Deer-Camp Munchie Food

[Salmonsmoker]

Well, here it is, seven weeks till deer season opens. Time to start getting food items planned or made.

One of the best items that I have found for munching in camp or taking along to the blind is VENISON JERKY.

Here's a process that is probably different than most have tried, but it provides excellent quality and consistancy. It has a sweet and smokey flavor and is somewhat chewy but not tough.

Start with a package of Jerky seasoning (you may have to try several till you find one you like - or make your own (I can provide a recipe to start with if anyone is interested) and add to it an equal amount of dextrose sausage-sweetening sugar. This is what I use as my "basic jerky seasoning."

(The first time I read about this next step, I couldn't believe it - but - after many years of making jerkey, it's the only proceedure that I use anymore.)

Then - take 10 lbs of ground venison (yes - ground meat. If you look closely at most of the commercial products that are available on the market today - they are made from ground beef. This is better because it is made from venison).

To the meat, add 2 TBsp jerky seasoning per pound. (For 10 lbs, add 20 Tbsp.)

Mix well. Put in a covered container and let stand for 24 hours in a refrigerator (38 degrees is ideal).

If you have a Jerky Shooter, the next step is easy. Lay out the jerky on food dehydrator or, if you don't have a dehydrator, oven trays (cookie sheets work well).

If you do not have a Jerky Shooter:

Take a square or rectangular pan with 1-to-2 inch high sides. Line it with a piece of plastic wrap at least 2 times the size of the pan (Put center of the wrap over the center of the pan).

Pack the ground mixture into the pan (in layers about 1/2 inch thick) so that you remove all air bubbles - particularly paying attention to the corners. When all of the meat is packed and compressed into the pan, wrap it with the remainder of the plastic wrap. Then invert pan, remove the wrapped meat and place it on the inverted pan bottom in the freezer overnight (that will keep it flat).

The next day the meat will be partially to mostly frozen. This is ideal for slicing in very even 1/4 inch slices with a serrated knife. You may find that cutting the whole slab of meat once down the middle lengthwise gives you pieces easier to handle with the slicing process.

Place the slices on food-dryer or oven trays and dry until firm and easy to turn over(if using an oven use the lowest setting possible and leave the door open an inch or so - the goal here is only to dry the meat - not to cook it. The drying will not take more than 2 to 3 hours.) Once turned, dry an additional 30 min. Then take the strips and place in your smoker.

Smoke for 2 to 3 hours - reaching a maximum temperature of 180 degrees.

This is excellent stuff. Give it a try.

ss






[This message has been edited by Salmonsmoker (edited 08-14-2000).]

[Banditto]

Thanks! I printed this out so I will try it.

[Banditto]

About the seasoning recipe... I am interested in hearing your recipe.

I basically used 1 cup of "whats-this-here" sauce, and 1 table-spoon each of the following honey, bbq sauce, salt, garlic, onion. Oh! and a dash of chili.

I think this is about a 2lb batch.

[Salmonsmoker]

Bandito,

I posted my seasoning salt recipe in the recipe book of this site.

Making Jerkey requires that a meat cure be used also - to insure that no micro-organisms grow on the jerkey between making and eating.
There are many, Morton Salt Co. has one that is available some grocery stores. Any of the larger sporting goods store will have several - the key ingredients are nitrate and nitrite - the stuff that prevents spoilage.

However, my Jerkey is sweeter (and I get many requests for it). To make it so, I also add Dextrose - sausage sweetening.

Basically I use 1 Cup of each and mix into a jar. Then use 2 T. of that mix per pound of meat - mix it well and let stand over night. It is strictly a dry spice mixture. Additional liquids change the texture of jerkey made from ground meat. To add a BBQ flavor, I have added BBQ powder (for making sauce at home). Also, have added Hidden Vally Ranch powder. Gives it a nice flavor.

ss

[Banditto]

The Morton Salt cure, is that the Sugar or Sugar Smoke Cure that they make?

I have been making jerky for several years, but have only been using salt to do the cure. I don't keep my jerky outside of the freezer though so maybe that would explain why nobody got sick yet.

[Steve]

Boy that sounds good. Would have never thought that you would use ground venison though.

[Salmonsmoker]

Banditto,

The cure that I use comes from "The Sausage Maker, Inc." 28 Military Road. Buffalo, NY 14207.

They have two cures: Insta-cure #1 is for cooked, dried-meat products; Insta-cure #2 is for not cooked, dired-meat products.

Since I bring the temperature of my somker up to 180 and hold for half an hour, I use the Insti-cure #1.

As for the Morton Cures - I have read their packages and compared their lables. They contain the same nirtates and nitrites that preserve the dried meats. I have never tested them for flavor.

ss

[Salmonsmoker]

Steve,

Making Jerkey from ground venison has several advantages.

I remember making jerkey from sliced round. It took hours to do the slicing and triming. The resulting slices varied in thickness and getting rid of all connective tissue presented a major quantity loss.

During brining the thinner slices cured faster than the thicker ones and the flavor of brine (no matter what combination of liquid and spices used) obscures many of the subtle flavors in the spices.

That flavor-loss is why real good cured ham is hand rubbed. The spice/cure mixture is dry - applied and rubbed into the meat by hand - then aged - then more cure/spice is applied - then more aging. This is a very time-consuming process, however, the flavor is uniquely excellent. Brined meat can never match this flavor.

Also, dried slices of meat are just that. They keep well but they are extremely tough. (There are some who argue that jerkey is supposed to be tough).

Jerkey made from ground meat:

1. If you can use the meat for hamburger, you can make an excellent flavored jerkey out of it and get a lot more jerkey per pound of raw meat. Also, you eliminate the hours of triming to remove the connective tissue from the traditional sliced-meat process.

2. The cure process is with dry cure/spices. The subtel flavors of the spices come through. Also, it takes less spice. My 10 pound recipe requires 2 Tbl sp of cure/spice mix per pound meat. Making enough brine for 10 lbs of sliced jerkey takes 2 cups of the same spices, most of which is dupmed out when the brining process is finished.

3. With a Jerkey-Shooter, or a meat slicer (if you are using the semi-frozen technique (NOTE: small meat shops will usually slice this for you if you do not have a slicer at home)), you can make consistant-sized slices that dry and cook at a consistant rate. This eliminates the need to be constantly sorting the jerkey as it drys to insure that the thin slices are not too dry or that the thick slices are dry enough.

4. Jerkey made from ground venison can be very tender or tough depending on your taste.

Totally dried, then smoke-cooked jerkey will be tough but will keep well. Slightly dried, then smoke-cooked jerkey will be extremly tender, but not keep well. I can put 10 pounds of jerkey-shooter slices in our food dehydrator at one time. By drying that 10 pounds for 2 hours, I can make a jerkey that is chewy but tender - has a sweet and smokey flavor and keeps for weeks in the frig. Every batch is consistant for size, texture, and flavor (important considerations once you have developed a recipe that is really good).

For the above reasons, this is the only jerky-making process that I have used for the past 5 years.

ss