It’s a gloomy winter day in the Colorado foothills, but it’s pretty cozy down here in the basement by the fireplace where I’m tying flies and searching Google to find out how ducks and geese can dangle their feet in bitter cold water all day, or roost on a frozen lake overnight, without their toes falling off. It seems like something we should all know, but not many of us do. Every now and then I’ll jog upstairs to check on the venison jerky I have curing in the oven. I have another batch drying in an electric food dehydrator I borrowed from my son. It’s a handy gadget, but jerky takes time, and if you’re the type who gets antsy waiting for a three-minute bag of corn to pop in the microwave, waiting a couple of hours for a rack of jerky to cure in one of these things can really test your patience. However, paying the equivalent of $30 per pound at the convenience store for an 8-ounce bag of dried meat chips will definitely make the wait seem worthwhile.
Making jerky is actually a simple process, or rather it used to be. Primitive hunter-gatherers carved strips of meat from their prey and hung them on bushes in the sun to cure. End of story. But it’s man’s nature to improve everything, so over time wet and dry brines, marinades, herbs, spices, and so on were added to the process. You can whip up your own concoctions at home using common ingredients or buy ready-made mixes at specialty stores. Regardless, there are probably as many flavors of jerky as there are people who make it. Basic recipes call for some combination of salt, sugar, and maybe liquid smoke to which you might add Worcestershire or soy sauce, honey, molasses, onion and garlic powders, a variety of spices, and peppers. Smoking adds even more curative properties and flavors.
Most agree that removing as much fat as possible from the meat is essential and that slicing the meat with the grain rather than across it produces a better chew, but that’s a matter of personal preference. How to long to brine or marinate can vary from a few minutes to overnight.
When brining is complete, move the meat to a smoker, dehydrator, or kitchen oven to cure. Low and slow is recommended. Then you wait — and watch — for the perfect combination of taste, texture, consistency, and a characteristic some call “snackability.” Jerky should be flavorful and easy to chew without being brittle, gummy, or crumbly. Making a batch is just the sort of thing to do on a gloomy winter day while you’re tying flies and wondering how geese can roost overnight on a frozen lake without freezing their feet off.
Dennis Smith is a freelance outdoors writer and photographer whose work appears nationally. He lives in Loveland.