Making Jerky

Making Jerky

Meats should be dried at 145-150 degrees Fahrenheit. Jerky should dry between 6-20 hours until pliable. It should not be brittle. Wipe fat off of the jerky while it is drying. Jerky does not store as long as fruits and vegetables. For long term storage longer than a month, store in the freezer or refrigerator. To aid in the curing of jerky, meat must be marinaded in salt and spices. The pioneers used 1 1/2 cups pickling salt to 1 gallon of water and soaked the meat strips in this for a couple of days. As an alternative to soaking, they also rubbed the meat with salt and spices (like garlic and pepper) before drying. You may want to use one of the following marinade recipes instead. Marinade the meat strips overnight.

Jerky Marinade No.1 

• 1/4 C. Soy sauce
• 2 T. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1/2 t. garlic powder
• 1 t. salt
•   1 t. liquid smoke
  
  

 

Jerky Marinade No.2

• 4 t. salt
• 1 t. pepper
• 1 t. chili powder
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 1 t. liquid smoke
• 1/2 C. water
  

Jerky Marinade No.3

• 1 C. ketchup
• 1/2 C. vinegar
• 1/4 C. brown sugar
• 3 T. Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 t. dry mustard
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 t. pepper