Taking Advantage Of The Last Of The Cool
 | Author:
Eileen Clarke, Rifles and Recipes
Author: Rifles and Recipes |
Taking Advantage of the Last of the Cool
Eileen Clarke
Rifles and Recipes
The weather is changing on us day by day. That’s what early May is all about. One day you think you’re late getting those peas started in the garden, and the next you’re driving through a snowstorm. You think I’m kidding?
Long ago, my husband and I had spent a few days hunting bears in the Seely Lake area. Didn’t get one, but had lots of fun with friends and being out in the woods. Then we packed up to go home. A few hours later we were parked along the side of the road watching the several highway patrol guys helping a rancher with an overturned horse trailer gather up his wounded. There were several inches of snow on the ground, more coming in sideways at the rate of 2 inches per hour and visibility was down to zero.
Did I mention that was Memorial Day Weekend? Yup. Memorial Day Weekend.
So if you think you don’t have any more opportunities to comfortably turn the oven on and let a bit of jerky cook 3 hours or so, think again. We’ve got time. And jerky, made with all that venison you ground up last fall, is a great way to celebrate the –eventual—arrival of Real Spring. Use any deer, elk, antelope or moose you were lucky enough to take last fall, whether you ground it large or small, with or without fat added. It all works.
Just don’t overcook it. Most jerky ‘guns’ create a pretty loose or aerated strip of meat, so it doesn’t take as long to cook as a more dense sliced jerky.
Hot Bucks
For 1 pound ground red meat
You would think the sugar in this would make the jerky pretty mild. But it doesn’t. This is only for heat seekers, only for those who would drink the pickled pepper juice out of the jar. And for the full effect, please make sure your cayenne pepper is fresh. Use the stuff that’s been on the shelf since you graduated college and it simply won’t have the same effect.
Ingredients
1 pound ground red meat
¼ cup brown sugar
2½ teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons onion powder
4 teaspoons smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Preparation
Mix the ingredients together well, and place in a tightly sealed plastic bag or storage container. Let it sit overnight in the refrigerator to let the flavor develop. To taste test: cook a 1-inch ball of mix for 15-20 seconds in the microwave. (A coffee cup is the perfect holder, as the sides are high enough to contain the splatters--and mess.)
Cooking
1. Shape the jerky with a jerky gun and arrange the jerky strips on grids over foil-lined drip pans. Preheat the oven to 160°F and cook about 3-4 hours.
2. Let the jerky cool and air dry in the turned-off oven or on the counter, for 6-8 hours, then store in resealable plastic bags. You can store your jerky in the fridge for 2-3 weeks, or in the freezer up to 3 months.
This is a recipe from Eileen’s Stalking the Wild Jerky, a collection of 101 jerky recipes flavored from the mild and friendly to the vivid and saucy. Only $22 at https://www.riflesandrecipes.com/406-521-0273.
