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Good info - was looking at them the other day.

Aron's sandwiches are bagel, pb, and bacon. I've tried them and they're darn good and high in fat/protein which keeps you going past what the carbs give you. You might take a look at this as well. Pricey but really good and more nutritionally sound than MH, Alpineair, Backpackers pantry.

https://www.heatherschoice.com/

Alukban, any tips for drying steaks? How thick should they be before drying? Any favorite cuts?

I used to do it in an oven but bought myself a real dehydrator last year.

This one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Z915M4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I will dehydrate any and all cuts (venison and beef) with just a light dusting of salt - nothing else. I find that spices get in the way of the flavor of the meat. I will tend to buy bottom round roast when it is on sale because is goes down to about $3/lb.

When I do slice the meat myself, I do it with the meat partially frozen to make it easier to slice thin (<1/4"). When the meat is partially frozen, it squirms less. Sliced like this, it takes a full 24 hrs to dehydrate using the above machine set at it's highest temp of ~165°F. It will be reduced to about 25% of its original weight and will crumble readily.

When I get the butcher to slice the meat "thin", I will end up with up to ~1/2" thick slices. These will take ~48 hrs to dehydrate to about 25% of original weight. The whole thing is easier when the butcher does the slicing

I LEAVE THE FAT ON and it tastes absolutely glorious. All of the aged, beefy flavor is in that fat. I will store it in Ziploc freezer bags in the freezer and can eat them directly from the freezer because they don't have much water to freeze and thus harden - duh



I discovered the leaving the fat on thing when I started doing biltong in a cardboard box with a fan. I had never had beef so rich and flavorful. It was the gawd danged "dehydrated fat". Fat does NOT dehydrate, I know. It was aged in the process of dehydrating the rest of the meat.

I dunno if it can poison me or what not. Big boy rules apply. Do this at your own risk, etc, yadi-yada.

Biltong

Warm weather can affect the use of dairy products described below. That said:

Salami, butter and string cheese on the big crackers like ry-krisp.

Mix peanut butter, crumbled bacon and whatever sweet syrupy thing you like, put it in the Coghlan food tube, and squeeze out a line to eat with a bite of bagel. Might need to warm it in a pocket for a bit first...

A block of cream cheese to be chunked onto whole wheat/cinnamon/raisin bagels...

Logan bread - search here for recipes, soak the grains first, and aim low on qty of baking powder...

I eat cold food and don't bring a stove unless game size dictates the packout will be more than one trip, or if I have the kids with.

Thanks Al!! I plan to try some in my electric smoker, I can easily get the temp to hover at 160. And put a little smoke on it, to boot!

When you get around to trying that fat and you loves it... say a little prayer to God for creating all the delicious creatures

Will do, thanks again.

tag

First batch just went in the smoker. Not a ton of fat, but enough to test your theory. Lightly salted only, of course.