Will it Jerky?

[Melonfish]

as apposed to will it blend i wanted to ask "Will it Jerky"?

see i'm interested to see what kind of meats will jerky and any advice on them.
obviously we have things like beef and venison, and i heard that pork can also jerky.

however what about say, rabbit? or pidgeon? game in general, other domestic meat too?
i'm guessing lamb and mutton is a no due to fat content but it'd be nice to know.
pete

 

[HillBill]

The way i see it, though i may not be totally correct is this.
If its fatty then no, if you cant eat the meat rare like chicken or pork then no, as you don't cook jerky you dry it so it is still raw meat.

So any lean meat that can be eaten rare is ok. I have made Beef, Venison and Pigeon so far with good results and its all nice as hell.

 

[sparkplug]

The way i see it, though i may not be totally correct is this.
If its fatty then no, if you cant eat the meat rare like chicken or pork then no, as you don't cook jerky you dry it so it is still raw meat.

So any lean meat that can be eaten rare is ok. I have made Beef, Venison and Pigeon so far with good results and its all nice as hell.

A sensible precaution but in fact both E.coli and Salmonella are killed by sufficient drying.

Jerky (as opposed to biltong) is marinated and the preservative qualities of salt (or soy sauce) and sugar or garlic (all commonly found in marinade recipies) will also help make the meat safe.

Turkey Jerky is fairly common, and I have seen recipes for chicken and fish.


I'd suggest that any meat which naturally has salmonella (pork, chicken, etc) should be dried more than the meats which can be eaten rare (beef, venison, etc). I found some hygiene guidelines on a US website which might be helpful. link

Usual disclaimers: I am not an expert in this. Try at your own risk - etc etc.

*edit* follwed up my link and found the original US Dept of Agriculture page on the subject here.

 

[Melonfish]

ooh, i'm glad to hear about pigeon, poor mans steak is great!
i think i get the rule tho aye, if it can't be eaten raw then prolly not safe, fatty is bad.
so lean red meat in essense will be fine.

hmm raindeer?, buffalo?

ED: ooh excellent, thanks sparkplug i'll take a lookie, i've sort of got the jerky bug atm after making some rather damn tasty beef jerky at home.

 

[sparkplug]

No problem Melonfish.

Just thought it might also be appropriate to post a link to a DIY solar dehydrator here too.

Cheap and cheerful - easy to make and has to be worth a go! Should be good for dehydrating fruit etc too if you want to make your own pemmican.

 

[Armleywhite]

Surely Pork can?? Parma / Serrano hams.

 

[Tadpole]

Surely Pork can?? Parma / Serrano hams.

Are they not cured meats , rather than Just dried?

 

[Toddy]

I've jerkied both pork and turkey.
HWMBLT however decided that he wasn't keen on any thought of the e-coli so they were both plunged into boiling water for two minutes before they were quickly cooled and marinated in a covered dish in the fridge. The next day I drained them and put them into the dehydrator.

Did it work ?

Yes

Did it keep ?

No idea ........it was all guzzled within two days , and there's only himself and the cat eat meat in this house The fresh pork medallions and turkey breast steaks weighed in at nearly two kilos, the dried weight was about a fifth of that.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Armleywhite]

Are they not cured meats , rather than Just dried?

Their kept in salt for a few months then left to hang in the cold, high altitude of the mountains.

Does the salt act as curing, then jerky surely is the same thing.. Salted then dried over a low fire etc??

I don't know really.

 

[dogwood]

Buffalo and moose can both be made into jerky and they're extremely good.

On the discussion of fatty meats, remember that they can be made into pemmican with is great for survival (usually pretty bad on the palate).

I've been a vegetarian for almost 20 years now, an you can also make soy jerky with is really good....

 

[Tadpole]

Their kept in salt for a few months then left to hang in the cold, high altitude of the mountains.

Does the salt act as curing, then jerky surely is the same thing.. Salted then dried over a low fire etc??

I don't know really.

In the curing process the salt does two things changes the nature of the meat, (to prevent spoiling on anything you have to make a condition where Bad/good bacteria do not grow. Freeze it, make it too acid, too salty or to sweet. The salt in the curing makes the meat too salty for the bacteria (that makes the meat spoil), and draws out the moisture (the bacteria also likes/needs moisture) I assumed that the salt on jerked meat is more for the flavour.
I think

 

[Melonfish]

very true, when you hang a ham you cover it in salt and leave it for as many days as it weighs in pounds, and a bit more i believe (i'd have to read what hugh did again) then hang it for up to a year!
crazy but hey the salt just kills the bacteria off and they can't live in that environment.
there's also soaking the ham in brine with spices and thats similar.

 

[DrDoug]

Just finished making jerky out of pigeon breast and it worked well, very nice meat !

dried it in the oven with the door open but took quite a while and am now considering buying a dehydrator. Any recommendation ?


Cheers

 

[xylaria]

I am going to experiment with jerking ox heart. The credit crunch jerky at £3 per heart. I like the taste of ox heart but it is a bit aquired.

 

[sparkplug]

dried it in the oven with the door open but took quite a while and am now considering buying a dehydrator. Any recommendation ?

There are many commercially available, but they are quite expensive. It's not difficult to make something yourself which works well.

There are loads of designs out there but they all work on the same principle you need:

1) a box with holes in to allow air flow
2) a heat source at the bottom
3) something to protect the heat source from being dripped on.

Have a google for yourself, but I think biltongbox.com have a pretty good site for someone starting out with this sort of thing.

Hope that helps!

 

[rik_uk3]

There are many commercially available, but they are quite expensive. It's not difficult to make something yourself which works well.

There are loads of designs out there but they all work on the same principle you need:

1) a box with holes in to allow air flow
2) a heat source at the bottom
3) something to protect the heat source from being dripped on.

Have a google for yourself, but I think biltongbox.com have a pretty good site for someone starting out with this sort of thing.

Hope that helps!

Not expensive these days really

http://www2.westfalia.net/suche/ind...&suche=suche_hauptseite&suchstring=dehydrator

Air Zimbabwe used to give out Biltong as in flight snacks instead of peanuts or crisps years ago

 

[Mike Ameling]

True traditional jerk (the old term) is just dried lean meat. No spices, no marinades, no smoking. Just dried. The moment you start spicing it or marinating it it then becomes jerky.

Any FAT in the meat can and will turn rancid (bacteria growth). That is why it needs to be lean meat. And you also need to dry it HARD as was stated before - to kill of any bacteria trying to grow.

And then keep it DRY. Any moisture will allow bacteria growth.

The rest is all a matter of taste - adding spices and marinades.

Traditional Pemmican is made by taking jerk, pounding it into small bits and powder, and then mixing in melted fat. That's it - dried meat and fat. But some do add in dried berries for a bit more flavor. Pemmican was a ... subsistence ... food. It gave you protein and fat for your body to live on. Nothing much more. But it was a great way to store food for long periods of time. The common method of using/eating pemmican was by making it into a "stew". Throw some into a pot of water to heat up, and then stir in anything else you might have - like wild rice. Simple basic sustenance. But it really is an acquired taste.

Just a few humble rambling thoughts to share. Take them as such.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

 

[sparkplug]

Not expensive these days really

http://www2.westfalia.net/suche/ind...&suche=suche_hauptseite&suchstring=dehydrator

That's a good link rik.
The last time I looked at them the prices were upward of £80

At those prices I'm quite tempted!

 

[rik_uk3]

That's a good link rik.
The last time I looked at them the prices were upward of £80

At those prices I'm quite tempted!

I've got two, one of those and a similar one off a mate in the States, they work very well. The only thing is they have no timer, so I plug mine into a socket timer

 

[Toddy]

Good idea
I just use mine when I'm bimbling around the house for a day and keep an eye on it, turning the trays around.

cheers,
Toddy