Jerky-The Best Meat on Earth

I have in the past year been visiting a Bushcraft Site...

But it seems that some of the (most) of the members think that bacon is the best meat on earth...

Don't get me wrong, bacon is good, as a matter of fact great if eaten the correct way... Crunchy, as a BLT, with eggs and so on...

However, I personally believe that Jerky is by far the best prepared meat on earth...

Jerky can be made from Beef, Pork, Turkey, Bacon, Deer, Antelope... Basically any meat... As a mater of fact, I have had Goose Jerky that tasted just like Beef... I was surprised that is was Goose...

My point is, if you do it right, you can disguise any cut of meat, good or bad and make it eatable...


So here is my submission...


"Biltong: is a variety of cured meat that originated in South Africa. Various types of meat are used to produce it, ranging from beef and game meats to fillets of ostrich from commercial farms. It is typically made from raw fillets of meat cut into strips following the grain of the muscle, or flat pieces sliced across the grain. It is similar to beef jerky in that they are both spiced, dried meats. The typical ingredients, taste and production processes differ, the main difference being that biltong is usually thicker (from cuts up to 1" (25 mm) thick), while jerky is rarely more than 1/8" (3 mm) thick. Also, biltong does not have a sweet taste.The word biltong is from the Dutch bil ("rump") and tong ("strip" or "tongue").<sup>[1]"

I had this when I was working overseas from my good brothers from South Africa... I must say... I didn't care for it much... I'm thinking that it was because it was moist, rather than dry and I was not into trying new things... So, I have a big bag of Bilton, and enjoying every bite!

Throw out your best Jerky and possible recipes...</sup>

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Make at least 50 lbs of beef jerky a year,and another 50 lbs of smoked bacon,but all my recpies are secret:)

I love good jerky, and make the occasional batch for myself and my fishing buddies. I'll try to post the recipe tomorrow.

I just had a package of beef jerky from Loves convenient store. Its a dry type jerky. I make deer jerky, but the spices have all been commercially prepared.

A few years back a hunter friend gave me a freezer full of game when her family moved out of state. Included was about 10 lbs of wild goose breasts, which were difficult to cook but made superb jerky. I've also made jerky out of grass fed beef heart and attempted tongue as well, which didn't turn out like I hoped it would.

Having grown up in Botswana (just North of South Africa), I agree with this post! However, you never want to get the Biltong/Jerky distinction wrong - especially to someone from SA. I now live in Australia where they have Jerky (not Biltong) and so I have to make my own. You're right, it completely transforms the meat!

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Originally Posted by jamesrupertball

Having grown up in Botswana (just North of South Africa), I agree with this post! However, you never want to get the Biltong/Jerky distinction wrong - especially to someone from SA. I now live in Australia where they have Jerky (not Biltong) and so I have to make my own. You're right, it completely transforms the meat!

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I guess you are correct in the aspect that Biltong is NOT jerky... But it is the best form that I can relate it too...
Biltong is "cured" meat, not cooked...

Next on my list is to try...

"Droëwors (/ˈdruːəvɔrs/; Afrikaans lit. "dry sausage") is a South African snack food, based on the traditional, coriander-seed spiced boerewors sausage.[1] It is usually made from dun wors (Afr. "thin sausage") rather than dik wors ("thick sausage"), as the thinner sausage dries more quickly and is thus less likely to spoil before it can be preserved. If dikwors is to be used, it is usually flattened to provide a larger surface area for drying."

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I'd love to eat jerky, but I have to eat cured meats in extreme moderation which sucks. Too much anything with sodium nitrite gives me a flare up of gout.

Are there jerky recipes that will cure the meat without using sodium nitrite?

ChrisL

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Originally Posted by ChrisL

I'd love to eat jerky, but I have to eat cured meats in extreme moderation which sucks. Too much anything with sodium nitrite gives me a flare up of gout.

Are there jerky recipes that will cure the meat without using sodium nitrite?

ChrisL

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I never use Sodium Nitrite when I make biltong. Traditional methods don't call for it either. I only use pink salt (sodium nitrite) when making bacon :)

All you need to make biltong is salt, pepper and corriander seeds. That's the basic and from there you can spice it up how you wish. If you want more info PM me and I'll give you a more specific recipe!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ChrisL

I'd love to eat jerky, but I have to eat cured meats in extreme moderation which sucks. Too much anything with sodium nitrite gives me a flare up of gout.

Are there jerky recipes that will cure the meat without using sodium nitrite?

ChrisL

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I use no nitrates, but here is the conundrum,Real jerky is smoked (mine for 3 days)The smoking process breaks down the protiens in the meat and creates natural nitrates which in turn allows jerky to be stored for yrs.
The same happens when you sear a steak over charcoal,Thats why it has been said that Barbequed meat can be carcinogenic.
Are recipies for making jerky in an oven,but they are pretty bland.

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

I use no nitrates, but here is the conundrum,Real jerky is smoked (mine for 3 days)The smoking process breaks down the protiens in the meat and creates natural nitrates which in turn allows jerky to be stored for yrs.
The same happens when you sear a steak over charcoal,Thats why it has been said that Barbequed meat can be carcinogenic.
Are recipies for making jerky in an oven,but they are pretty bland.

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Maybe Jerky is smoked, but traditional biltong is not - so it's nitrate free :)

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Originally Posted by jamesrupertball

Maybe Jerky is smoked, but traditional biltong is not - so it's nitrate free :)

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Is a huge differance between real jerky and Biltong which as you know is cured meat.