Archive for the ‘Cooking Tips’ Category
Making Better Jerky: How to Make Jerky
January 15th, 2010 | 
Author: 
K Wilson asked:
We live in uncertain times. It is always best to be prepared for unexpected events, including food shortages. Knowing how to make jerky is one of the best ways to prepare for any eventuality. Jerky is a great way to store your meat because the process removes almost all of the water and juice out of the meat. When making jerky you can use any kind of meat. The best known is beef jerky. It is very popular because it was the staple of the cowboy and the ranch hand for years. When cowboys were moving a herd of cows from one ranch to another, they would take dehydrated beef with them as rations because food was hard to come by in the wilderness and they needed to save their ammunition in case of emergencies.
Over the centuries, the process of making jerky has become more and more simple. Once, it involved hanging the strips of meat in a smoke house to have all the fat and water smoked out. Now, we have special machines that dehydrate the meat by slowly removing all of the water. This process is faster because of the means by which the meat dehydrates. The only thing that you still have to do is to cut the meat and season it the way you want it.
There are different ways to make beef jerky but several things stay the same. Among them is the preparation. If you know how to make jerky then you know that picking out the meat can be very important. With beef jerky, there are so many cuts of meat to choose from. The best meat for beef jerky should be a lean cut. Using sirloin, as well as top round and eye round will make the dehydration process a lot quicker. Once you have chosen the cut of meat you want, trim off the excess fat. Fat does not dehydrate and can make your jerky rancid or quicker to spoil. After that, begin slicing your meat into thin strips. Less then an eighth of an inch thick is best. If you cannot cut the meat this thin, most butchers will do this for you for free. If you feel confident about doing it yourself, here is a good tip: freezing the meat for about thirty minutes beforehand can make cutting it easier.
There are two ways to cut the meat into the strips. Cutting with the grain can give a nice clean slice of meat. However, it can be a little tough to chew. If you cut the meat against the grain, it will make for a more tender jerky. Make sure that you trim the excess fat off while you are cutting. After you have cut the meat into strips, you can either marinate it, or simply season it and start the dehydration process. If you choose to marinate the strips of meat, you can use a mixture of cider vinegar and sea salt, or any other recipe you prefer. Place the marinating strips in the refrigerator for up to twenty-four hours to let the meat soak in the flavor. However, this process will add moisture and can cause the dehydration process to take longer. It can also make the jerky sticky. Once you have completed this step, you can coat the strips in the seasonings that you choose.
Next, put the meat in a dehydrator. However, before you put them in the dehydrator, you will want to spray the racks of the dehydrator with a non-stick spray first. This will help you pull the meat strips off later on when the jerky is ready. Spread the meat out on the racks evenly making sure that you leave some space between the pieces of meat. This will allow for greater air flow around the meat. It is best to leave the meat in the dehydrator over night. Six to twelve hours is best. When you know how to make jerky, it can be a lot of fun. There are many uses for the dehydrated meat. You can use it as a snack when you are watching television, or if you are out for a hike. You can enjoy it for a long time and it is easy to make.
We live in uncertain times. It is always best to be prepared for unexpected events, including food shortages. Knowing how to make jerky is one of the best ways to prepare for any eventuality. Jerky is a great way to store your meat because the process removes almost all of the water and juice out of the meat. When making jerky you can use any kind of meat. The best known is beef jerky. It is very popular because it was the staple of the cowboy and the ranch hand for years. When cowboys were moving a herd of cows from one ranch to another, they would take dehydrated beef with them as rations because food was hard to come by in the wilderness and they needed to save their ammunition in case of emergencies.
Over the centuries, the process of making jerky has become more and more simple. Once, it involved hanging the strips of meat in a smoke house to have all the fat and water smoked out. Now, we have special machines that dehydrate the meat by slowly removing all of the water. This process is faster because of the means by which the meat dehydrates. The only thing that you still have to do is to cut the meat and season it the way you want it.
There are different ways to make beef jerky but several things stay the same. Among them is the preparation. If you know how to make jerky then you know that picking out the meat can be very important. With beef jerky, there are so many cuts of meat to choose from. The best meat for beef jerky should be a lean cut. Using sirloin, as well as top round and eye round will make the dehydration process a lot quicker. Once you have chosen the cut of meat you want, trim off the excess fat. Fat does not dehydrate and can make your jerky rancid or quicker to spoil. After that, begin slicing your meat into thin strips. Less then an eighth of an inch thick is best. If you cannot cut the meat this thin, most butchers will do this for you for free. If you feel confident about doing it yourself, here is a good tip: freezing the meat for about thirty minutes beforehand can make cutting it easier.
There are two ways to cut the meat into the strips. Cutting with the grain can give a nice clean slice of meat. However, it can be a little tough to chew. If you cut the meat against the grain, it will make for a more tender jerky. Make sure that you trim the excess fat off while you are cutting. After you have cut the meat into strips, you can either marinate it, or simply season it and start the dehydration process. If you choose to marinate the strips of meat, you can use a mixture of cider vinegar and sea salt, or any other recipe you prefer. Place the marinating strips in the refrigerator for up to twenty-four hours to let the meat soak in the flavor. However, this process will add moisture and can cause the dehydration process to take longer. It can also make the jerky sticky. Once you have completed this step, you can coat the strips in the seasonings that you choose.
Next, put the meat in a dehydrator. However, before you put them in the dehydrator, you will want to spray the racks of the dehydrator with a non-stick spray first. This will help you pull the meat strips off later on when the jerky is ready. Spread the meat out on the racks evenly making sure that you leave some space between the pieces of meat. This will allow for greater air flow around the meat. It is best to leave the meat in the dehydrator over night. Six to twelve hours is best. When you know how to make jerky, it can be a lot of fun. There are many uses for the dehydrated meat. You can use it as a snack when you are watching television, or if you are out for a hike. You can enjoy it for a long time and it is easy to make.
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Weird and Wonderful Recipes Just For Fun
Guido Nussbaum asked:
There have always been really strange recipes around that are passed from kitchen to kitchen until they fade and a new fad takes over. Usually they are perfectly edible, they may even taste quite good, but at least one ingredient is strange or used in a peculiar way.
Bacon Mugs
I found a version of this on Stumble. The resulting mugs make great containers for salads, rice etc. Use small ovenproof dishes upside down. These you cover with foil pressed well down. These you cover with bacon. I t is best if you cross two rashers over the upturned base and then wind one or two more rashers in and out to make a bacon basket. Cook these on a baking tray to catch drips. How long they take to become crisp will depend upon the bacon and your oven. A hot oven is best, but may produce some smoke. The bacon will shrink of course, but removed carefully from the foil after cooling and they should keep their shape. I must try this with vegetarian bacon, but these crisp up really quickly so keep a careful eye on them. Another idea might be to create a basket in a long, shallow dish.
Carrot Jam
This comes from a Second World War time book, so is really old. The fact that the recipe has survived this long must mean that it is worth making. Next time I make carrot cake I will split it and spread it with some of this. I cannot give quantities as it depends upon how much mashed carrot you have.
Wash and peel your carrots. Chop them small and boil in slightly salted water until soft. Drain and sieve or chop finely in a food processor. To one pound of this pulp add on pound of sugar , 1 teaspoon of powdered ginger and the juice and grated zest of a lemon. Boil all these together as when making any other jam. Pot when it begins to get thick.
Rose Petal Jam
My darling Granddad would allow me to pick his precious roses to make this. Some petals, especially white ones need trimming at the end where they join the flower as this part of the petal can produce a bitter taste.
2 mugs of rose petals packed fairly tightly, 2 ½ mugs of sugar, 2 mugs of warm water, 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
Cut the petals into ¼ inch strips. Cover with the water and cook for about 10 minutes. Strain this, reserving the petals, and use the liquid to make a syrup with the sugar and honey. Boil and then simmer for 5 minutes before adding the petals once more. Then cook on the lowest possible flame for about 40 minutes- an asbestos mat helps with this recipe. Add the lemon juice and cook for a further 20 minutes. Pour into sterile pots and seal. Some would want to add a little colouring, but I am a purist and never do.
Jelly Fruit – Americans would probably call these Jello Fruit.
I remember these as a great treat at birthdays when I was a child. Somehow eating the jelly from out of a fruit shell made it taste better – at least in my imagination.
Each fruit will give you 4 portions. Halve your oranges. Remove all the flesh taking care not to damage the skins. Place the dry skins upright on a tray, or better still balance them in muffin tins which means that they stay upright more easily. Make up your jelly/jello a little thicker than normal and pour into the empty shells as full as you can as it shrinks a little when it sets. Place the tray in fridge and let set. Then cut each half shell once more so that the orange shell is now in quarters which make them much easier to eat. All you have to do now is to think of something to do with all that orange flesh. Now that my family is grown I wonder if it will work as jelly shots?
There have always been really strange recipes around that are passed from kitchen to kitchen until they fade and a new fad takes over. Usually they are perfectly edible, they may even taste quite good, but at least one ingredient is strange or used in a peculiar way.
Bacon Mugs
I found a version of this on Stumble. The resulting mugs make great containers for salads, rice etc. Use small ovenproof dishes upside down. These you cover with foil pressed well down. These you cover with bacon. I t is best if you cross two rashers over the upturned base and then wind one or two more rashers in and out to make a bacon basket. Cook these on a baking tray to catch drips. How long they take to become crisp will depend upon the bacon and your oven. A hot oven is best, but may produce some smoke. The bacon will shrink of course, but removed carefully from the foil after cooling and they should keep their shape. I must try this with vegetarian bacon, but these crisp up really quickly so keep a careful eye on them. Another idea might be to create a basket in a long, shallow dish.
Carrot Jam
This comes from a Second World War time book, so is really old. The fact that the recipe has survived this long must mean that it is worth making. Next time I make carrot cake I will split it and spread it with some of this. I cannot give quantities as it depends upon how much mashed carrot you have.
Wash and peel your carrots. Chop them small and boil in slightly salted water until soft. Drain and sieve or chop finely in a food processor. To one pound of this pulp add on pound of sugar , 1 teaspoon of powdered ginger and the juice and grated zest of a lemon. Boil all these together as when making any other jam. Pot when it begins to get thick.
Rose Petal Jam
My darling Granddad would allow me to pick his precious roses to make this. Some petals, especially white ones need trimming at the end where they join the flower as this part of the petal can produce a bitter taste.
2 mugs of rose petals packed fairly tightly, 2 ½ mugs of sugar, 2 mugs of warm water, 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
Cut the petals into ¼ inch strips. Cover with the water and cook for about 10 minutes. Strain this, reserving the petals, and use the liquid to make a syrup with the sugar and honey. Boil and then simmer for 5 minutes before adding the petals once more. Then cook on the lowest possible flame for about 40 minutes- an asbestos mat helps with this recipe. Add the lemon juice and cook for a further 20 minutes. Pour into sterile pots and seal. Some would want to add a little colouring, but I am a purist and never do.
Jelly Fruit – Americans would probably call these Jello Fruit.
I remember these as a great treat at birthdays when I was a child. Somehow eating the jelly from out of a fruit shell made it taste better – at least in my imagination.
Each fruit will give you 4 portions. Halve your oranges. Remove all the flesh taking care not to damage the skins. Place the dry skins upright on a tray, or better still balance them in muffin tins which means that they stay upright more easily. Make up your jelly/jello a little thicker than normal and pour into the empty shells as full as you can as it shrinks a little when it sets. Place the tray in fridge and let set. Then cut each half shell once more so that the orange shell is now in quarters which make them much easier to eat. All you have to do now is to think of something to do with all that orange flesh. Now that my family is grown I wonder if it will work as jelly shots?