# Making jerky the old fashioned way?



## James95

I think that knowing how to make jerkey without a dehydrator, oven, or basically any of the comforts of home would be a valuable skill to acquire. In a camping situation, how could jerky be made best? It seems pretty simple but I would like to hear from opinion who has had experience with this. I'd like to know different methods.


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## James95

Someone's opinion*** >.<


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## ContinualHarvest

building a smokehouse and learning the process to make jerky would be a valuable skill to have.


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## GaryS

I don't know the exact recipe, but my grandmother cut the meat...usually venison...into strips, roughly 1" thick, rolled them in salt, placed them in cotton bags and hung them behind the cookstove for a week or more. All the grandkids would drive her crazy asking when it would be done.


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## Emerald

Do you want to know how to do it while out camping or something?
I've seen it done during a recreation at Ft. Michilimackinac.. they were taking long strips of meat(probably beef) that had been dipped in salt brine along with salmon that had been brined and they had little "ladders" made with branches/sticks that had been lashed together by leather. they were then leaned together with the meat put over the little rungs over small but very smoky fires. Every so often they take them and turn the meat over or they turn the ladders around. 
This was when I was in my teens and while I got to taste the dried meat and fish I wasn't big into the hows and whys then.. but it was hard/hard/hard and salty.. 
the guide talked about how they would soak the meat/fish in a couple changes of water before eating it or cooking with it. It was nothing like what we would consider jerky now.. But without refrigeration and canning they had to dry it super dry and the salt gave it much better chance of staying safe from critters and bugs and molds thru out the winters.

and if needed you can just dry fish and meat rock hard without the salt.. but to me the salted tastes much better.


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## jbillh

You can season and dry meats (jerky) in the warm sunshine on a hot day(s) but ideally you'll want a good reflector and something to keep the flies off. These guys did it a bit differently (YouTube) 




Most folks will tell you sun drying is pretty risky... I suppose under the right conditions and in a survival situation you could make it work.

I guess what I'm saying is... a little creativity and basic understanding of how things work goes a long way! There are some good guides out there as well. You don't have to wing-it.

All the Best,

Bill


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## 1969cj-5

Dad says that when he was growing up in the Painted Desert that his Grandma would cut it into thin strips and hang it on the barb wire fence to dry in the desert heat and sun. He says during the winters that ewas their primary meat source.


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## ContinualHarvest

Keeping the meat at 140+ degrees would be a challenge. This merits research.


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## BasecampUSA

I make it like this... real thin slices... ***** style 










...over a warm slow smoky campfire, all day long... - after soaking the meat strips (or gutted fish) 4 to 6 hours in brine in a 5 gal plastic bucket - use just enough salt mixed in the water to barely float a raw potato, that's the brine strength you need ... - use hickory, oak, beech or maple for the fire... goes for beef, buffalo, moose, or venison - you can add spices (pepper, cajun, taco seasoning or teriyaki - whatever) just before laying them over the racks...

_I cheated though... I have a Hobart commercial thin meat slicer like the butcher shop does it in minutes
- instead of slaving over it for hours with a Bowie knife... hey what the heck - "modern" Mtn. Man _


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## jbillh

Hey Basey,

That's the way I'd do it if I didn't have my Excalibur dehydrator or if I just wanted the extra flavor and the experience of it.

In fact, I'm feelling inspired to just that! Spring is coming and I can hardly wait!

Thanks!


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## ContinualHarvest

jbillh said:


> Hey Basey,
> 
> That's the way I'd do it if I didn't have my Excalibur dehydrator or if I just wanted the extra flavor and the experience of it.
> 
> In fact, I'm feelling inspired to just that! Spring is coming and I can hardly wait!
> 
> Thanks!


I'm waiting for spring too.


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## faithmarie

I like the dehydrator 

But all through out history they used the sun..... and smoke .... I am just lazy....


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## seagrape

Wouldn't a solar cooker work for drying the jerky?


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## diannamarsolek

i am a desert rat we just cut it into strip and hung it in the SHADE NOT sun in sun it rots before it drys i live in WA state now so i am using a green house to dry in yup im cheating and i love no fly's or animals getting i do salt it but i just dip it in a bag of salt and shake good o clothes pins work ok but the meat rots under them if your not moving it allot i like safety pins you just hook them up and your dun no flipping or moving the meat


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## Salekdarling

diannamarsolek said:


> i am a desert rat we just cut it into strip and hung it in the SHADE NOT sun in sun it rots before it drys i live in WA state now so i am using a green house to dry in yup im cheating and i love no fly's or animals getting i do salt it but i just dip it in a bag of salt and shake good o clothes pins work ok but the meat rots under them if your not moving it allot i like safety pins you just hook them up and your dun no flipping or moving the meat


So what you're saying is that you cut the meat in strips, dip the strips in salt and clothespin them up in shade, outside or in a green house. Gotcha. Now, if the meat is salted, is there a possibility that flies can still get a hold of the meat? And also, how long does it take to air dry meat that way? Thanks!


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## mojo4

Well my recipe is A LOT of soy sauce and not that low sodium crap, brown sugar and red chili powder. Marinate for one night and stick on a dehydrator. If you don't have one try the attic but lay it out on a stick frame and turn daily. After a week or so its done. Tastes great with beef deer or elk. I actually had to do an entire elk cause a freezer died but I got it handled. And yes, every friend and relative who heard came around for elk jerkey welfare. I felt like a democrat buying votes!! if you can vacuum seal it in bags after its very dry and its good for a long time. If its too tuff to nibble stick in a clear plastic ziplock and squirt a little water on and seal it. Set it in the sun for an hour and it rehydrates to chewable jerky again. Works great for camping or hunting. Or zombie fighting!!


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## jbillh

*Returned Excaliburs... If You Care*

Hi Folks,

In the spirit of helping out my forum buds...

I sell 9-Tray Excalibur Dehydrators on Amazon, eBay and occasionally my water purifier site.

I'm not pitching anything here... but I do get 2 - 3 Excaliburs per month that were sent from my Amazon stock and the customer returned them without using them at all. Usually it is because they didn't read the listing to see that it doesn't have a timer... so they return it with a note saying "I really wanted one with a timer." Kinda torques me off a bit as I always lose money because they can't or don't read the big bold print 

After making sure the are perfect, I'll usually turn around and list them on eBay as "Like New / Never Been Used" and sell them very quickly. Today I sold one in less than an hour from listing it because of the steep discount.

If you are interested in getting on my "Like New 9-Tray Excalibur Waiting List" (I just made up that name,) then pm me and I'll let you know when the opportunity arises again. I'm out of them for now but if you are interested, I'll gladly hook-you-up when the time comes.

Please note: I WILL lose money on these units but I really don't want a pile of them sitting around my house... that is why I sell them so cheap.

If you want to see and read about them on Amazon, I sell under the name "Berkey Water Filter Folks."

All the Best,


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## TopTop

I heard about a guy making raisins using a double hung window laying flat with the screen attached underneath. Open the window, load the grapes on the screen, close the window. Bugs, animals & rain can't get to them, lots of sunlight through the glass, lots of air flow through the screen to carry away the moisture. I don't see why something similar wouldn't work for jerky. Maybe a reflector made from old cd/video discs a couple inches under the screen would keep the temperature up while not blocking airflow.

A missionary from our church went to Greenland. He showed us pics of meat & fish hanging on a clothesline outside, and told us about life there. He said he just said he just took a deep breath & said a prayer "Where you lead me I will follow, What you feed me I will swallow."


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## diannamarsolek

it takes about 3 days of good sun and i have NEVER had fly problematic ever it makes GOOD soup with dry veg's


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