ISO help/advice w/jerky techniques

[morerecipes]

Hey everybody, I'm pretty new at posting and want to get some help. A month ago, my brother-in-law caught a black elk and it turned around 40-50 lbs of meat. He is planning on converting most of it into sausage, which I think does no justice for the meat. I told him I would look up some ideas for preservation and jerky making.

This in turn is my dilema. I don't know anything about preservation and am not sure how to go about it. I am not necessarily looking for a step by step process(unless someone out there has the time), as I am a resource to turning red meat into beef jerky. I do know it is an ordeal to make and it's something that takes a long time, but I'm willing to learn how.

 

[mcnerd]

Just do a Google search and there are tons of recipes for making jerky using game meat. Pioneers just seasoned it and hung it out to dry in strips. Today you can use whatever means are available, a smoker, oven, or dehydrator.

Another option is to "can" the meat, if someone has a pressure canner and knows who to use it. It can be either the raw meat or cooked. The meat will be good for years then.

 

[blissful]

I have made sausage and canned and made jerky of venison. None of them are very hard, it just depends on the tools you have to make them. For that amount of meat, I think you might have to dedicate a Saturday or Week-end for a couple people to handle. (I like to cook with people, so usually I don't do it all alone.)

For the sausage I use a kitchen aid meat grinder, add pork and seasonings, fry a little to make sure it's spiced right, and package in 1 lb. packages in the freezer wrapped in freezer wrap. I've made mostly italian sausage (for pizza) and breakfast sausage for breakfast. You can put it in casings with a sausage stuffer, which I have but haven't needed to use yet.

For the canned venison, chop it in 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes, add 10% beef roast (fatty) and salted water, (beef base if you like) then pressure can it for 90 minutes. It turns out fork tender, delicious for sandwiches, stews or soups.

For the jerky, let the meat half thaw and cut it in thin slices with the grain. Then marinate it in soy sauce, salt, and ground pepper for a day. Then I dehydrate it in a convection oven set on dehydrate for 12 hours or so until it is pliable in some parts and crispy in others. (the hydration level will equalize over the next few hours in a freezer bag) I store it in the freezer in bags, though we eat most of it quite fast.

So, you'll need a dehydrater, a meat grinder and sausage stuffer, or a pressure canner for using any of these methods.

Ideally, for the jerky, you can fashion a smoker, to smoke it, in an old weber grill or old refrigerator burning apple/plum/fruit tree branches.

Whatever you decide, let us know how it turns out!

I had the best canned caribou from a friend at work last month. We made sandwiches with horseradish and lettuce on whole wheat bread, it was fantastic.
~Bliss

 

[GB]

Jerky is simple to make. Go to THIS page and click on search on the left. Type in jerky. Click on the first link (Urban Preservation II). It is an episode of Good Eats with Alton Brown. I have used this method with huge success.

 

[morerecipes]

Update

Hey, thanks for the feedback guys. I'm still kind of busy and haven't been able to talk to my bro-in-law, but I will keep you guys updated on what happens. All the methods sound really great, thanks again.

 

[JPolito830]

I usually do venison jerky in the fall using close to the same technique that GB linked. It is def. easier than you think.

 

[GB]

Just make sure you do it in a well ventilated area. My wife has banned me from doing it in the house anymore because it stinks the house up (I think it smells great) for days and days.

 

[mcnerd]

Just make sure you do it in a well ventilated area. My wife has banned me from doing it in the house anymore because it stinks the house up (I think it smells great) for days and days.

I'm sure it is definitely better than the trays of ONIONS that I occasionally do.

 

[smoke king]

Jerky is simple to make. Go to THIS page and click on search on the left. Type in jerky. Click on the first link (Urban Preservation II). It is an episode of Good Eats with Alton Brown. I have used this method with huge success.

Yup-same here. Except that I don't bother with the furnace filter/box fan/bungee cord method. I just throw it in my 30$ dehydrator when I go to bed, and check it in the AM.

I like to pull it before it gets too dry (cracker-like?) but that is a matter of personal taste.