Venison Jerky Recipe
In Angelo’s words
History of Beef Jerky
In past generations people inhabiting the Rocky Mountains and regions west of the Rocky have enjoyed various smoked meat products before the birth of America. The early Indians would dry venison, buffalo and elk meat. Some would rub salt and berries on the meat and let it dry in the hot sun to create “Pemmican” jerky.
Early settlers would use smoking and curing method that afforded them nourishment during the hard winter months. Smoking and curing provided a means of meat preservation. Early trappers and explorers built smoke huts to hang the cuts of meat over a fire. They used the smoke to cure and flavor the meat while the heat would dry the meat. Homesteader settling in the early west had their own recipe for smoked meat, with each family having their own personalized version.
The meat would be cut into strips, flavored and cured to create the Jerky. They would strip the meat from the carcass into various sizes and cut pieces allowing it be made into jerky. It would not have been possible to use some of these cuts if the meat had not been preserved. Smoked meats became a staple for the people living in these remote areas of the Country.
The process of making Jerky and smoking meats has evolved since the Indians of the old west dried their meats in the sun. Today we have sophisticated smoke houses and electric home smokers and dehydrators. We have innovative recipes and many means of obtaining them, from libraries to the internet. Anyone who is interested in making jerky or curing their own meats have all the information at their finger tips. So, let’s get started with one of the favorites I have in my collection and I’ll point you in the direction to start your own collection.. We’re talking about venison here, but these recipes can be used for any meat, including fish. We use to throw Sheephead (a large greasy bottom feeder) back in until a friend of ours let us try some he smoked. To be honest with you it tasted a lot like smoked white fish.
Recipe 1
Making Venison Jerky
The meat will shrink about 30% during the drying process so keep that in mind. Slice the meat about ¼ inches thick. To insure tenderness slice the meat across the grain. I like to cut at an angle across the grain. Cutting the meat with the grain, will make the jerky tough and hard to eat..
All fat should be trimmed from the meat before smoking. This is especially true with venison. Dear are from the goat family and like goat and sheep they have tallow not fat. Tallow is used for making candles and it does not freeze. When you freeze venison you will notice when removed from the freezer that the deer fat or tallow is not frozen. It might be hard, but not frozen. This is the reason that the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recommends deer meat not be kept frozen over 4 months. Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the DEC recommend trimming all fat from venison and that it be used within 4 months of processing the meat. To make it easier to cut even quarter inch slices, partially freeze the deer meat before you cut it. Slices of even thickness will dry evenly when dehydrating or smoking.
In most cases the venison slices are then marinated in a brine mixture in which the curing process is started while it is soaking. This is an advantage over the dry rub or marinade, where the curing process is not started until you place the meat in the smoker. A lot of people like to use Morton® Tender Quick®, a commercial curing mix. This products has a bacteria inhibiter in the ingredients to inhibit bacteria growth while the jerky is being prepared and dried.
Ingredients
You will need
Note: When drying the meat, you will need to have an even airflow around the meat while it is hanging to dry properly. If using an over, its best to use a convection oven for this purpose.
Method
Marinating the Jerky
- Uses: Spicy Venison Jerky
Recipe 2
Spicy Venison Jerky
Ingredients
Method
- Used in: Making Venison Jerky
The U.S.D.A (United States Department of Agriculture), recommends cooking before drying. I have included their recommendations below and suggest you read them, however I recommend you read the directions for your unit before doing so. Your smoker or dehydrator may tell you to start the process at a higher temperature and then lower the temp after a period of time.
Recipe 3
The Perfect Drying Temperature
Method
Cooking Before Drying
How To Dry Deer Jerky
Good luck!
Enjoy
Family notes
None yet. Notes from the family will appear here, signed and dated, and kept apart from Angelo’s words.
From the archive
Restored · 2012 capture- Originally published
- , 1:13 pm, on angelobiondo.com by Angelo Biondo (post No. 95)
- Filed under
- Snack Recipes, Wild Game Recipes
- Restored from
- Internet Archive capture of — view the original page
- Also captured
- Transcription
Angelo’s words are unchanged, spelling included.
- The byline “By: Angelo Biondo” is not repeated. “History of Beef Jerky” was a sub-heading and is kept as the first line of the introduction.
- The post is a whole process under sub-headings. It is shown as three cards in Angelo’s order: slicing and marinating, his marinade recipe, and drying. The drying card keeps his three sub-headings.
- “Food Safety of Jerky” was a link to the USDA; the words are kept and the link is not. The USDA address Angelo typed out in full is kept as text.
- The degree sign was typed as a superscript “o” (150o); shown as “°”.
- Open questions
Left exactly as published, for the family to confirm.
- The jerky history (“In past generations people inhabiting the Rocky Mountains…”) may be adapted from another source; the post doesn’t say.