Update my dinner status, I'm making this tonight.
2 chefs marked this as Favorite
Servings: 24 Servings
Total Time (median): 12 : 00 Active Time: 0 : 01
Ingredients
Preparation
BERRIES: Use whatever variety of dried berries you have on hand. We used cranberries and a few blueberries. Raisins, dried cherries, or apricots would work also. Mix the berries and ginger with a bit of oil and chop them fine in a food processor. Add in the other flavorings and mix briefly. Now add the ground meat (we used turkey) and pulse briefly to mix things together. Pour the mixture off into a large plastic bag and refrigerate for several hours. Mix occasionally by squishing the bag.
Take about two heaping teaspoons of the mixture and form a small pattie. Fry this until browned on both side, cool briefly and taste to see what adjustments might be needed in the seasonings. You should have a balance of hot, salt, sweet, and fruit flavors. Adjust the seasonings as needed and proceed to the drying step.
DRYING:
There are a couple of methods for drying the jerky. Either one will work depending on what equipment you have available.
Load the mixture into a Jerky press and squirt out strips. OR:. Snip a small corner off the plastic bag and squeeze out the mixture. Squeese out the strips, ribbons, or whatever thin form you're doing, onto the screens of a dehydrator or a piece of metal screen laid on a broiler pan. The idea is to have the ability for liquids to drop down below the drying meat.
1. If using a dehydrator stack the trays in and run for 8 - 12 hours until the strips are dry but still pliable. Then cover a cookie sheet with a paper towel and transfer the mostly dry strips onto it.
2. If using a screen and broiler pan place the pan (with the strips) in a 150?F oven with the door slightly ajar for about 8 - 10 hours until the same state is reached.
Once the strips are mostly dry place them in a 225?F oven for about 15 minutes to complete the drying and curing process. The jerky should still be a bit pliable when you are done. If it's crackling dry you've gone too far.
This makes about 24 (6 inch X 1 inch) strips. Each (app 10g ) strip contains an estimated:
Cals: 79, FatCals: 39, TotFat: 4g
SatFat: 1g, PolyFat: 1g, MonoFat: 2g
Chol: 19mg, Na: 400mg, K: 120mg
TotCarbs: 4g, Fiber 1g, Sugars: 0g
NetCarbs: 3g, Protein: 6g
