[pct-l] Steel-Eye Hamburger Jerkey

[chelin at teleport.com (Sharon & Chuck Chelin)]

Good evening, Monty,

Below is the text of my previous post about 'burger jerky.  I continue to
enjoy the stuff, both at home and in the bush.  As I recall, the patties
from the Tupperware mold are about 0.31 in. thick. and dry to less than 0.25
in. thick.  Portion control continues to be by the 0.25 cup measure, but I
sometimes forgo the Tupperware mold in favor of just squishing the ball of
meat with my hand.  Shape is not really important except to have the most
efficient drying they should be relatively thin and uniform in cross
section.  A uniform shape allows them to be more tightly packaged, saving
space and reducing breakage.  Recently I began making the shape more
rectangular, the objective of which being to fit the dry results into the
small "snack size" Ziploc bags.  Some gimmick-peddler sells an extrusion
device, similar to a caulking gun, that will lay a wide, thin strip of
burger directly on the dryer rack, but it looks to me like more trouble than
it is worth.  After I lay the wet shape on the dryer rack I peel off the
waxed paper.  Doing so will greatly reduce the drying time.

The conventional wisdom among food drying aficionados is that a moisture
content around 2%-3% is sufficient to provide good shelf life.  I do not
have a practical way of measuring the moisture content, but I do leave the
meat it in the dryer until I judge that it will dry no more, then I promptly
seal it in Ziplocs before it can draw any humidity.  At home I keep the bulk
supply in bags in the freezer, which offers the additional benefit of
sublimation drying.  Before repackaging the jerky for shipment I just brush
off any frost that may have accumulated in the plastic storage bag. I
recently purchased a vacuum sealer, after lo these many years, and I
specifically intend to use it on my jerky supply for resupply shipment.  I
have not yet conducted a non-refrigerated shelf-life test, but anecdotally,
the jerky seems to keep sufficiently well for normal transit and hiking
times.  PCT SoBo a few years ago I took a resupply at Crater Lake, which
contained the jerky, and after 7 days and the 135-odd miles to the CAL-OR
border it was still as good as ever.  Later, NoBo when I arrived at Stehekin
for resupply I had several pieces of jerky remaining in the sack because I
was a day or so ahead of schedule.  There had been three days of pesky
fog/rain/sleet/snow around Glacier Peak between Stevens Pass and Stehekin,
and I was concerned that those pieces of jerky might not be good.
Regardless, I saved them when I resupplied, and when I eventually ate them
at my last camp below Manning I could tell no difference in their texture or
quality.  They had been in the pack 10 days and about 175 miles.

I am not sure what would happen if the jerky had to be shipped several weeks
ahead of time to wait in a hot, humid storage room before being transferred
to the pack for a week-long hiking segment.  Against the possibility that
jerky may spoil, I sometimes use the various flavored textured vegetable
protein (TVP) products in lieu of jerky.  Purchased in larger bulk cans it
is fairly inexpensive.  It keeps very well without refrigeration, and is
almost bulletproof.  The problem is, no matter how they flavor it; it still
ends up tasting pretty bland when cooked in the evening sloosh.  If I have
to use the stuff, I sprinkle it on top after the meal has been cooked rather
than cooking it with the meal.  Uncooked it seems to better retain its
flavor, and it adds a crunchy texture to what would otherwise probably be an
amorphous mass of gray, gelatinous glop.  I find the bacon-flavored TVP the
best, but in my opinion none of it is a good substitute for a real meat
product.  I use jerky whenever possible.

Enjoy...

Steel-Eye
==========================================================
Monday, July 12, 2004 7:22 PM

Good evening, Howard,

I use low-fat hamburger rather than sliced meat for jerky.  The advantages I
find are, 1) The meat is less expensive, 2) the dry product is much easier
to bite and chew,  3) the burger-jerky can be made into whatever shape that
suits me,
and, 4)  it can easily be crumbled into my various one-pot dinners.

And, yes, my hand did tremble a bit the first time I started to pour about a
quarter of a cup of chili powder over my vat of meat

Enjoy....

Steel-Eye


Burger-Jerkey Recipe:
*************************
Low-fat ground meat = 10.0 lb.
Worcestershire sauce = 2.5 Cup
Soy sauce = 2.5 Cup
Salt = 7.5 tsp.
Onion powder  = 5.0 tsp.
Garlic powder = 5.0 tsp.
Chili powder, (average, not hot) = 10.0 tsp.

The recipe will make about 100  pieces
5-6 patties will fit on the dryer shelf.
Drying time is apx. 6-8 hours.
Dried patties weigh 0.76 oz. each.
Raw/Dry ratio is:  40.4%

Mix all the stuff together well and let it soak overnight.
Do not drain off the juice, leave it with the meat.
The mix is moderately wet, but not loose.
I use a full 0.25 cup measure of mix in a round TuperWare patty mold for
each piece.
The wet patties are difficult to handle.  I mould them on a piece of waxed
paper, then pick up the paper and flip the patty onto the dryer shelf.
5-6 patties will fit on a dryer shelf.
Dry at maximum heat setting.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Monty Tam" <metam01@earthlink.net>
To: "pct-l" <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2004 9:05 AM
Subject: [pct-l] Steel-Eye Hamburger Jerkey


> Steel Eye   You sent a hamburger jerkey recipe out to the list.
> I could tell by the ingredients it's better than what I have.
>
> Questions:
> Could you post it again?
> How thick are the patties you mold in the tupperware?
> After you flip the patties on to the dryer shelf, do you remove the paper?
> What do you wrap the finished product in?
> Do you seal them airtight or allow slight ventilation for moisture
control?
> And
> What's the estimated shelf life?
>
> If you can help, your burger jerkey is going to Canada in 2005.
>
> Thank You
>
> Warner Springs Monty
>
> Monty Tam
> metam01@earthlink.net
> EarthLink Revolves Around You.
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