I have allot of last falls deer meat left and am worried some may get funkey before it all gets used, Im thinking of turning it all into jerky by converting a 55gal drum into a smoker, threading mechanics wire across to hold up a couple old BBQ grill's in the middle, use a old hot plate, cast iron skillet & alder chips
I was considering useing a card board box as the other method "less work" than the steel drum then again the meat should cook a little
I could use the oven for a consistant temp "over160" but dont want to heat up the house for makeing jerky
My mother canned some venison one year. She put it up in mason jars and I be danged if I remember how she did it as I was around 6 at the time.
cut up the meat in 1 in. cubes place in pint jars 1t. salt 1 slice of onion place in pressure cooker for 75 min. @10 lbs of pressure take off heat let it cool down and you have an eazy, tasty,longlife storage meat. qt. jars 2t.salt 1slice onion process for 90 min. the ball blue book is a nice addion to any ones library. lp, 2 burnner stove, 3 21 qt. pressure cookers, pt. jars, you can make a pile meat in a hurry shelf stable in a after noon. and if you have a dog, can the blood shot and lesser stuff for him cheap dog food.
My uncle had a trick with his canned meat...he would tip the jars upside down. That way if he had a leaker he would know right away. You would think one might notice it when you opened the jar (smell) and or taste it but I guess his theory was maybe you would maybe you wouldn't. Either way he didn't want to get sick from bad meat.
I think the stomach can take some God awful stuff though. Look at some of the rotten stuff we and other cultures eat.
Here is a recipe from "Good Eats". Pay close attention to the special equipment.
Beef Jerky Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005 Show: Good EatsEpisode: Urban Preservation II: The Jerky 1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank steak
2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Special Equipment: 1 box fan, 4 paper air-conditioning filters, and 2 bungee cords
Trim the flank steak of any excess fat, place in a zip-top bag, and place it in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours in order to firm up.
Remove the steak from the freezer and thinly slice the meat with the grain, into long strips.
Place the strips of meat along with all of the remaining ingredients into a large, 1-gallon plastic zip-top bag and move around to evenly distribute all of the ingredients. Place the bag into the refrigerator for 3 to 6 hours. Remove the meat from the brine and pat dry. Evenly distribute the strips of meat onto 3 of the air filters, laying them in the grooves and then stacking the filters on top of one another. Top these with 1 empty filter. Next, lay the box fan on its side and lay the filters on top of it. Strap the filters to the fan with 2 bungee cords. Stand the fan upright, plug in and set to medium. Allow the meat dry for 8 to 12 hours. If using a commercial dehydrator, follow the manufacturer's directions. Once dry, store in a cool dry place, in an airtight container for 2 to 3 months.
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For info purposes only, use it at your own risk. JFKimmons and G&G aren't liable for it's misuse.
I jerked some moose meat a couple weeks ago, it was my first attempt. The first batch was soaked in Yoshidas Gourmet sauce with added garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper. This marinade works pretty fast, I think I soaked it for about 3 hours. I have a kettle type smoker and I used it. It is charcoal fired. I started with about a dozen briquets (kingston mesquite) got them hot then added the meat and peeled green alder. I kept the temp on the low side ( I could hold my hands against the outside of the smoker ). I kept this going for about 6 hours, until nearly all the moisture had left the meat. It turned out great.
The second batch was a BBQ recipe I found on the internet, I smoked it the same way but didn't like the taste of the recipe as much but it still is enjoyable.
I found it to be much easier than I thought to jerk meat. I like to experiment and I am an ad-lib cook, keep the "recipes" in my head. I will try to make the effort to write my recipes down to make it easier to share with anyone interested. Don't be afraid to try things though, it is half the fun
My uncle had a trick with his canned meat...he would tip the jars upside down. That way if he had a leaker he would know right away. You would think one might notice it when you opened the jar (smell) and or taste it but I guess his theory was maybe you would maybe you wouldn't. Either way he didn't want to get sick from bad meat.
I think the stomach can take some God awful stuff though. Look at some of the rotten stuff we and other cultures eat.
You had a smart uncle! I remember that trick from when we'd put stuff in Grandma's cellar. She made sure she'd spot a leaking jar by storing the stuff all winter that way. Plus, by keeping the wax seal continually wet, there was no chance of anything growing around the seal. And, since the jar was inverted, if anything grew, it was on top in the clear glass where it could be seen.
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jerky
You don't want to cook the meat.Heat is a no no!! I have used several methods to cure meat. The best way I found I learned from alton brown*food network". He took 5 newer style furnace filters. The type with cotton folds like paper window blinds.(NOT THE FIBERGLASS TYPE) Remove all the fat. Season your meat,many many different tastes for this. slice your meat WITH the grain .Then place your strips in the folds of the furnace filters.Stack the filters together.Then take bunge cords and bunge them onto a regular box fan with the air blowing through the filters. Works Great. Dried jerky,not cooked.The way its supposed to be. Try it,I guarntee this is the way to go. THIN SLICES jimkim be me. thanks.Have you tried it? i did.works great
Here is a recipe from "Good Eats". Pay close attention to the special equipment.
Beef Jerky Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005 Show: Good EatsEpisode: Urban Preservation II: The Jerky 1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank steak
2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Special Equipment: 1 box fan, 4 paper air-conditioning filters, and 2 bungee cords
Trim the flank steak of any excess fat, place in a zip-top bag, and place it in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours in order to firm up.
Remove the steak from the freezer and thinly slice the meat with the grain, into long strips.
Place the strips of meat along with all of the remaining ingredients into a large, 1-gallon plastic zip-top bag and move around to evenly distribute all of the ingredients. Place the bag into the refrigerator for 3 to 6 hours. Remove the meat from the brine and pat dry. Evenly distribute the strips of meat onto 3 of the air filters, laying them in the grooves and then stacking the filters on top of one another. Top these with 1 empty filter. Next, lay the box fan on its side and lay the filters on top of it. Strap the filters to the fan with 2 bungee cords. Stand the fan upright, plug in and set to medium. Allow the meat dry for 8 to 12 hours. If using a commercial dehydrator, follow the manufacturer's directions. Once dry, store in a cool dry place, in an airtight container for 2 to 3 months.
Here are the directions.
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For info purposes only, use it at your own risk. JFKimmons and G&G aren't liable for it's misuse.
I jerk'd 38# of Caribou out the freezer, at first useing the mirinade/glaze method, ran out of it then went to the salt & pepper,sugar,crushed red pepper,chili powder,lemon peper,lowery's season salt, of various mix's and methods, cut meat with the grain & across the grain all the method's worked great! problem was the kids got in the stash & its all gone! no wonder they wernt hungery at supper time all last couple months!
eventually I will hit the saturation
It's been a long time since I made jerky. The way I did it was to cut the meat into strips and hang them on the oven racks with toothpicks. Make sure you put foil on bottom of oven to prevent catching hell from your wife. Put oven on it's lowest temperature possible. Leave oven door cracked open. Olf course you need to marinate the meat first. If I remember correctly, it took about 4hrs. I don't know how long it would stay good because I usually ate it in one or two days.
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jerky 
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