve
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Uncle Steve's HOT Stuff
Anything & Everything about Chiles
http://usHOTstuff.com/
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