Mary T. Bell - Jerky

Copyright 2016 by Mary T. Bell

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Tom Lau

Cover photo credit: iStockphoto

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-1182-2

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-1183-9

Printed in China

Contents

To all grandkids, including ours: Hunter, Alysse, Oliver, and Wesley.
May this collection encourage all of you to embrace the ways of our ancestors and be thoughtful, responsible stewards of our earth.

Foreword

A JERKY JUDGE

M aking jerky is my hobby. Its my diversion from the courtroom. I find it satisfying and fulfilling to take a hunk of raw meat and make it tasty. Some of us make jerky because were hunters. Not only do we want to consume what we kill, but we also prefer venison jerky to venison chops. For over thirty years, Ive bow hunted deer and elk with the same loony partners and together we turned a zillion deer and twenty-three elk into jerky. With that kind of tasting experience, I think its fair to say Ive become a pretty good judge of jerky.

Jerky has become a tradition in our family. While we were students with limited income, my wife and I practically lived on wild game. Then, as well as now, she prefers her big game meat made into jerky. For three and a half decades, weve been making jerky in a food dryer and more recently weve used a smoker.

Ever notice that he who controls food, is king? Several years ago, I had to convince my nephew, who was doing nothing other than waiting for college to begin, to backpack with me into Idahos mountain country for an archery elk hunt. This non-hunting six-foot-seven-inch lad from Kentucky became my pack mule, carried all my heavy camping equipment, and all he required was a slice of jerky every now and then. Like a trained seal being fed a fish, my nephew actually packed out my bull elk, with no reward other than a constant (but obscene) amount of jerky.

Some say that jerky makers are just a little off the plumb line. I make jerky for my odd assortment of wacko hunting pals, but I charge them one-third of the resultmy ambulance chasing days die slowly. Once, while practicing law, I drove to Eastern Idaho to meet with a client in his home. The whole house was filled with smoke. Up above me, hanging from the rafters, were strips of raw meat. This guy had killed a deer and right there in his living room was making jerky.

Like most jerky makers, I always look forward to trying new recipes and tinkering with exotic flavor combinations. Mary Bells earlier book Just Jerky became my jerky makers bible. Not only did she teach the art of drying hamburger (which, by the way, works perfectly well with ground sausage and ground turkey), she explained how to make traditional and even unusual tasting jerkies. Mary encourages her readers to be creative and blend unusual flavors. No book on the market is better. Mary fields more questions, solves more problems, and delivers better information than anyone else in the crowded jerky theater. I knowIve appealed to her wisdom more than once. Her book is filled with great stories, more recipes for us addicts, and its flavored throughout with good advice.

Jerky people are a goofy bunch that actually enjoy making jerky in their attics, basements, kitchens, living rooms, or garageswith or without food dryers, smokers, or ovensand they even use such dangerous chemicals as liquid smoke. Jerky people experiment by smoking, marinating, grinding, drying, salting, and flavoring all kinds of meat. (Ive made antelope and cougar jerky.) People keep searching for that one great bite of jerky that has the perfect flavor. I am personally grateful to all of those who shared their recipes, wisdom, and advice.

Hon. Monte B. Carlson , Fifty Judicial District, Burley, Idaho Editors note: Judge Carlson passed away in 2007.

Introduction

T rue confessionI was once a vegetarian. In the early 1970s, I decided vegetarianism was a gentler, cheaper way for our family of three to live. We had been vegetarians about a year when my son, Eric, shouted out from the backseat of the car, Mom I dont care if youre a vegetarian, I want a hamburger. I heard him loud and clear and drove to the nearest burger joint.

This was at the time I was putting myself through college and trying to provide good food for my two kids, Sally and Eric. We had planted a large garden and I was experimenting with various methods of preserving food. Once Eric let me know he wanted meat in our diet, I knew I had to develop the skill to bag my own and joined an archery league. One night, my archery friends brought a deer over and we butchered it at my kitchen table. I quickly learned how to cook venison and began making jerky.

As my passion for food drying grew, I sold food dehydrators at home and garden shows, fairs and sport shows. I promoted food drying in North and Central America and wrote Dehydration Made Simple, Mary Bells Complete Dehydrator Cookbook, Just Jerky, Jerky People , and Food Drying with an Attitude . I still teach classes and talk about food drying to just about anybody wholl listen. Throughout the years, the more I learned, the more my curiosity was fueled.

In my travels, people often asked a lot of questions about how to make jerky. Is it hard? How can you tell when its dry? Whats the best marinade? Is it safe to make yourself? I learned that many people have purchased a food dehydrator just to make jerky.

If you buy a lot of jerky, if you hunt, fish, hike, or if youre just looking for a healthy low-fat snack, or youre one of those people who just took a new dehydrator out of the box and its sitting on the kitchen counter and your kid is yelling Dad, jerky, please! then this book is for you.

This book is more than just instructions and recipesit represents a community of people. Throughout these pages, youll find people who like jerky and were willing to share their wisdom and experiences. Granted, theyre all characters who like to either hunt, fish, ride horseback, canoe, sail, backpack, run a ranch, or are involved in some sort of a jerky business. Whats your story? Id ask them. How did you get started making jerky? Whats unique or different about how you make it? Their answers were both fascinating and useful. Others wrote, telephoned, emailed, or connected with me through my website. I have this really great jerky recipe, theyd say and Id quickly jot it down. These innovative and inventive sages gave good advice and sound instructions along with some pretty terrific recipes.