A WIDE WORLD OF HUNTING
and the
GREAT OUTDOORS
JERKY-JERKY-AND MORE JERKY |
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for Recipes A Brief History of
Beef Jerky
See Below Story for Table of Contents to Jerky
Jerky was first introduced by
the South American native tribe called the Quechua (originally part of the
ancient Inca empire) as early as 1550. They called it Ch'arki and it was
pounded between stones before
being cooked. Of course the Spanish picked
it up eventually and named it Charqui, which happens to be
an actual brand
name of beef jerky from a South American company.
Another similar product called pemmican
was developed by the North American Crete Indians. It involved
venison or
BUFFALO meat that was slowly dried and pounded into powder. Wild cherries
or other berries
along with equal amounts of hot fat were added to the
powdered meat and placed in waterproof hide casings.
It is said that this
product would last indefinitely. I wonder?
Different processes of making beef
jerky have not changed throughout the centuries. Today, beef jerky is
still made by slicing thin slices of beef, venison, buffalo, trout,
ostrich, etc. Marinating in spices and preserves
(cure or salt) is still
used and cooking very slowly at low temperatures is still part of the
process as well.
The "pemmican" recipe is
what we call "Kippered" today. It's a chopped and formed
product, placed in a
casing and commonly confused with beef jerky.
There are many, many recipes for beef
jerky. The Indians and early settlers made it primarily from deer
and
buffalo using salt and whatever spices they had. The meat was then dried
(cured) in the sun. Obviously, this
required a lot of salt to prevent
spoilage and that was rough on the taste buds. Yours and mine can be a
little
more palatable thanks to easier drying methods. Jerky can also be
made from turkey and pork. But, due to
spoilage (poultry) and fat content
(pork), you really have to be an expert to be safe.
A favorite recipe for homemade jerky
is shown below. The basics are the Worcestershire sauce, liquid
smoke,
salt and brown sugar. All the other ingredients are a matter of taste. It
is best to follow a recipe
fully the first time and then vary the
ingredients to suit you taste, if necessary.
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