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Jerky can be used as more than just a snack food.
By Tim Renken, St. Louis Post Dispatch.
10/18/2001
To most people, the subject of jerky is simple. You chew it, chew it, chew it, and eventually swallow it.
To some people, the subject is slightly more complex. You cut it, salt it, dry it, and eventually eat it.
Jerky is an ancient, complicated subject. And it can be more than just a good way to get rid of the last of the venison still languishing in your freezer.
The subject of venison is nicely explored, explained and expanded in a little book, entitled simply "Jerky," by A.D. Livington. It tells how jerky can be made from almost any meat and how it can be used as an ingredient in regular dinner-table dishes.
Jerky has found a larger niche in the American diet with the growing number of deer bagged nation-wide. That niche might grow as more people learn how versatile it can be and how to use it in ways other than as a snack food.
Here are some of the interesting things a reader can learn from this book:
* Jerky is simply dried meat. Removing the moisture inhibits spoilage. Good jerky won't keep forever, but it will keep a long time without refrigeration.
* Jerky can be made many ways, not just in a dehydrator or oven. You can make it out on the (clothesline) if the weather is right. Just be sure it is cooked to 160 degrees before drying.
* Jerky doesn't have to be in strips, though strips are popular because they facilitate drying. Cubes or even large slabs can be dried, too.
* You don't need to salt the heck out of your jerky, but salt facilitates drying and helps preserve the meat. If you don't use salt, you have to do the other things better.
* Venison is easier to turn into jerky than beef because it contains less moisture to begin with. You also can make jerky out of pork, fish, fowl and even alligator. The best venison cuts with which to make jerky, according to Livingston, are the loin and hind leg.
* You can't make good jerky out of bad venison. Spoiled is spoiled.
* The number of recipes for jerky is infinite. The jerky you buy at liquor stores isn't typical. You can make jerky much better, and cheaper, than that.
* You can make jerky out of hamburger, even sausage.
* Jerky can be an ingredient in soups, stews, casseroles, meatloaf, tacos, etc.
* Jerky is a great ingredient for pemmican, a Cree word for a mix of dried nuts, berries, fruits, etc., for use on the trail. Good pemmican, which you can make yourself, is a complete meal. All you add is something to drink.
Here's my favorite jerky recipe from the book. It can be made with any good, lean meat. Elk, moose or venison are ideal.
===
Honey Mustard Jerky
Cut meat into strips 1-inch wide, 6 inches long and 1/4-inch thick. Having the meat almost frozen facilitates slicing. Cut some with, some against the grain so you'll have both kinds of jerky.
Ingredients
5 pounds lean meat
2 1/2 cups soy sauce
1/2-cup honey
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons onion juice
1 tablespoon salt.
Mix the liquid ingredients and salt. Put the meat into a nonmetallic container, cover with liquid mixture and stir to cover all surfaces of meat. Marinate several hours. Drain and dry in the oven or dehydrator at 145 degrees for 6-8 hours or until done to suit.
The book "Jerky" is published by The Lyons Press and costs $14.95 in paperback.
By Tim Renken, St. Louis Post Dispatch.
10/18/2001
To most people, the subject of jerky is simple. You chew it, chew it, chew it, and eventually swallow it.
To some people, the subject is slightly more complex. You cut it, salt it, dry it, and eventually eat it.
Jerky is an ancient, complicated subject. And it can be more than just a good way to get rid of the last of the venison still languishing in your freezer.
The subject of venison is nicely explored, explained and expanded in a little book, entitled simply "Jerky," by A.D. Livington. It tells how jerky can be made from almost any meat and how it can be used as an ingredient in regular dinner-table dishes.
Jerky has found a larger niche in the American diet with the growing number of deer bagged nation-wide. That niche might grow as more people learn how versatile it can be and how to use it in ways other than as a snack food.
Here are some of the interesting things a reader can learn from this book:
* Jerky is simply dried meat. Removing the moisture inhibits spoilage. Good jerky won't keep forever, but it will keep a long time without refrigeration.
* Jerky can be made many ways, not just in a dehydrator or oven. You can make it out on the (clothesline) if the weather is right. Just be sure it is cooked to 160 degrees before drying.
* Jerky doesn't have to be in strips, though strips are popular because they facilitate drying. Cubes or even large slabs can be dried, too.
* You don't need to salt the heck out of your jerky, but salt facilitates drying and helps preserve the meat. If you don't use salt, you have to do the other things better.
* Venison is easier to turn into jerky than beef because it contains less moisture to begin with. You also can make jerky out of pork, fish, fowl and even alligator. The best venison cuts with which to make jerky, according to Livingston, are the loin and hind leg.
* You can't make good jerky out of bad venison. Spoiled is spoiled.
* The number of recipes for jerky is infinite. The jerky you buy at liquor stores isn't typical. You can make jerky much better, and cheaper, than that.
* You can make jerky out of hamburger, even sausage.
* Jerky can be an ingredient in soups, stews, casseroles, meatloaf, tacos, etc.
* Jerky is a great ingredient for pemmican, a Cree word for a mix of dried nuts, berries, fruits, etc., for use on the trail. Good pemmican, which you can make yourself, is a complete meal. All you add is something to drink.
Here's my favorite jerky recipe from the book. It can be made with any good, lean meat. Elk, moose or venison are ideal.
===
Honey Mustard Jerky
Cut meat into strips 1-inch wide, 6 inches long and 1/4-inch thick. Having the meat almost frozen facilitates slicing. Cut some with, some against the grain so you'll have both kinds of jerky.
Ingredients
5 pounds lean meat
2 1/2 cups soy sauce
1/2-cup honey
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons onion juice
1 tablespoon salt.
Mix the liquid ingredients and salt. Put the meat into a nonmetallic container, cover with liquid mixture and stir to cover all surfaces of meat. Marinate several hours. Drain and dry in the oven or dehydrator at 145 degrees for 6-8 hours or until done to suit.
The book "Jerky" is published by The Lyons Press and costs $14.95 in paperback.
