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Beef Jerky
By Jara Anton
What is beef jerky? Obviously you're not a college kid or a cowboy. Jerky is just meat with all of its moisture strategically removed. Jerky is the oldest known form of preserving food, kept dry, jerky has a shelf life longer than a box of Twinkies. During my school career in Los Angeles, I dutifully watched the mailbox for the care package filled with beef jerky from my parents.
Cavemen made jerky from whatever they could kill, it was easy to cure and even easier to carry. Things like buffalo, antelope deer and elk all slain for the delicious meat product. Anything that was lean, as fatty meat won't make jerky, because the fat goes bad very quickly. Prehistoric jerky was probably sun-dried and or hung by the campfire, down-wind of course. The campfire kept the bugs off of it and also contributed to the great smoky taste.
If it's so much easier to get, why does it seem so expensive? The answer is that meat is basically 70% moisture. Minus that moisture and the meat weighs a lot less. Say you begin your beef jerky project with three pounds of meat, you'll only get one pound of jerky. With overhead like that, maybe it would be easier to make it at home.
Think it's impossible to make jerky at home? If you happen to be up late one night, there are dehydrator machines. These will not only suck the air out of your meat, but will also make packing winter jackets much easier. You may also use your oven or maybe a smoker. Did you want something a little more authentic? Here's the easy way to make natural jerky at home.
Making jerky at home is relatively simple. However, there are some rules to follow if you want a good batch of jerky. First pick up some ultra lean meat. As mentioned earlier, fatty meat spoils very fast. The best jerky comes from beef-round or flank steak. You may also use venison, buffalo, elk and antelope, turkey is also popular and tastes a lot like beef.
Cut your meat into strips no bigger than a quarter inch thick by about half or three quarters inch wide and six to eight inches long. It is suggested that you slice the meat like you would a brisket. Freeze the meat; it will be a lot easier to slice, remove all fat and white tissue. Freeze or thaw it to the point where it just barely has ice crystals in it.
The pioneers used salt and pepper to season before they dried it. Now you have the option to quick-cool or marinade method. The quick-cook method is a bit safer, as it gets rid of more of the bacteria that could be lurking in your meat. It is now time to stress that there is no set rules to what flavors best. Do you want to marinade it over night or boil the taste in? There are no rules.
Oven baking is the easiest way to prepare your jerky. You'll need a wire rack for the jerky to rest on. Also, set a cookie sheet underneath to catch all of the drippings. Set the temp at 140 degrees, door open, curing it for six to eight hours.
If you've chosen to actually rough it and sun dry the jerky, you will need to find something to hang it on, the pieces of meat must not touch. Thread a cotton string in the top of each piece to hang it in a location where the meat will get sun all day, covering it with cheesecloth to keep the bugs off. You will leave it up several days to dry; bring it in at night to keep the morning moisture off. Jerky is done when it is almost black and bends but does not break.
Obviously, beef jerky is much easier to enjoy today than in the Oregon Trail days. There is no slaying of huge animals and no waiting for the burning fire to flavor it. You cannot walk into a convenience store, grocery store, etc without a plethora of different sizes, textures, flavors on and on. But, why is it always near the register? That question remains unanswered…