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Common meats for Jerky Beef Deer Elk Sheep Chicken Fish |
Methods and Recipes for Jerky 1) Cut meat into large strips; make a rub of salt, allspice and pepper. Drape and air-dry for one month. Slice thin and eat raw or use in stews. 2) Cut meat into strips, sun or oven dry for two to four hours then soaked in an infusion containing groundnut paste, water, garlic, salt, and spices such as pepper, ginger and onion. The meat is again exposed to the sun to dry for two to three hours. Then slices are roasted over a glowing fire for about five minutes and air dried for 24 hours. Strips are placed in brine, or dry-salted, which is actually the most popular method. Coarse salt, or salt and pepper are the principal ingredients used, although other ingredients such as sugar, coriander, aniseed, garlic or other spices are included in some mixtures to improve flavor. The salt/spice mixture is rubbed into the meat by hand and the salted strips are then firmly packed. It is recommended that a little vinegar be sprinkled between layers. The meat is left in the curing brine for several hours, then dipped into a mixture of hot water and vinegar. It is now ready for sun-drying for one day. Then the strips are moved into the shade for the rest of the drying period. The product is usually not smoked, but if it is smoked only light cold smoking is recommended, which takes one to two weeks under sufficient air circulation. It is ready when the inside is soft, moist and red in color, with a hard brown outer layer. Pastirma is salted and dried meat. The salted meat strips are arranged in piles and kept for one day at room temperature. They are turned over, salted again, and stored in piles for another day. Thereafter the meat strips are washed and air-dried for several days. After drying the strips are piled up again and pressed with heavy weights for 12 hours. After another drying period of two to three days the meat pieces are again pressed for 12 hours. Finally the meat is again air-dried for 5 to 10 days. After the salting and drying process, the entire surface of the meat is covered with a layer of a paste, which consists of freshly ground garlic, ground trefoil seed, hot red paprika, mustard, and water. Garlic is the most important as it is antimycotic. The meat strips covered with paste are stored in piles for one day, and finally dried for 5 to 12 days in a room with good air ventilation. The production of pastirma requires several weeks. However, the product remains mould-free for months at room temperature even in summer, and has a high microbiological stability. Back to Trail Foods |
