I've made jerky outdoors in a smokestack but this is the first time i've made it indoors, as i use it for my outdoor stews a lot it makes sense to make my own.
I started with a good 1.8lb chunk of beef top rump and 5 venison leg steaks, i trimmed all visible fat and cut the rump into chunks that would be easy to cut slices from that would make nice sized pieces of jerky, the venison had no fat on, all meat was then put in the freezer, once properly frozen i allowed the meat to slightly defrost to make it easier to cut through.
I sliced the meat into approx 8mm thick slices, first the beef top rump
and then the 5 venison leg steaks (170g each)
Then i mixed up my marinade which was around 400ml in total and approx half soy sauce, half Worcestershire sauce, 4 tablespoons of extra extra hot chilli sauce and 6 tablespoons of vinegar, i put 2 food bags in 2 bowls and added the meat to each, poured in the marinade and massaged it into the meat, before putting back in the fridge i sealed each bag trying to remove as much air as possible, the meat marinated for 8hrs and i massaged the liquid into the meat every 2 hrs
The beef
The venison
After 8hrs marinating i drained the meat and disposed of the liquid, i spread the meat out on kitchen paper to absorb excess liquid and patted it dry with more kitchen paper
Whilst the meat was in the fridge i prepared a couple of different spice mixes to rub into the meat, these contained freshly ground mixed peppercorns, freshly ground smoked Cyprus sea salt, freshly ground chlli flakes and seeds and sea salt, ground coriander,garlic powder, ginger powder, onion powder, ground cardamon and ground cinnamon, i applied loads of this to the meat as my jerky is only to be used as the meat for my outdoor stews and i wanted it to contain all the spices the stew brew would need so i don't have to carry them separately, as the meat rehydrates in the stew the flavours will impart into it, this powder mix was rubbed by hand into both sides of the meat
and then the meat placed onto the trays of the dehydrator
First the beef
Then the venison
Set the dehydrator to 70c
I checked on the meat every couple of hours to check it had not gone brittle, you want it to still have some flex to it but no moisture, each time i checked i alternated the order of the tray stack to ensure even drying.
After 9 hrs it was perfect
I allowed the meat to cool and then added it to airtight food jars and placed in the fridge
It was very spicy, i'm sure if you were making jerky just to eat as snacks you'd probably want to use less spice rub than i did, i still enjoyed a few bits though
I started with a good 1.8lb chunk of beef top rump and 5 venison leg steaks, i trimmed all visible fat and cut the rump into chunks that would be easy to cut slices from that would make nice sized pieces of jerky, the venison had no fat on, all meat was then put in the freezer, once properly frozen i allowed the meat to slightly defrost to make it easier to cut through.
I sliced the meat into approx 8mm thick slices, first the beef top rump
and then the 5 venison leg steaks (170g each)
Then i mixed up my marinade which was around 400ml in total and approx half soy sauce, half Worcestershire sauce, 4 tablespoons of extra extra hot chilli sauce and 6 tablespoons of vinegar, i put 2 food bags in 2 bowls and added the meat to each, poured in the marinade and massaged it into the meat, before putting back in the fridge i sealed each bag trying to remove as much air as possible, the meat marinated for 8hrs and i massaged the liquid into the meat every 2 hrs
The beef
The venison
After 8hrs marinating i drained the meat and disposed of the liquid, i spread the meat out on kitchen paper to absorb excess liquid and patted it dry with more kitchen paper
Whilst the meat was in the fridge i prepared a couple of different spice mixes to rub into the meat, these contained freshly ground mixed peppercorns, freshly ground smoked Cyprus sea salt, freshly ground chlli flakes and seeds and sea salt, ground coriander,garlic powder, ginger powder, onion powder, ground cardamon and ground cinnamon, i applied loads of this to the meat as my jerky is only to be used as the meat for my outdoor stews and i wanted it to contain all the spices the stew brew would need so i don't have to carry them separately, as the meat rehydrates in the stew the flavours will impart into it, this powder mix was rubbed by hand into both sides of the meat
and then the meat placed onto the trays of the dehydrator
First the beef
Then the venison
Set the dehydrator to 70c
I checked on the meat every couple of hours to check it had not gone brittle, you want it to still have some flex to it but no moisture, each time i checked i alternated the order of the tray stack to ensure even drying.
After 9 hrs it was perfect
I allowed the meat to cool and then added it to airtight food jars and placed in the fridge
It was very spicy, i'm sure if you were making jerky just to eat as snacks you'd probably want to use less spice rub than i did, i still enjoyed a few bits though
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