/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.8491100]

Hey /ck/, have you ever made your own beef jerky?
I've always been interested in charcuterie, but never tried it myself either to easy access to dried meats or not having the right environment to do it.
Well recently I remembered that episode of The Simpsons where Homer made jerky, so I've been looking for recipes.
Nearly every one I've found online is a "fast" method using just marinating and baking it in an oven.
As far as I know, the meat is traditionally hung in a dry environment and aged for a few weeks. Are these quick methods simply used for safety?
Have you ever done it the old fashioned way?
I'd like to know how!

[Anonymous No.8491107]

I consistently make my own basturma, which is an Armenian dried meat similar to jerky.

Yes, hanging is just fine. With basturma you just salt it and let it sit for a few days turning 1/day, then you soak it in water for half an hour to clean out some of the salt content, then you dry it thoroughly.

After this you hang it with heavy twine inside of the fridge and let it sit for about two weeks, maybe up to three if it's a large cut. At this point I'm pretty sure it's edible.

Then we coat it in a spice mixture called chaman which includes fenugreek; fenugreek is an insecticide and antibiotic, so it keeps it from rotting very easily. Of course you can just skip this step if you don't want the chaman on the outside, but it's in principle quite similar to jerky, with a specific spice mixture on the outside.

After another couple of weeks you take it down and just slice it thinly and it's very edible. I've done it many times and for years, it's never caused me or anyone I know a problem.

[Anonymous No.8491113]

>>8491107
I remember seeing a video on this, there was a similar Italian method I beleive (Marinating in wine though)!
I would assume that a seperate fridge would be needed though, no?
Odor and even taste can be caused with certain foods kept for too long in a fridge I beleive.

If anything, I could just clear out my beer fridge (I end up doing that every other night anyway).
What temperature should it be kept at in the fridge?

[Anonymous No.8491116]

>>8491113
I don't typically watch what temperature it's at in the fridge, nor do I worry about using a separate fridge. Chaman is so strong it would overpower any other taste; and the taste of chaman will just perforate the whole refrigerator.

I think the temperatures usually recommended are ~60 F, but I never worry much about it.

[Anonymous No.8491242]

got into making jerky recently

i use a dehydrator though, so not ye oldde jerky technique

i personally dont like to marinade, but rather dry rub the cuts first. each cut is usually a 2 inch square, 1-2mm thick

salt
onion powder
cinnamon
brown sugar
black pepper
red pepper
and a dash of "slap ya mamma" seasoning just for memes