Self sufficient jerky

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British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
Later today, we'll publish a video.

It features;

A loin of Fallow that we butchered in the workshop
Marinated in redcurrants that we grew, a little hot sauce from our chillies that we fermented
Dried in a cottage that we restored, in an oven heated by wood that we cut, split & seasoned.

It's not self sufficiency yet, but it's satisfying

 

lostplanet

Full Member
Aug 18, 2005
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Kent
The only problem with that, is its going to be sooo dreamy good, I reckon it will last 48hrs max :)
I don't have the discipline to ration stuff like that. Looks very good. Enjoy
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
The only problem with that, is its going to be sooo dreamy good, I reckon it will last 48hrs max :)
I don't have the discipline to ration stuff like that. Looks very good. Enjoy
Well, when it's gone, the other loin will have finished curing as venison bacon ;)
 
Later today, we'll publish a video.

It features;

A loin of Fallow that we butchered in the workshop
Marinated in redcurrants that we grew, a little hot sauce from our chillies that we fermented
Dried in a cottage that we restored, in an oven heated by wood that we cut, split & seasoned.

It's not self sufficiency yet, but it's satisfying

Drying meat is a good way of preserving meat for the home & for trail food. I hope forum members pay attention to this, because it may become necessary in the very near future.
Keith.
 
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British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
Drying meat is a good way of preserving meat for the home & for trail food. I hope forum members pay attention to this, because it may become necessary in the very near future.
Keith.
As Ray Mears says, old skills are interesting and worth preserving - I think that's as true of homestead skills as much as bushcraft skills.
 
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henchy3rd

Settler
Apr 16, 2012
611
423
Derby
Reminded me when we hit a gazelle in Zimbabwe in in 1992. The animal unfortunately died, but we cut the rear legs off there & then & had a gazelle Brie with sodza (maze mash)& union gravy over an open fire that night in the bush.
we made a kind of jerky/biltong the next day with salt & spicy seasoning..ooh I can taste it now.
 
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Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
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McBride, BC
Here in the Pacific Northwest, First Nations use big smoke houses to smoke dry salmon, clams, oysters and whatever else they harvest. How big you might ask? Two-car garage and up.

I suppose, if you had to, you could slice and smoke dry/ preserve chicken meat, too?
 
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British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
Here in the Pacific Northwest, First Nations use big smoke houses to smoke dry salmon, clams, oysters and whatever else they harvest. How big you might ask? Two-car garage and up.

I suppose, if you had to, you could slice and smoke dry/ preserve chicken meat, too?
You can, but in these parts, if we were looking for seasonal meat, goose would be the way to go. Where we are, geese come over in skeins numbering hundreds. Duck is good too. Wildfowling on the marshes was the countryman's larder filler
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
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McBride, BC
Sure. Didn't think of that. Migratory waterfowl. Harvest. OK, now what about preservation for the winter? Jerky. They are multipurpose birds for down and feathers as well as bone needles and so forth.

Salmon harvest in some places like the Yukon River was curtailed = NO fish! Smoke houses are empty, freezers are empty. This puts huge pressure on the moose and caribou populations when there's a whole isolated village to feed.

I like all sorts of fishy foods. Smoke-dried clams, oysters and mussels are a Food Group to me.
 

henchy3rd

Settler
Apr 16, 2012
611
423
Derby
You can, but in these parts, if we were looking for seasonal meat, goose would be the way to go. Where we are, geese come over in skeins numbering hundreds. Duck is good too. Wildfowling on the marshes was the countryman's larder filler
Best way to cook a Canadian goose.
Open the bird up, place a house brick inside, then cover said bird in foil..Cook on a low heat & baste several times during cooking. Take the bird out of the oven, take the brick out & place on a tray. Then throw the bird away & eat the brick.
Guaranteed the brick will taste better.
 
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Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
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McBride, BC
We can shoot grain-fed Canada geese along the Robson Valley migratory flyway. They still taste too livery.

The Hudson's Bay Company(England) expected their supply posts to provide staples for the outbound actual fur traders. They also expected meticulous record keeping. Rocky Mountain House was shooting and drying bison and rendering the fat, backstrap in particular. Then, the fat and the pounded dried meat was assembled 1:1 as "pemmican", done up in 90 lb bison hide bags. Top stuff in 60 lb bison hide bags. Their quota for the traders was 44,000 lbs to be prepared in 9 days.

No, no fruit. The sugars just make mold.

I made a measured kilo of pemmican according to the HBC plan. Bison is less than 10 minutes from my house and I have eaten 6-7 of them over the past 20 years. That pemmican could gag a maggot, even with root veg as a burgoo.
Pass the jerky, please.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
(snip) pemmican could gag a maggot, even with root veg as a burgoo.
Pass the jerky, please.

Preserving meat in fat is still done here as local delicacy. From "confits" of duck (duck pieces preserved in cooled fat) to potted shrimp (cooked shrimp in a pot covered in melted butter that then cools). It can be wonderful (I LIKE potted shrimp ) but has to be done well.
Watched your video twice, BR. Very thorough explanation. I could head for my kitchen and get started on the strength of that piece.
Thank you, that's very kind
 
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