What is your process for making jerky?
Let's see.
Most time it is too warm here to let your venison hang. If it is say 45 degress out or below I will let it hang overnight. Otherwise I try to have the skinned and quartered carcass in a cooler on a bed of ice within two hours or so of the time from when the critter was shot. I keep the in the cooler, packed in ice, draining and wet aging for at least 6 days. Most times I will then take the meat out, wrap in paper and freeze for 30 to 60 days, so as to kill off any harmful organisms. We can take 5 deer here per tag, so between my oldest son and I we can kill 10 deer a year. Conseqently I will use both backstraps and hinds for making jerky. I will defrost over a couple days in a cooler, then table trim to get any fat and silver-skin off the meat. I employ a jerkey board that has a 1/4" and a 3/8" lip, depending on how thick I want to slice. I generally slice with the grain of the meat. Sometimes I cut sections about 1.5 " x 6 inches, other times I cut slabs, 4" to 6" wide. I will then take bottle of Stubbs Sweet Heat and HEB Carolina style Bar-b-que sauce and pour into a half gallon pitcher, add a bottle of Negra Modelo, garlic powder, Tony Chacheries or Slap yo' Mamma, black pepper, cayenne pepper and just a skosh of chili powder. I mix this "soak" up good. Then I place about 5 lbs of meat in a 2 gallon zip lock bag and pour in the soak. I will then place this bag in a container and put it outside in a cooler on ice for 12-18 hours. After it has soaked I will use High Mountain Seasonings, either Hunters Blend, Mesquite, Cracked Pepper and Garlic or Hickory, depending on my mood. I mix the seasoning and cure in correct proportions and mix it with the meat. I will then put the meat back in the bag and place it back in the cooler on ice for 48 hours. When it is cured, I will put it in my smoker for an hour or two at 145 degrees. After a couple hours of smoke, I will then put it on racks in the dehydrator for another 4 hours or so until it is dried to my satisfaction. Depending on thickness it may take a bit longer.
ya!
GWB
