Trigger to Table (part 3)

The final piece of this trio is the timeless art of drying meat…making jerky in today's terms. I suspect the process of drying and preserving meat has probably been around about as long as fire. However, we have definitely come a long way over the centuries! Making venison jerky is one of my favorite ways to process and consume my harvest. The flavor combinations are endless, pretty much any muscle meat on a deer can be used to make it and it keeps for a long time lol. Combine that with mobility and it’s just downright delicious and nutritious and you have my dilemma each year….how much of the harvest do I devote to jerky? When using the off, tough cuts and you tenderize them, you get a really nice piece of jerky. If you use any portion of the hind quarter, a more tender cut…it goes next level! And I don’t know about anyone else, but I love to snack lol. So I can really put away some deer jerky in a hurry and just using the lesser quality pieces of meat just isn’t enough lol. Once all of that is sorted out, there are many more decisions to make in this process lol. Smoke the meat, use a dehydrator or an oven (if a consistent temp of 165-170 can be reached) and the flavors and seasonings are quite endless. To some, there may be only one way to do it and others (like myself) usually don’t do it the exact same way twice. That said, I definitely have my tendencies and preferred methods. In recent years I’ve pretty much moved to using a dehydrator most of the time. I do like to use the smoker though if work and time allow. It doesn’t take anything fancy with a dehydrator, but I will say you get what you pay for with these. An electric smoke could essentially be a smoking dehydrator as well if capable of holding the lower temps. Those tend to be quite a bit pricier though. I’ve found you can get a quality dehydrator for around $100. Possibly cheaper if you time a sale. As for marinades and seasoning…as I’ve mentioned, the possibilities are endless. However, one of my favorite base marinades is:
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• 1 cup soy sauce
  
• 1 cup water
  
• 5 cup brown sugar
  
• 2 tbsp vinegar
  
• 2 cloves garlic
  
• 1 TBSP fresh ginger
  
• 1 green onion sliced thin
  
• sriracha to taste
  

I usually like to marinade for about 36 hours or so. Balance is definitely key when making jerky though. When pulling out all the moisture in a piece of meat, it will concentrate any flavor that has been absorbed. So, if you use anything salty or strong in flavor, it has the possibility of being overpowering if not diluted at least slightly as well as if soaked for too long. I always set my temp to 165F at the minimum when dehydrating, thus ensuring any bacteria will be killed. The temperature danger zone for any perishable food is 41F - 135F with an emphasis on 70F-135F. I definitely eat medium rare venison, don't get me wrong. In this application though, it’s important to follow this if preservation beyond a day or two is desired. If making large batches, I like to keep all but a couple of days' worth in the fridge in Ziplock or vacuum sealed bags.  If you're interested in more recipes or have some you would like to share, email me at epicchef424@gmail.com. EC