Making Beef Jerky

[spamel]

I heard that of all the meats, fresh venison and beef are the only two that can be safely eaten raw. Is this true?

As for storing jerky, those cotton money bags the bank use would be ideal, but where do you get them from without holding up the local Natwest?

 

[Buckshot]

Just go into one and ask for them!
Probably not a good idea to tell them the truth when they ask what it's for !!!

 

[Hoodoo]

I heard that of all the meats, fresh venison and beef are the only two that can be safely eaten raw. Is this true?

As for storing jerky, those cotton money bags the bank use would be ideal, but where do you get them from without holding up the local Natwest?

People have been eating dried fish for tens of thousands of years.

What kills jerky is fat. Fat will turn rancid. The leaner the meat, the longer the jerkey will last, no matter what the source.

 

[bombadil]

Freind of mine from South Africa tells me his mother makes biltong by hanging strips of beef//venison/kudu etc down the back of the fridge. I tried some that he brought back for me one day, and it was flippin' marvelous. Incidentally, if anyone lives in the west sussex area, Pallant Wines in Arundel does some very good biltong at a reasonable price. (Not to mention great mead from Lurgershall winery!). I usually buy thier whole stock when I'm down that way.

 

[Hoodoo]

A good guide for making jerky is a book called...uh...Jerky. Written by A.D. Livingston. He's got recipes for all kinds of critters including birds and fish. He's also got some good pemmican recipes including Herter's Atomic Age Pemmican and Chili con Carne.

If ya don't like chewing, you should try a Jerky Shooter. You can make jerky from ground meat with a Jerky Shooter.

 

[OllieS]

i think that you can make jerky out of lamb but i am not completely sure.
because its beef you can eat it raw in this way i think!

 

[Rod]

As for storing jerky, those cotton money bags the bank use would be ideal, but where do you get them from without holding up the local Natwest?

I've been using greaseproof paper sandwich bags from the supermarket. These have worked OK

Hope this helps

 

[Rod]

Hoodoo's tutorial, which I can't find right now makes the huge leap of using your oven, over night, on very low heat with the door open a bit, to kick start the drying. Meat is threaded onto skewers and hung from an oven rack. An oven setting of about 150degF or 60degC or so will really speed things. Many biltong makers take all week to dry their meat, and mould can be a real danger. The oven gets over that.

Have used this method - with slight variations in receipt three times. You need to leave in the oven for 8 hours min (overnight - it drives my 2 cats mad ). Each time has been a 'success' (I.E Tastes great, absolutely no side-effects/jippy stomach etc). I would suggest to cut the strips a little thinner - makes a good 'shoe-leather' consistancy product, that takes a little chewing; but keeps a smile on your mush Also, I can't remember who said this in this thread - apologies, but you need as lean a cut of meat as you can get. I found flank beef steak from CostCo worked really well. Any fat was very thin and was easily removed with a sharp filletting knife. Also the 'grain' of the meat ideally lends itself to making jerky: it runs along the length of the cut of meat, not through-and-through (if you get my meaning).

Receipt tip. Instead of making a marinade - which tenderises the meat. I used a 'rub' - mix of herbs spices and worked it into the surface by hand. This still helps to tenderise it - but doesn't make it as 'wet'. I found the finished product was a drier consistancy that would keep for longer.

Hope this helps