- Anything Else -

In conclusion, let me add that it tastes like shoe leather.

In Reply to: Beef Jerky posted by Lark on October 01, 1999 at 12:02:39:

: How do you make, where do you get, Beef Jerky come from.

: --
: McSpotlight: Eh?

Build a "smokehouse" or smoking box. Drape thin strips of meat over a grill or frame so that sufficient airflow exists around all surfaces of the meat. Insert frame or grill into smoking box/smokehouse. Light a fire, add lots of "green" wood to the fire so that it produces a lot of smoke. Keep the fire burning for several hours/days (required time depends on size of box, thickness of strips, amount of smoke, etc.) until the meat is dried and preserved. Alder wood is often preferred for the fire, as the smoke is milder and more aromatic than many other woods.
The hard part is constructing the box/smokehouse so that there is sufficient airflow to keep the fire lit, but not so much that the smoke dissipates too fast.
This technique was used (and in some places still is) by Native Americans/First Nations people for preserving buffallo/bison on the great plains, deer in the eastern and western forests, and most famously, salmon in the northwest coastal areas.
Jerked beef became popular in North America durring the 1850's and afterwards, since it provided an easily transportable source of protein to westward migrating Euro-Americans who, for the most part, had no experience in hunting, and thus couldn't hope to be able to feed themselves on the trip otherwise.
In conclusion, let me add that it tastes like shoe leather.

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