Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Tough Meat options

Here is a site, of a manufacturer, that makes commercial dehydrators. The site also has a link "dehydrating 101" www.dryer.com . They are in Eugene, Ore. I've talked with these guys and I learned, in a hurry, how much I didn't know about dehydrating. JJ, I'm out also but I,m going to dig around in my freezer and see if I have enough fish for a small batch.pak

You can't beat the dehydrator for the flexibility of doing jerky or fruit. The fruits work well and are great for stored snacks at camp or on the trail. I prefer bananas, apricots and apples mostly but my kids will dry about anything...plums, pears, etc. Grandma has an orchard so it really gets a workout during fruit season.
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<br>I have enough trays that I can make about 15 pounds of elk/deer roast into 1 batch of jerky at a time. Most of the dehydrator instructions tell you that for jerky, the meat should be frozen for at least 6 weeks prior to dehydrating to kill any pathogens. I buy the pre-packaged pepper flavor cure from Cabelas. I've experimented with all kinds of recipes but I haven't found anything else I like as much anywhere else...it's my absolute favorite. I add liquid smoke and soy to it when marinating, then dehydrate. The nice thing is it doesn't tie the oven up for any extended time period.
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pak
<br>I might have a silver filet or two in the freezer;-)
<br>art

Art, he will take it, he is on his way over now. Pak, I'm going to go and wait on my porch now for the mail.

JJ - I posted my jerky recipe on the food board for you. I have made jerky in the oven and smoker too but I really like the food dehrydrator best. Mine has a heat element and blows hot air. If I ever need to replace it I'll spend a little more and get one with a tempature control / thermostat. PDS

PDS
<br>Saw your recipe on the other thread and have a question for you... no flame intended, but how can you stand the liquid smoke!
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<br>I love smoked food (PAK's fish residing at the pinnacle of that list) and have played with different wood species at length to get the smoke just right. The liquid smoke is not in the same league to my spoiled taste buds!
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<br>I smoke my jerky for an hour or two, then dry. Makes incredible jerky with just a nice light smoke. Again, no insult intended.
<br>art

Oregon Spice has a website at www.oregonspice.com. They're good folks to deal with.
<br>One more thing on the bacteria issue... I prefer dried fruits and jerky with just a little moisture left in 'em, as opposed to dried out rock hard. Way more palatable, to my way of thinking, and it still keeps just fine. And, we do vacuum pack the stuff, so I'll stick with the nitrite, thankyouverymuch....;-). Besides, it's what gives smoked meats that nice reddish color we've come to expect. Nitrite got a bad rap a few years back over the nitrosamine issue with bacon. It is a carcinogen when used to excess, but hey, moderation in all things. Food poisoning ain't good for you, either....

Sitka deer - The recipe I posted is the one I use with a food dehydrator. If you want a smoke flavor you have to add it in the form of liquid or powdered smoke flavoring. Or smoke the meat first as you said you do. I have made jerky in the smoker, the oven, and the food dehydrator. All those methods can produce a good jerky. I find the dehydrator is the easiest method, it requires less "babysitting" than a smoker and cleans up easier than the oven. But everyone has their own taste buds. If you object to the liquid smoke flavor or want to use that recipe in a smoker, substitute the liquid smoke with teriyaki sauce or just omit it. The only thing I would not alter it that recipe is the salt and the lemon or lime juce. FYI - that is NOT the recipe I use to make jerky in a smoker. It is the one I use with a food dehydrator. No offense was taken, you had a good point/question. PDS

Sitka, JJ, thanks for the offer of fish and the compliments. I think I have enough for a medium size batch. I have to get a few things together maybe in March I'll smoke some.pak

You guys keep talking about storing the jerky after smoking or dehydrating and all the steps that takes. I didn't realize it was possible to store jerky- around here it disappears so fast I'm thinking about putting a lock on the smoker door to keep the kids out until a batch is done! - Sheister

tough meat = hamburger or crockpot(8-10 hours) in our house. Several hours cooking in the oven at about 300 in a sealed environment with plenty of moisture (a couple cups of water) does the same. We use this latter method or the crock pot for ribs (I bone moose ribs on butchering, or in the field). We have several pressure cookers, but the aluminum ones leave a funny taste. For jerky I use flank steak or other good straight grained cuts - no sinew, ligament, etc. It should be steak or stew quality meat, IMO, for good jerky, not "seconds". I use the oven method, with similar flak from the wife as mentioned above. My away from home college kid keeps requesting CARE packages. Not fudge, or brownies, but jerky. He claims everyone else there are veggies, but I'm pretty sure he lies, and I'm feeding dozens.

Well, after 6 hours on the front porch waiting for the UPS crate from Pak I realized it was Sunday. Came back in to see if you posted a tracking number. I'll check back later since you must be busy at work with it still. If your going to send the crate I have a pickup truck I can get it from the shipping dock in Seattle. If I need to I will rent a bigger truck. Just let me know, so I can wait on the porch for the delivery or drive to town to fetch it.jj

JJ, -- I think you better take lessons from that mouse and learn to like cheese. -- no

Did pak mention he smokes a mean block of cheddar? Makes the saliva flow just contemplating it!
<br>art

Grind your wild game (tough cuts or not), add 20% ground beef suit, mix well and enjoy the hamburger!
<br>Even the tough cuts get eaten this way!

JJ, I don't know if I can ride this kind of "heat" .pak

To add to what's been said:
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<br>1. Tough meat made into stew in slow cooking crock pots, 8 to even 14 hours, is wonderful. If any stew is left the second day, it is much tastier. Every mountain goat I've tried to eat has two characteristics: incredibly tough, yet tasty flavour. (I've never tasted a young one). On such critters, cuts that most folks make into steaks or roasts go into my lean, carefully trimmed stew cubes with no fat, sinew, or anything but lean meat, cut across the grain like good steak. Do the whole critter into stew and hamburger, with a few choice steaks.
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<br>2. Cut jerky meat diagonally across the grain of the meat for best results. Jerky is tougher than most any other form of meat, by definition, because the meat fibers toughen when they dry. You can regulate that toughness by how you cut the meat to be jerked. Cut straight across the grain, in thin pieces, and it becomes too crumbly to hold together sometimes, but very tender, or at least easily chewable. The fibers are short. If you cut lengthways with the grain the finished jerky chews like snowshoe rawhide. The strings in the meat remain long strands if cut lengthwise. A diagonal cut, diagonally across the grain, usually gives the best balance of chewability and not crumbling. The meat strands run at a short angle through the thin dimension of the jerky, neither straight through the thinnest part, nor running the length of the piece. Err on the side of chewability, so if in doubt, cut straighter across the grain.
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<br>3. Dried fruit. Apricots and peaches are my favorites, though I've done a dozen kinds. For hunting, I like fruit completely dried. Store bought dried fruit is about half dried, with sulfur to retain colour. At home, I dry it totally, so it weighs less, and more important, doesn't mildew and isn't sticky in my pocket or on my fingers. Such fully dried fruit is much tougher to chew so if I eat them directly, I chew on them awhile. Dropped in hot tea they add a marvelous flavour, especially on a cold morning. Soaked for awhile, like overnight, they make fabulous pies or a favorite of mine, fried pies. (Take a circle of pie crust or other flattened dough the size of a small plate and put a thick layer of fruit on one half. Fold over the dough and seal the curved edge to make a half moon, and fry in a skillet. Dried fruit, especially apricots and apples, are nortorious for causing flatulence.
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JJ, heres the real deal, old refrigerators, metal lined and a hot plate make the finest home smokers, just this week end did 10 pounds of jerky, ten pounds fresh meat makes around 3-4 lbs jerky. I use my old smoker a lot. When Jalapino's are cheap in the stores I buy 10 pounds and smoke them until crumbly dry, I use alder for the smoke. Makes about 3/4 gallon of ground super hot pepper. enough to last me a couple buddies and my dad all year.
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<br>Bullwnkl.