Cooking Basics
Backpacking Food
Dutch Oven
Planning Camp Menus
Breakfast
Jank
Mountain Man
Breakfast
Lunch
Poulet L'Onion
Dinner
Backcountry
Chili
Beef Bangkok
Ham DeLeek
Chicken
Diablo
Trail Snacks
Fruit Leathers
Gorp
Desserts
Apple Delight
Dutch Oven Doughnuts
Pineapple Upside Down
Cake
Specialties
Beverages
Special Diets
Vegetarian Recipes
Jerky
By Steve Yee
Drying is the world's oldest and most common method of food preservation. A nutrient-dense meat that has been made lightweight by drying is called jerky. A pound of meat or poultry weighs about four ounces after being made into jerky. Because most of the moisture is removed, it can be stored without refrigeration. It's it a handy food for backpackers.
Jerky is a food known at least since ancient Egypt. Humans made jerky from animal meat that was too big to eat all at once, such as bear, buffalo, or whales. North American Indians mixed ground dried meat with dried fruit or suet to make "pemmican." "Biltong" is dried meat or game used in many African countries. Our word "jerky" came from the Spanish word "charque."
Temperature Is Important When Making Jerky
There is no single way to make jerky and there is as many recipes as ther are BSA troops. The USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline's current recommendation for making jerky safely is to heat meat to 160 degrees F before the dehydrating process. This step assures that any bacteria present will be destroyed by wet heat. But most dehydrator instructions do not include this step, and a dehydrator may not reach temperatures high enough to heat meat to 160 degrees F.
After heating to 160 degrees F, maintaining a constant dehydrator temperature of 130 to 140 degrees F during the drying process is important because the process must be fast enough to dry food before it spoils; and it must remove enough water that microorganisms are unable to grow.
Additionally, safe handling and preparation methods must always be used, including:
Now, here are a few jerky recipes:
Beef, Deer, Elk or Moose Jerky
Ingredients:
2 lbs. of flank steak
2/3 cup of soy sauce
2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons of seasoning salt
Instructions:
Slice flank steak diagonally with the grain of the meat into very thin slices (If slightly frozen it slices more easily). Combine ingredients and marinate meat overnight or 12 hours. Be sure all pieces are covered (coated) with marinade. Drain excess marinade. Place meat on paper towels to soak up marinade. Meat should be squeezed as dry as possible in paper towels. Place individual pieces of meat on rack in oven at 140 to 160 degrees for seven to 12 hours, or until meat is dry throughout. Leave oven door ajar (slightly open) during the drying process. Meat can also be hung in the oven by placing a wooden toothpick in each piece and strung from the rack. Store finished jerky in an airtight container. It keeps for several months, but it is likely that it will be consumed by the master hunter, kids, or the cook within a few days.
Chinese Jerky
Ingredients:
3 lb Steak
3 Garlic cloves, minced
1 tb Ginger, fresh, minced
2 tb Sesame oil
1/2 c Soy sauce
2 ts Red peppers, dried, crushed
1 tb Honey
1/2 ts White pepper
4 tb Dry Sherry (optional)
Instructions:
Cut meat diagonally crosswise into 1/4" thick, 2" wide strips. Trim away any fat or gristle. Transfer to a non-metallic pan. Add the other ingredients and marinade 24 hours. Preheat oven to 225. Line two large baking sheets with foil and set wire racks on top. Arrange the meat on racks in single layer. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 175 F and continue drying meat another 4 hrs or more. Leave meat on racks to cool and continue drying for several hours before bagging it.
Barbecue Jerky
Ingredients:
3 lb Beef loin tip; paper thin, or
3 lb Beef brisket; paper thin, or
3 lb Tenderloin; 1/8" to 1/4"
Barbecue sauce
Onion salt; to taste
Garlic salt; to taste
Instructions:
If necessary, roll out meat slices as thin as possible. Trim off fat. Set oven at 220 degrees and line cookie sheets with foil. Brush one side of meat with sauce. Put slices on cookie sheet; Do not stack. Sprinkle lightly with onion and garlic salts. Cook for 8-9 hours. Turn meat after six hours of cooking and brush with sauce. Cool and store in a tightly covered jar or sealed in a plastic bag.
"Little Chief" Beef and Game Jerky
Ingredients:
3 lb Steak
1/3 c Sugar
1/4 c Salt
2 c Soy sauce
1 c Water
1 c Red wine
1/2 ts Onion powder
1/2 ts Garlic powder
1/2 ts Tabasco sauce
Instructions:
Trim all fat from meat. Slice meat with the grain to about 1/4" to 1/2" thick. The meat slices nicely when semi-frozen. Place meat in the cool marinade and leave overnight, or for no less than 8 hours. Remove from brine and allow to air dry without rinsing. Smoke in your smoker for 12 to 16 hours or until jerky has dried out to your liking. Use your favorite fuel for smoking.
"Frontier Jerky
Ingredients:
4 lb Lean meat; thinly sliced
1/4 c Salt
1 ts Pepper
4 ts Garlic powder
8 tb Worchestershire sauce
8 tb Liquid smoke
Instructions:
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients except meat. Stir to mix well. Place meat 3 or 4 layers deep in a glass or stoneware, plastic or stainless container, spooning liquid smoke mixture over each layer. Cover tightly. Marinate 12 hours in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally and keeping the mixture tightly covered. Follow directions for drying and storing. Makes 1 lb. jerky.