Making and Drying Jerky

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Jerky is a favorite dehydrated snack for school, lunch, trail or just about anywhere!  It is made by seasoning raw meat and then drying it without cooking.  You won't have to pay the exohbitant prices for jerky slices or sticks at the supermarket.  Most lean meants will yield about 1 pound of jerky from 3 pounds of fresh meat.

Selection:
Jerky may be made from a variety of different meats.  When purchasing meats for making jerky, choose lean meats with minimal fat, as fat tends to go rancid during storage.  A lean cut of flank steak or round steak makes excellent jerky.

Preparation:
Remove all fat from meat and cut into cubes or thin strips 1/4" to 3/8" thick.  It is easier to slice partially frozen meat for jerky.  If meats are cut on the crosswise grain, jerky is less chewy than if meats are cut on the lenghtwise grain.

Marinate cut meats in store-bought or your own recipe marinade for 6 to 8 hours in the refrigerator before drying.  If you are using your own recipe, be sure to include 1 teaspoon of salt for each pound of meat.  The salt slows surface bacteria growth during the initial stages of drying.

If you are making jerky from a ground meat, mix seasoning with the meat,  then form strips by smashing it very thin .  Place on trays in your dehydrator and dry.

Drying and Storage:
Depending on how thick the meat is cut, how heavily the dryer is loaded and the humididty, it will take from 4 to 15 hours to dry.

Pat jerky with clean paper towels several times as it dries to remove the oil which accumulates on the top of the jerky.  When removing jerky from the dryer, wrap it in paper towels and let it stand for a couple of hours prior to packaging.  Beef jerky that is stored on the shelf will start to go rancid at room temperature after 3 or 4 weeks.  Refrigerate or freeze for longer storage.

Note:  After drying poultry and pork, heat them in your oven at 160 degrees F. for one hour to avoid the risk of salmonella.

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