A few thoughts on dehydrated food

[Moonraker]

Reminds me of that Russian woman who explained before the camera (Thalassa, Fench FR3 television) how they lived up there, in the forests near Moermansk:

"In summer, we prepare for winter, and in winter, we do nothing" "

About British food lore: I bought this amazing book when I visited Colchester in 1999: "Food in England" by Dorothy Hartley (Little, Brown & Co., publishers) It's a compilation of food lore dating from 1954 and reprinted on paperback in 1999.

Oh, sorry: my true name is Nick, Ketchup stands for the pronounciation of "Ketje" (kiddy), the nickname for a boy from brussels.

Great saying there

Yes, it's a great book and one of the few written sources of traditional recipes and preserving techniques. In fact it is not really recipes from 1954 but collected from all sorts of earlier sources.

The other useful resource for English cookery is The Book of Household Management, by Isabella Beeton which can be found online here;

The Book of Household Management, by Isabella Beeton

Though her comment on Garlic in cookery neatly confirms the commonly held view of the time to 'foreign' food

GARLIC.—The smell of this plant is generally considered offensive, and it is the most acrimonious in its taste of the whole of the alliaceous tribe. In 1548 it was introduced to England from the shores of the Mediterranean, where it is abundant, and in Sicily it grows naturally. It was in greater repute with our ancestors than it is with ourselves, although it is still used as a seasoning herb. On the continent, especially in Italy, it is much used, and the French consider it an essential in many made dishes.

 

[Moonraker]

Q..) How long do you generally marinate the beef before drying? I guess the longer the more flavour but guess it can also be overdone if too long?

A.depends on the flavour im making, the red wine flavour i leave in red wine, soya sauce and cracked black pepper for upto 3 days but for something like spicy i would leave for a couple of hours as we use fresh home grown chillies it doesnt need long to marinade lol

Great, that helps a lot. I guess I need to experiment some more.

Q.Do you use saltpetre at all given the potential dangers of botulinum? and if not what sort of shelf life do you reckon properly dried jerky has? I realise it's not an exact science (thank goodness) but some idea.

A. we dont use saltpetre at all, we just dry it till there is zero moisture ,as for shelf life we have a 3 month shelf life after having had our stuff product tested at a lab, saying that i have eaten jerky i made over a year ago but thats cos we have a big vac packer which seals the bags airtight lol

That's really helpful to know as I am never sure. I aim to get a vac packer for storage. When you say 'zero moisture', is that something you measure or based on texture i.e. when brittle?

Q.3) I would like to get some smokey flavour to my jerky and aim to cold smoke some for a few hours for flavour then finish off in the dehydrator. Or can I hot smoke quickly then dry? I prefer not to use liquid smoke

A. cold smoke afterwards is best

Great!

"1kg trimmed lean rump steak thinly sliced and quickly tenderised" i would suggest you buy skirt, its the best cut for jerkying IMHO

Thanks for the advice. I have tried quite a few cuts and agree with you as I prefer a bit more 'chew', but if I can get cheaper cuts of good meat I use those too

though alot of people now cook their meat before jerkying we dont, you lose an awful lot of flavour from the meat and if its dried correctly its not ( in my opinion ) necessary, after all its been an established way of preserving meat for thousands of years

I totally agree It is one of the advantages of preserving at home that you can avoid the rigours of legislation and produce a product for it's flavour, texture and authenticity rather than for shelf-life, ease of transportation and trying to remove every last microbe

hope that helped

Very much!

Now I'm off to the local butchers

 

[Jerky Meister]

"When you say 'zero moisture', is that something you measure or based on texture i.e. when brittle? "

when the Droewurst is done it should snap like a twig, same as the jerky lol
and if you like your jerky chewyer try cutting along the grain of the meat as opposed to across it, makes it waaaaay more chewy lol, glad to have been of help

 

[Moonraker]

"When you say 'zero moisture', is that something you measure or based on texture i.e. when brittle? "

when the Droewurst is done it should snap like a twig, same as the jerky lol
and if you like your jerky chewyer try cutting along the grain of the meat as opposed to across it, makes it waaaaay more chewy lol, glad to have been of help

Thanks again for the advice

 

[rik_uk3]

I made a pasta sauce "leather" today, looks ok too I'll leave it a few days and knock up a spag bol with it

 

[rik_uk3]

I used the pasta sauce leather, dried minced beef, carrots, onions, sliced green beans, herbs, and made this fine tasting mince stew

All the ingredients would fit in a smallish ziplock bag, and will feed two people easy (with rice or pasta). It took a little over a litre to rehydrate the meal, this gives you an idea of the end bulk of the meal

 

[Jerky Meister]

great looking meal, its o.k trying to describe it with words only, but a pic like that really works best