What a great experience it was earlier in November when I was able to take my son Austin with me deer hunting. Not only did we have some male bonding, we were able to get a deer. After I processed the meat and I cooked a great venison roast (blog coming soon) I thought I would share with you my deer jerky recipe.
You can’t use a better more suitable meat for jerky than venison. Its leanness is tailor made for this popular snack food whose origins date back to ancient Indian cultures. It’s not surprising that it became a favorite of the early settlers and explorers since it lasted weeks and even months without any special care or storage.
Fat is the enemy of any jerky and will greatly shorten the shelf life because it doesn’t dry and will end up spoiling. There are certain precautions that come anytime you work with meat and jerky is no exception.
As you can see the process to make jerky is time consuming, however it very simple to make and your reward is worth it! So as I unleash my new motto for these topics, What’s Cooking with Chris Bober, I will share my recipe.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds venison steak
- 4 tablespoons onion powder
- 1 1/3 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 1/3 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 pinches salt
- 1 teaspoon dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
- 1 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Directions
- Cut meat into strips no thicker than 1/4 inch. In a large bowl, mix together onion powder, pepper, garlic powder, salt and Italian seasoning. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and pepper sauce. Place meat into a container, and combine with marinade. Cover, and refrigerate 24 hours.
- Place oven rack on the highest level. Place aluminum foil on bottom of oven to catch drips. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (65 degrees C).
- Insert round toothpicks or skewers through the tops of the strips of meat, and hang them from the oven rack. Bake in preheated oven for 4-6 hours, or until dried to desired consistency
- Allow to cool and store in air tight container. Best kept in refrigerator for 2-3 weeks or frozen.
If you have any questions or would like to see me prepare any type of wild game, let me know.
Lets Experience the Outdoors Together!
