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John's Journal... Entry 231, Day 4

JERKY - THE ULTIMATE SNACK FOOD

Don't Worry About Mad Cow From Jerky: Food Safety of Jerky

Editor's Note: At this time of the year, most successful deer hunters have a freezer full of venison. In just a few hours at night, with little or no preparation time, you can cut up some venison strips, soak them in the marinades that we recommend and dry your jerky in the oven, using toothpicks and a dripping tray. To help you solve the problem of responding when someone asks you, "What are you going to do with that freezer full of venison?" this week we'll offer some of our favorite, easy-to-prepare venison jerky recipes. Come to "John's Journal" every day this week to get new and different recipes for making venison jerky. You'll be glad you did. (Or, you can use beef to make jerky, if you're not fortunate enough to have plenty of deer meat).

Drying food is the world's oldest and most-common method of food preservation. Canning technology is less than two centuries old. When you dry food, you remove moisture, which means that enzymes can't contact or react with the food. There are several ways to dry food. Two types of natural drying are sun drying and adibatic or shade drying that both occur in open air. The difference between the two is that adibatic drying occurs without heat.

Before drying your meat, the USDA Meat and Poultry's Hotline recommends that to make jerky safe, you need to heat the meat to 160-degrees Fahrenheit before you begin the dehydrating process.

Dad's Favorite Jerky:
* 12 to 15 pounds venison, sliced 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thick.
* 10 oz. Worcesteshire sauce
* 5 oz. soy sauce
* 3.5 oz. Wright Liquid Smoke
* 2 Tbsp. onion powder
* 2 Tbsp. garlic powder
* 2 Tbsp. Lawry's Seasoning Salt
* 2 Tbsp. Broiled Seasoning Salt
* 2 Tbsp. Montreal/ Canadian Steak Seasonings
* Optional: 1 cup of Catsup/mustard or marinade. For hotter jerky, use Tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper to suit your taste.

Mix all previous ingredients together, and pour over meat. Be sure that you stir the mixture into the meat so all gets covered. Then let sit for as long as you want.

Came Seca:
* 2-1/2 to 3 lbs. raw venison
* 2 tsp. ground oregano
* 2 tsp. salt
* 3/4 cup vinegar
* 2 lg. onions, finely chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, mashed
* 1/2 tsp. coarse black pepper
* 1 tsp. liquid smoke

1) Mix all ingredients to make marinade, and soak meat in marinade for 24 hours.
2) Remove meat from marinade, and place in oven or smoker for 7 to 8 hours at 150-200 degrees.

Berta's Jerky:
* 3/4 to 1 cup soy sauce
* 1/4 cup water
* Montreal steak spice
* Mrs. Dash (optional)
* 1/4 cup barbecue sauce (optional)

1) Add mixture to meat, and marinate for 3 hours or more.
2) Place in dehydrator for at least 12 hours.

To learn more delicious ways to prepare venison, click here to find out about John and Denise Phillips' "Just Venison" CD.

TOMORROW: JERKY: THE FIRST LOW-CARB FOOD

 

 

Check back each day this week for more about JERKY - THE ULTIMATE SNACK FOOD ...

Day 1 - From Frozen Venison to Mid-Afternoon Snack
Day 2 - What Is Jerky?
Day 3 - From Ancient Egypt to the Rocky Mountains
Day 4 - Don't Worry About Mad Cow From Jerky: Food Safety of Jerky
Day 5 - Jerky: The First Low-Carb Food


John's Journal