how to make dried beef(not jerky)

[duke76]

I am trying to figure out how to make dried beef, I have looked all over and all I can find is how to make jerky, I am looking for the stuff that you make s--t on a shingle with, I am sure you need some sort of preservative like tenderquick and have to brine and smoke it but am looking for an exact procedure, Thanks in advance Todd

[waksupi]

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-chipped-beef.htm

This may get you started.

[Old Ironsights]

Yep. The difference between "dried/chipped beef" and Jerky is - spices aside - the thickness of the cut &/or ground vs. whole muscle.

Thick + ground = jerkey

Thin + fine ground = dried

Somewhere in the middle + berries &/or chilis = Pemician

[jackley]

My hunting partner takes the whole whitetail and cuts it up in thin strips and hangs it in the garage on strings till it is dry, no salt spices nothing but meat. Puts it in bags and freezes it till needed for flavoring. Or SOS.

Jerry

[duke76]

Well fellas I got this figured out, there are a couple ways you can do this, you can either use Mortons tender quick or a product called sweeter than sweet, it also works for making hams and curing bacon, you put your roast or loin or whatever lean piece of meat you want to use and you can either soak it in the brine and turn it every day for a week, longer if it is very thick, specific directions are on the cure you are using, in a plastic bucket or earthen crock, make sure you keep it in the 38- 40 degree range, too cold and the brine wont penetrate and to warm you can have bacteria problems, or you can inject with a marinading needle or brine pump, make sure you get it all injected or when you slice it you will see where the cure did not penetrat, it is better to let it soak to long rather than not long enough because that wont hurt a thing, if you mix it the way the directions say, I dont think it is possible to get to much in it, and then it will only take a couple days, then put it in your smoker or oven or whatever your heat source is and start at 160. for a couple of hours then raise the temp 20 degrees every hour until internal temp reaches 150-160 degrees, slice thin and enjoy, let me know how it turns out if you try it and if you have any questions, Todd

[jh45gun]

I found a recipe in a new cookbook I got from North American Hunter and It basically said you make Corned Beef or Venison or other game meat. ( I posted a good corned beef (Venison) recipe a while back here) Then when the meat is done corning you take out of the brine rinse it and pat it dry and hang it up for 24 hours to air dry. You then cool smoke it with the smoke house temp at 100 to 200 degrees for 70 to 80 hours. You can take in the meat at night to keep it from freezing and just smoke during the days if your in a cold climate.

[725]

My buddy in South Africa cuts strips of meat, marinates in some kind of brine/spice magic elixir and hangs it in his garage next to naked light bulbs. He hangs hundreds of pounds at a time, leaves them there until dried and bags 'em up. Pure ambrosia.

[trevj]

South Africa? Look up "Biltong" online, then. Probably what he is making.

Cheers
Trev

[725]

Most asuredly biltong, but if it were cut feather thin, the inquisitve gentelman above could make his "SOS". Yummmmmmmmm.

[nekshot]

When I was a kid the old folks did the meat curing. Now I wish I paid more notice to the cures they used. These were handed down verbally until our generation thought buying in a store was progress. For dried beef I remember it to be a top of round cut then rubbed with a salt peter, brown sugar mixture and left to set a little. Then it was smoked for a while and hung up in the attic to cure. You had to wait months till it was ready to eat or it was what they called too green to eat. This was always the choice cut of the hind with as little of fat as possible. I think there was another ingredient in the rub but I don"t remember. The old homes back there still smell of smoke cure in the attics.

[Slowpoke]

I am trying to figure out how to make dried beef, I have looked all over and all I can find is how to make jerky, I am looking for the stuff that you make s--t on a shingle with, I am sure you need some sort of preservative like tenderquick and have to brine and smoke it but am looking for an exact procedure, Thanks in advance Todd

I am not sure there is a exact procedure, other than to taste.

I believe it is seasoned and boiled then shredded or sliced and diced then dried.

good luck

[Bullshop]

Dont know about beef but I'll tell you what I did with caribou.
I flew into the north slope north of the Brooks range with a friend that owns a small plane. We were going to stay a week but rations were slim and it got kinda hot for up there nearly 80F during the day.
I was hungry for meat but my friend who was running the show said if we shot a caribou early on it would spoil by the time we left. I couldnt help myself, I needed meat.
Much to the chagrin of my friend I went out and shot a boo. When I came into camp he said, your late you missed dinner. I said no I didnt. He said wut ya mean. Says I, I ate caribou on a stick. Then he unloaded on me about how foolish I was and how it would wast.
Next day I hiked to the river which is the only place on the tundra to find sticks, which is willow brush. I brought my back pack and hauled a large bundle of willow back to camp. I used the willow poles and some para cord (dont leave home without it) to fashon four tri pods set in a square. Across the top of those I used the rest of the willow to weave a mat that I could hang the meat on. I then cut the meat into about 1/4" thick strips and hung them on the rack. In the middle of the square I kept a small fire going with green willow to make smoke to keep the flies off. After about 4 hours in the hot sun the meat crusted over and the flies were no longer a problem. After a couple days it was dry so I packed it in a game bag and ate off it for the rest of the trip. Simmered in water for just a few minutes re constituted it and it was very good. Not even a mouthfull was wasted. Now my friend tells a story of how when faced with hard times WE dried that caribou. Not my idea, people been doin it for a few thousand years. Yes he is still my friend, I am kinda funny that way.
BIC/BS

[725]

Bullshop. Would love to see pictures of that.

[Bullshop]

I do have some pictures somewhere. God willing I will find and post them.

[Dean D.]

My Dad's recipe for jerky is pretty simple. He made a saltwater brine strong enough to float a raw egg. Bring the brine to a boil and drop in the meat strips, when the are seared remove them and lay them out on a rack. Pepper them if you like, then hang them. Hot smoke them for a short while then cold smoke them to taste. Searing the meat seems to lock in the flavor but does not add much salt or other flavors to the meat. We call this jerky but for all intents and purposes it's dried meat.

[Gee_Wizz01]

We make dried venison from the hams. Take a whole hindquarter and carefully cut out the individual muscles just following the lines. The boil up a big pot of salt water when its reached a rolling boil drop in the meat and keep it boiling for about 5 to 10 minutes until the outside reach a grayish color. Take the meat out and pat it dry. Then heavily salt and pepper the outside of the meat. Hang up in the smokehouse and smoke at approx 120 to 160 F overnight for 2 or 3 nights. Then leave hanging in the smoke house for 4 to 10 days. You have to check it every few days to make sure its just right-hard on the outside and firm in the middle. You have to experiment, because it depends on outside temperature and especially relative humidity. It is some of the best tasting meat and my favorite snack. You can then slice it real thin for making SOS. We make jerky by cutting strips of venison about 1/2" wide and 1/4" thick and then rolling in salt and then pepper. Then hang it on the clothesline for a couple of days (during the day and take it in at night) if the temp is fairly warm and the humidity very low it might be done in 12 hours you have to check it to make sure its good and dry. When we were kids the adults would give us the rib cages and we cut out all of the meat between the ribs and jerked it. It was one of the joys of living in the country.

G