Jerky, Why and How, Oven and Campfire

[TWP]

Good, easy to read discussion of how to make Jerky, both in an oven and over open campfire.

Video may or may not be helpful, your decision.

http://www.survivalsullivan.com/how-to-make-jerky/

The test was more useful to me than the video...

[230gr]

Interesting, we have part of a deer in the freezer waiting to be cut into strips. We will be using this recipe.

Favorite Beef Jerky (makes about 6 oz)
1 ½ Lb       meat strips, 1/8 to ¼” thick, cut cross grain
¼  cup       soy sauce
1   T          Worcestershire sauces
¼  tsp        black pepper
¼  tsp        garlic powder
½  tsp        onion powder
1/8  tsp      nutmeg
¼ tsp         ginger
•   Mix ingredients, pour over meat and mix in.
•   Refrigerate, covered, and marinade 5 hrs to overnight.
•   Remove strips, place on rack to drip dry.
•   Arrange in dehydrator set at 155 to 165o F in a single layer 5 hours or until strips break when bent.   
 Here might be a useful recipe that is used in the dry areas of Africa that is simply air dried. Under TEOTWAWKI, simply salt could be used. 

Beef Biltong Recipe
An African style jerked meat cured, air-dried beef or game.
28       Lb       meat strips
½        cup     brown sugar
1¼      Lb       fine salt
Enough to cover vinegar
Seasoning optional
1         T         black pepper
1         T         red pepper, crushed
½        cup     roasted coriander, coarsely ground
1         cup     Worcestershire sauces
2         cup     soy sauce
1          T       garlic powder
2          T       onion powder
•   Cut into thin strips with the grain, removing as much sinew and binding tissue as possible, then cut the finished biltong across the grain to make more tender sliced pieces.
•   Then dip the strips into vinegar and seasonings to slightly tenderize, protect the meat from bacteria, and open up the raw meat so any spices are able to penetrate deeper.
•   Place the meat and vinegar mix into a large cool ice chest overnight allowing the meat to absorb the flavors of the vinegar and seasoning.
•   Hang the meat up to dry; the drying time for biltong depending on the thickness of the slices, the drying conditions and the method you chose to dry it.
•   Typically, it will be hard on the outside, but a little moist and red on the inside.
•   The meat dried to brittleness will shrink by 50%, dried to 20 to 35% moisture loss the meat is more easily chewed but does not keep as well.
•   Biltong that is dried to brittleness can be grated or pounded into a powder for use in stews and soups.
•   Storing Biltong
o   In a sealed Mylar bag under vacuum- 5 year +.
o   Dry to brittleness and pack with salt in plastic pail- 3 years.

[TWP]

230gr; Good recipes.  Added to my prep documents

[Joe Deer Runner]

Over a camp fire I wouldn't recommend, you're just cooking it. What you want it to do is smoke it. Make a container to hand the meat in and let the fire go down to smoldering state and add shredded wood to it.


Joe

[230gr]

A camp fire can be used as an expedient smoke in the field.  The meat must be hung high enough that the smoke is relatively cool so you get a slow drying and smoke effect without cooking. You have to constantly adjust the fire and or hanging height to do it.
The Dakota Smokeless Fire Pit  can be modified to smoke by limiting the air intake to force it to smoke especially if you add green wood over a bed of coals.