Hard curing of meats used
to be a necessity before refrigeration, but this is no longer
a necessity. Meats were salted and dried so much so, that to
before anyone could eat it it had to be boiled for a period of
time to soften it up. Fortunately, we no longer need to boil
our hard cured meats, now we enjoy hard cured meats for their
flavor, as a snack, and to reminisce about older western times,
or on sailing ships. In fact, we don't call it hard cured meat,
we call it JERKY.
As is with smoking fish we
will use a brine to cure the meat before smoking. However, rather
than call it a brine, we'll call it a marinade. I have tried
100's of different ingredients, from various pepper sauces, soy
sauce, to wines in my marinades and unlike fish, found that flavors
are much more imparted to meat than fish. So when making jerky
I don't use a basic no-nonsense brine/marinade, rather I use
a more complex marinade. I enjoy the flavors of red wine, bourbon,
garlic, soy sauce, peppers in my marinades. Flavors I'm sure
that early sailors or pioneers never enjoyed. Again, you be the
judge in perfecting your jerky marinade. Enjoy!
What meat do I use for making
beef jerky? Try chuck, or shoulder roast, or my favorite - flank
steak. I don't always recommend making anything other than beef
jerky, since pork and poultry require higher heat and longer
heating times for health reasons. And, remember although we will
use a marinade or brine, then apply smoke and heat when curing
our foods, it is still best to refrigerate our food when brining
and after we're finished. We have refrigerators, let's use them
and only reminisce about when they weren't available. Getting
sick is no fun.
My secrets to always getting
compliments on beef jerky are by the following tips:
- Make sure your
meat is neatly trimmed removing all fat and gristle. Cut it into
the chunks before marinating. Slice the meat with the grain.
Many times I slightly freeze the meat, it makes it easier to
cut and/or slice.
- Stir or rotate your meat
when in the marinade. Keep your meat and marinade in the refrigerator.
Never use metal containers, always use glass or plastic.
- Don't under marinate your
meat, I always marinate it for at least 8 hours. After marinating
it, I don't always rinse my meat like I do fish. This keeps the
flavors stronger.
- Allow your marinated meat
air dry on paper towels for about 1 hour.
- For something extra, try
lightly sprinkling your meat after marinating and before smoking
with pepper, garlic, cajun seasoning, a 50/50 mix of honey and
mustard, or whatever you want to experiment with.
- For smokers, and barbeque
grills, add plenty of wood for smoking early in the drying process,
using only heat later. Know your woods, fruit woods (plum, apple,
etc.) leave a slightly sweet smoke taste, alder a mild smoky
taste, hickory and mesquite leave a sharp smoky taste. (If
you can't find alder wood chips, email Starfish Consulting and
we can sell you some.) Never use green woods, they leave
a bitter taste. In barbeque grills it is probably best to soak
your wood in water for an hour before using - keeps the heat
down. For the oven, rub your meat lightly with liquid smoke (a
little goes a long way) initially, and maybe once more if you
like a heavy smoke taste. The trick here is to use less at first,
so you can re-apply.
- Keep your smoker, or grill
out of the wind and rain.
- Monitor the temperature of
your smoker, grill, or oven. Don't let it get too hot. Smoking
temperatures should be between 145-165F. A problem with barbeque
grills is that they get too hot and you end up barbecuing or
grilling your meat. The solution is to close down the vents,
and don't use too much charcoal.
- I like a good smoke for my
jerky, so I try and smoke it longer, 8 - 10 hours or even longer
if you like it drier and chewier.
- Finally, I always cut my
jerky into bite sized chunks, even if it is in strips to make
eating it easier. My jerky during preparation was cut with the
grain, now I cut it across the grain.