I titled this article IT’S JERKY SEASON but jerky is in season all year round, isn’t it?
Everyone loves jerky. Even my vegetarian friends are closet jerky eaters.
You may say yes, it’s good but why is it so expensive?
Good question. Some of the expense is that due to the drying process moisture is extracted. So, a one-pound piece of meat may only yield ¼ pound of jerky (That is not a scientifically deduced number. In fact, I’ve never documented the shrinkage but it is significant).
But still, if you figure out the cost per pound of what it cost you to buy store bought jerky, it’s around $5,000,000 per pound. So why not make your own jerky? It’s not that complicated.
For decades I made my own blends trying to develop the ultimate jerky. Everyone has their secret blend.
Usually they will include some/all of the following ingredients. Salt, pepper, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Teriyaki Sauce and on and on the list goes.
Then you also see premade blends offered in your favorite outdoor stores. One word of caution. Yes, the meat you use is a big factor in the flavor but your jerky and sausage making success is 90% dependent on the spices you use. You use cheap blends; you get sub-standard jerky. I’ve never bought a cheap factory jerky or sausage blend that was worth a hoot. If you use a cheap blend, you’re going to be disappointed.
Over 10 years ago I discovered Hi-Mountain Seasoning. They make my favorite Jerky seasonings. I’ve tried a million different buddy’s recipes and experimented with making my own but theirs is the best (And they don’t pay me a penny to say this).
I was reminded of how good it was this weekend when I made a big batch of jerky. I like their Original, Hickory or Cracked Pepper N’ Garlic blends. This weekend I made jerky using their Cracked Pepper N’ Garlic blend.
It came off the dryer early Sunday morning. I took a couple of bowls to Church and put on the coffee/cookie table and I don’t think a magician could have made something disappear as fast at the jerky did!
OK, QUIT
TALKING-HOW DO I MAKE JERKY?
A package of the blend produces 15 lbs. of jerky. If you only have 7-pounds of meat, only use half of the spices.
Slice your meat in thin slices cut cross grain. It is hard to cut thin slices out of soft meat. It’s easier to slice if you do it while it is still half frozen.
I guess you can use any wild game (Other than skunk-but I can’t actually say this because I’ve never tried skunk). You can even use bird meat.
Next, lay the sliced meat on a flat surface and sprinkle on the spices. Flip and sprinkle on the remaining spices. I then put it in a big bowl, tumble it a bit and put in the frig. Probably best to put a plastic bag over the bowl so the odors don’t permeate the rest of the items in the frig.
Otherwise, your wife may complain if the jerky odors permeate her tofu dish or the baby formula!
I stir the meat every 4-hours to ensure that I get uniform distribution of the spices.
There is nothing magic about stirring every 4-hours. So no, you don’t have to wake up in the middle of the night to stir it. It is best to allow it to set at least 24 hours for the spices to permeate the meat.
Cures get a bad name but that is what allows you to keep jerky at room temperatures without getting sick.
According to the mainstream media you’d think that if you eat meat with the dreaded cures in it that your kids would be born naked and have three heads.
I’m sure that further studies have been done since my college days and my memory may be a little inaccurate but I was an Animal Science major at Texas A&M University. I think that it was in one of the Meats classes that they taught us that yes, Cures can cause cancer but to do so, you’d have to eat 750 lbs. of bacon for 20 years and even then, only 1 out of every 20 women born since WWII would get cancer. So don’t panic. Plus, cures give a little twang to the taste buds which enhances your eating pleasure.
Next you want to dry your jerky. The most popular method is to lay in on racks and put in an air dryer. But you can also lay it on cookie sheets and put in the oven. If you do the oven route set the oven on the lowest setting and maybe crack the door to let the steam out.
To reduce the heat periodically turn the oven off. And if you want a little extra flair, you can even throw it on your smoker for an hour or two.
Years ago, I’d over dry my jerky so it was like eating dental floss. Due to the cure, you don’t have to reach temps of 160 degrees because the cure kills the bacteria.
So, it tastes a lot better if you pull it off the air dryer while it is still slightly moist.
So, if you want to impress your kids, their friends, co-workers or sweep your wife off of her feet, make a big batch of jerky. Just don ‘t use cheap spices.
Tom Claycomb is a hunting enthusiast and writes a bi-monthly column for Great Basin Sun.