I've been hunting and cutting up deer for over 20 years, but I have yet to make jerky! Anyone have a good, simple recipe that can be accomplished using a) a conventional oven or b) a campfire? What is the shelf-life if not refrigerated? Similarly, anyone have a good pemmican recipe that doesn't taste terrible? I've made successful pemmican with an insanely long shelf-life the traditional way (dried meat, blueberries, and rendered tallow), but it's very much just for survival. If anyone has a tasty recipe that also keeps well, I'd be glad to have it. Drop them below--thanks!
I'm a fan of the using a jerky gun and using ground. IMO/E way more efficient and consistent. I buy a regular jerky mix and then add to it. Keep notes of how much and what. You'll get it dialed in. I favor chipotle powder as my add in.
Salt, pepper, garlic and red chili flakes hung with paper clips on a chain in my loading room.
I have found that I prefer using more seasoning for jerky than what I would cook with, especially salt. I don't use any preservatives, just freeze when it is as dry as I like.
After experimenting for many years with ground, sliced, smoking, dehydrating, etc., my preference is to slice 1/8" thick, combine with spices, water, and cure overnight in a sealed container, then smoke for 1 hour with something like Hickory, and dehydrate for up to 8 hours at 150 F until the firmness and texture suit you.
When I was on a remote trapline when I was younger, we would make dry meat when we shot a moose in the fall. We simply set up a wall tent and made meat right there where it was shot . Usually took about three days to do an average sized moose . The meat would them be packed in cotton bags and hung up to be recovered later on, that is how we put up our meat for the winter Cat
After experimenting for many years with ground, sliced, smoking, dehydrating, etc., my preference is to slice 1/8" thick, combine with spices, water, and cure overnight in a sealed container, then smoke for 1 hour with something like Hickory, and dehydrate for up to 8 hours at 150 F until the firmness and texture suit you.
I do the exact same thing, except 130 for 10 hours.
If you go on youtube, look up 2 guys and a cooler. They have an excellent pineapple and black pepper jerky recipe. That does require a dehydrator though.
Search on youtube "2 guys and a cooler biltong" They have great directions on building an easy drying box and their biltong recipe is excellent. The kicker is you can leave the biltong in the box until it has lost about 65% of its weight. Then toss it chunked up in a blender. Then mix in one part meat powder with one part melted beef tallow. Still a survival food but has some flavor. Next batch I am mixing in some dried blueberries to see how that makes it taste.
Got some elk thawing in the sink last night. Woke up, striped it, acrossed the grain, then with the grain, of course. Put it in a bowl, dumped a generous amount of salt, pepper, and garlic in it, some Tony cashere's, and then poured a can of Dr pepper in it. Stirred it up and set it aside.
Got some elk thawing in the sink last night. Woke up, striped it, acrossed the grain, then with the grain, of course. Put it in a bowl, dumped a generous amount of salt, pepper, and garlic in it, some Tony cashere's, and then poured a can of Dr pepper in it. Stirred it up and set it aside.
