It is advisable to make dried meat in the cold season, when it is cool outside and indoors. This kind of meat is easy to prepare, but the cooking process is quite lengthy and requires some time so as not to try it ahead of time.
Dried meat is prepared at home without any harmful additives. The only preservative is salt, and it does not kill microorganisms, but only stops their development. This means that you can become infected with worms or salmonella that the animal suffered from. Therefore, meat for drying must be taken fresh and 100% from a healthy animal, in stores where it is checked, and not in spontaneous markets.
An important component for a tasty final product is properly prepared brine.
How to prepare brine for meat.
We prepare a strong brine from rock salt (by no means extra, the result will not be the same) with the addition of bay leaf, allspice, and cloves. For brine you will need 4 or 4.5 tbsp per 1 liter of water. spoons with a heap of salt. Boil it for 1-2 minutes, then set it aside and cool. The brine should be such that a raw, fresh chicken egg floats (the blunt end with a diameter of 2.5 cm is visible). When the brine has cooled to room temperature, throw away the spices and put the liquid itself in the refrigerator. To salt meat, the brine must be very cold.
Some housewives use only sea salt for salting, citing the fact that it does not dissolve well in water, which means that the meat will absorb less of it than ordinary table salt.
For salting, we use ceramic or glass dishes; iron dishes oxidize, and this is harmful to both health and the quality of corned beef.
Salting meat for drying.
First, we prepare the meat for salting: wash it and dry it, cut off the films and fat layer from pork and beef.
Dip the fresh meat pulp into cold brine.
There should be brine, the more, the better. The meat should float freely in it. We cover the meat with a lid and put it in a cold place for 1-3 days, depending on the size of the pieces of meat; if the pieces are large, then it will take more time for salting. Don't forget to turn it in the pan several times a day.
How to dry meat.
After 1-3 days, take the meat out of the brine, dry it and put it under pressure on an inclined surface for 1 hour so that the brine flows out, then dip it in a towel to remove all the liquid. If the piece of meat is thick, cut it lengthwise into 2 or several strips, so it will dry out faster. Then we rub the meat with dry ground spices, and also roll it on all sides. Spices can be different (black pepper, allspice and chili, coriander, cumin, cloves) at the discretion of the housewife, but among them there must be ground red pepper, which has preservative properties. It is better to take spices whole, not ground, and grind them before use in a special mill or grind them in a mortar, so they will not lose their aroma.
Wrap the meat with spices in clean gauze, parchment or bandage, put it in a bowl, cover with a lid and keep in the refrigerator on the bottom or middle shelf for 1 week.
Then we take the meat out of the pan, remove the gauze in which the meat was, rub it again with spices, wrap it in clean gauze or other material and tie it with thread, making loops by which we hang it in a well-ventilated place.
Such a place could be a cool kitchen in which we hang meat from the ceiling. You can dry it on the balcony, with the window slightly open, if it is late autumn or winter. The ideal option is a cool, dry place with a draft. If there is no ventilated cool room, then you need to keep the meat in a draft for at least a few days, and then keep it in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf for at least 1-2 weeks, maximum a month, turning it constantly. Jerky chicken and turkey are ready faster - after a few days of drying, but pork and beef will require the entire specified period. It should be noted that the meat will decrease in size and weight during drying: 1.5 kg of fresh meat will yield 800-900 g of dried meat.
You can store this delicious meat preparation for as long as you like in the refrigerator.
Home-made dried meat, moderately spicy and salty, is a real delicacy. We cut it into thin transparent slices and serve it as an appetizer with an aperitif, cognac, dry red wine or beer during a home feast or outdoors.
See also video: Homemade jerky - recipe.
Cooking jerky.
1. The recipe for homemade jerky must begin by preparing the salt mixture. To do this, pour salt into a deep plate; it is best to use coarse rock salt.
2. Black and red ground pepper.
3. Use your hands to crush the dried bay leaf into pieces.
4. Pour in vodka and stir. The mixture should become just slightly damp, like wet sand on the beach.
5. Wash a piece of tenderloin, leave it to dry a little, or remove excess liquid from its surface with a paper towel. Pork tenderloin usually has a small layer of fat on the bottom; you can remove it if desired, but it would be better to leave it, since lard can also be salted in a similar way, resulting in dried meat with a small amount of lard.
6. Generously rub the meat with a mixture of salt and spices on all sides, be sure to use the entire mixture. Place in a deep bowl with a flat bottom, cover with a plate on top. Place in the refrigerator for 12-14 hours. To ensure that the meat is salted evenly, it will need to be turned every 3-4 hours.
7. The salt mixture will remove excess liquid from the meat that will collect at the bottom of the bowl; there is no need to drain it, it will help in marinating the meat.
8. After the allotted time, rinse the tenderloin under the tap, carefully removing salt, spices and pieces of bay leaf. Again, dry the meat with paper towels.
9. Cut the garlic into small pieces and sprinkle it over the tenderloin on all sides.
10. Take clean gauze and wrap the meat tightly in it. In order for it to have a more regular shape and not flatten during the drying process, the piece must be tied with thread. The meat must have free access to air from all sides; to do this, it must either be hung by something or placed on a wire rack. In this form, the tenderloin will dry first at room temperature for 12-14 hours (it is also advisable to turn it over periodically), and then for two to three days in the refrigerator.
11. The longer the meat dries, the more dense and salty it will become. But after a day, you must unwind it and separate the gauze from it, as it can stick strongly to the meat and it will begin to deteriorate.
12. Delicious homemade jerky is ready.
The taste is significantly superior to more commonly purchased sausages. However, they are equally superior in price. Therefore, lovers of delicious food sadly pass by tempting shop windows, allowing themselves this luxury only on major holidays. But gourmets needlessly limit themselves to their favorite dish, since making dry-cured meat at home is not so difficult. Of course, you will have to wait - the process is quite long. However, you can adjust the subtleties of taste by adding spices that you like and removing those that you don’t like. Moreover, made at home and made with love, it will definitely be from high-quality sources and will not expire.
Only someone who has special equipment can simply dry-dry raw beef, poultry or pork. The rest must marinate the meat first.
"Wet" drying
Homemade dry-cured meat preparation begins with salting it. Let's first consider the traditional method using brine. For every half kilo of meat you will need about a liter. Water is boiled, salt is dissolved in it (two heaped spoons per liter), a little sugar is added, a full tablespoon of red and black pepper, peppercorns and bay leaves are added - just like for pickled cucumbers. Leave for three minutes - turn off and cool. The bay leaf should be discarded - it will add bitterness and a not very pleasant smell. The meat is cut medium, dipped in brine and left in it for five hours right in the kitchen. Then it is placed in a cool place for three days. Then the liquid is decanted, and the meat is placed under a press until moisture stops appearing, after which a mixture of red and black pepper is rubbed into it (other spices can be added). The slices are wrapped in clean gauze, placed in a sealed container and placed in the refrigerator for a week. During this time they will marinate well. The meat is again rubbed with spices, wrapped in a clean cut and hung in a dry place where it will not be disturbed. A week later, the dry-cured meat (which has reached the desired condition at home) is served on the table. It will not spoil in the refrigerator for three months.
"Dry" method
This option on how to make dried meat at home is usually chosen by those who believe that beef (pork/poultry) is too saturated with unnecessary moisture in the brine. Take a whole piece and rub it very carefully with a spice mixture of two spoons of salt, one of sugar, half of coarsely ground black pepper, the same amount of mashed juniper berries and crushed seven bay leaves (all calculated for a kilo of raw materials). The future dry-cured meat is tightly wrapped in cling film, a heavy load is placed on it, and the entire structure is put into the refrigerator for at least a week. You will have to drain the meat juice regularly, otherwise the product may spoil. Then the slice is dried, rubbed with the same seasoning mixture, laid out on a wire rack and hidden back for two weeks. Turn over at least once every two days! The finished dry-cured meat is wrapped in paper or put into a paper bag. Please note: if prepared using this method, it will “live” in the refrigerator for no longer than a month.
Spicy Beef Jerky
So far we've covered the basics, so to speak. You can use them to prepare any dry-cured meat at home. However, there are many refinements, using which you can get a more delicious delicacy. For example, you can do it differently with beef - the result will be much more flavorful and “ripe” faster. A large piece of meat is taken, cleaned of excess veins and cut along the entire slice into thin strips - 5 centimeters each, no thicker. Place 10 washed large blackcurrant leaves, two horseradish burdocks, a couple of cinnamon sticks, a full spoon of chopped ginger, 400 grams of salt, bay leaf and peppercorns into boiling water (2 liters). This amount of brine is enough for as much as 10 kilos of beef. The trick is that pieces of meat are dipped in brine for three minutes, then cooled, strained and hung in gauze bags for 10 days in a dry and dark place. Temperature is not as important as good ventilation and lack of light.
Quick drying
You can also get dry-cured meat using the oven. The recipe involves cutting the beef into very small pieces (about 5 x 5 cm). Moreover, before the main processing, the washed and dried meat is put into the freezer to make it easier and smoother to cut. A sprinkling of salt (60 g), ground black pepper (10 g) and hot red pepper (5 g) is made. Beef cubes are rolled in it, left for 10 minutes to soak in spices and laid out on a wire rack so that they do not touch. The oven is heated to 40 degrees, a wire rack is placed in it and left to dry for half a day.
Grilled
For this method, the beef will have to be cut even thinner - two centimeters wide, and into shorter strips along the length of the grill grate. Spices (cinnamon, black pepper, red pepper, salt) are mixed in a ratio of 2:5:5:60. Rub all the pieces with the mixture, place them on a wire rack at intervals and dry for about seven hours. The disadvantage of such dry-cured meat is its short shelf life. Two weeks, no more. However, it is eaten much faster. You can dry pork in the same way, only instead of red pepper you use cumin and the meat is leaner.
Dried pork
Most people are sure that it is contraindicated to dry pork: they say it is a little fatty, is not completely soaked and quickly disappears. You just don’t know how to cook it! In our opinion, the only drawback that home-cooked pork (dry meat) has is that it cannot be made into a large piece. But if you cut it into small slices, it will be delicious! The pieces should be no larger than 4 centimeters. Each is rolled in a mixture of coriander, a set of Italian or other spicy herbs, white and black pepper (their quantity is left to your discretion), a tablespoon of coarse salt and a teaspoon of sugar. All this is enough for half a kilogram of pork. The pieces are placed in a tray, moderately sprinkled with vodka (half a shot glass is enough) and left on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 14 hours. The juice must be drained! Then the excess liquid is removed, and the marinated meat in a gauze bag is hung on a ledge in the kitchen for one and a half to two weeks. Enjoy your health!
Dried chicken
You can also make dried meat from poultry. The recipe, again, should not cause any particular difficulties. The simplest possible option: take a carcass of any size, carefully rub it with salt inside and out, wrap it in parchment (if you don’t have it, you can wrap it in cellophane, but you’ll have to ventilate it), tie it tightly with twine and hang it in the pantry (or in the garage, if it doesn’t stink). gasoline (actually, anywhere, as long as it’s dark and cool). After a couple of months you can eat. And it can be stored for up to three years.
Dried with garlic
It is clear that the method described above is, rather, a method of preparing, rather than preparing, a delicacy. If you want something tasty, you will have to try, since you can prepare dry-cured chicken meat only separately from its bones. That is, the carcass will have to be thoroughly washed and all the meaty parts separated from the bony parts. The pulp is cut into thin strips, the garlic is finely chopped and ground in a mortar with salt at the rate of half a glass of the latter per head of garlic. Rub the strips with this mixture, put them in bags (our people recommend old, but clean nylon socks) and hang them in a warm place, but in a draft for 10 days.
Juniper chicken legs
Many in childhood dreamed that scientists would breed chickens with ten legs - then children would get more tasty body parts. For those who have remained faithful to their childhood ideas and have not exchanged them for the rules of dietary nutrition, here is our recipe.
Take the legs, wash them and rub them generously with salt (for 10 kilograms of legs - 300 g of salt), mixed with cinnamon (a teaspoon) and sugar (5 tablespoons). All the wealth is laid out in a voluminous vessel, sprinkled with juniper berries (1/5 kilogram). Another 300 g of salt is dissolved in hot water (10 l) and boiled with cloves and peppercorns. The legs are filled with the strained solution, and a heavy press is placed on them for 3 hours. At the end of the salting, the legs are strained, blotted and dried for a month in a fairly cool (about 10 degrees) room. That's when happiness comes!
Jerky and apokti, bresaola, basturma, sesina and biltong are all dried beef, one of the most popular delicacy meats among different peoples of the world.
The authorship of the recipe for dried meat cannot be attributed to any national cuisine, since the problem of long-term storage of meat in various climatic conditions, one way or another, has affected all nations.
Meat had to be prepared for the army, for long sea and land passages, and reserves had to be created in case of a harsh winter or a lean summer. In a word, the idea of drying meat, including beef, was objectively “on the surface.”
There are a great many recipes for beef jerky. This delicacy is extremely popular in many countries on all continents. Everywhere he prepares with his little tricks.
In Pan-Asian cuisine, cooking “zhougan” is unthinkable without soy sauce. In South Africa, beef tenderloin is marinated with salt, pepper, coriander and brown sugar. The Turks dry classic basturma by dipping the compressed fillet in a mixture of dry fenugreek, black and red peppers and garlic.
One way or another, the end result is a magnificent product with exceptional taste. It is quite possible to prepare beef jerky at home; just use one of the following recipes.
This traditional meat dish is considered “theirs” among many peoples of the Middle East and the Caucasus. It is usually prepared by pressing large pieces of beef into a roll five to seven centimeters thick, rolling it in a well-established combination of spices, and then drying it.
It is clear that under ordinary living conditions, drying large meat rolls for weeks is not so convenient. Therefore, you can use the accelerated method, the essence of which is to cut the beef into thin “flaps”.
Required ingredients:
- beef fillet (tenderloin, thick or thin edge);
- dried fenugreek mixture (chaman);
- coarse salt;
- sugar (preferably brown cane);
- ground black pepper;
- ground red pepper;
- sweet paprika;
- cumin.
The taste of the future basturma will not be affected by reducing its thickness, but plenty of time will be saved
Cooking technique:
- The washed, dried tenderloin should be cut into wide layers 2-3 cm thick. To do this, sharpen the cutting knife.
- Build a structure from two large plates - place one of them upside down on the other. This is necessary to remove meat juice.
- To dry-salt meat, you need to make a simple mixture of 2 tablespoons of salt, one tablespoon of brown sugar, and a teaspoon of ground black pepper. This amount of mixture is enough for about one kilogram of beef.
- Next, the meat “shreds” need to be rubbed with the prepared mixture, then placed on a plate turned upside down to effectively remove the juice.
- Place the meat in the refrigerator for four days. You need to turn it over periodically (at least twice a day) so that it salts evenly.
- After three days, it’s time for the “signature” marinade for basturma. For this you will need (per kilogram of beef): one tablespoon of chaman, crushed garlic through a press, half a tablespoon of hot red pepper and sweet paprika, a teaspoon of ground black pepper. It wouldn't hurt to use a small amount of cumin.
- Chaman is diluted in a glass of warm water to a paste. It is better to use a large, deep plate. Then all the other spices are mixed in and a little more water is added. By periodically stirring the mixture and adding water, you will eventually get the required amount of a thick, liquid mixture. It needs to be kept in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- Every other day, we take out the salted meat, transfer it to a large container for marinating, and generously dip the meat slices in the prepared marinade. Next, you need to place the workpiece in the refrigerator for three days, again turning the beef periodically to ensure even marinating.
- After three days, the prepared meat is transferred to a baking sheet. It can be placed on a windowsill or balcony for good drying with a constant flow of air.
- Within two days, a frozen spicy crust will certainly form on the meat “shreds”. After this, the pieces need to be turned over and then wait for a crust to appear on the other side.
- After this, the pieces of beef need to be hung in some way in a draft. To do this, you can use any homemade devices or get by with simple culinary threads.
- The final preparation time for beef jerky is several days. The criterion for readiness is that the meat is firm to the touch without being soft inside. As a rule, strips of meat initially 2 cm thick end up shrinking to half their size.
- Ready-made basturma slices can be cut into pieces convenient for consumption, then served.
The finished basturma should be stored in the refrigerator, carefully wrapped in cling film. Long-term storage can lead to even more drying and hardening of the meat. Then it will make an excellent beer snack in the form of hard meat chips.
Differences between basturma prepared in Armenian, Turkish, Georgian, etc. minimal. As a rule, we can talk about different proportions of spices, adding some original ingredients, for example, dry wine to the marinade. In general, this wonderful meat dish is prepared according to a standard recipe.
Homemade bresaola
A classic dish of Italian cuisine, called bresaola, is a cured beef tenderloin soaked in dry wine along with aromatic Mediterranean spices and garlic.
Every Italian is able to cook it in his own way, from different types of meat with his own set of spices. The recipe for this dish with wine, pepper and salt is considered traditional, and the best meat for bresaola, of course, is beef tenderloin.
Required ingredients:
- one and a half kilograms of tenderloin;
- half a kilogram of coarse salt;
- half a glass of dry red wine;
- ground black pepper;
- a little lemon juice.
As with absolutely any iconic dish, bresaola has a million recipes
Cooking technique:
- A good piece of beef tenderloin should be washed with water, fatty layers and films removed, and dried thoroughly.
- Place the meat in a large glass dish, sprinkle generously with salt, and squeeze a little juice from the lemon. Carefully roll the beef in salt and pour in wine. Cool the dishes with the preparation in the refrigerator overnight.
- Remove the meat from the dish, rinse again, and dry well with napkins. Rub the surface of the meat with ground black pepper on all sides. Tie the piece with twine or kitchen string. Somehow hang the meat in the refrigerator using improvised means or place a piece on a metal mesh colander turned upside down. Place a wide plate underneath to drain the juice.
- Dry the meat for about three months.
Salad with homemade bresaola
Required ingredients:
- 200 g beef jerky per serving;
- arugula leaves;
- 50 g parmesan;
- olive oil;
- lemon.
A ready-made piece of homemade bresaola suggests preparing a classic Italian salad with arugula and Parmesan cheese. To do this, the dried beef needs to be cut into thin slices, like jamon
Cooking technique:
- Rinse the lettuce leaves with water and dry with napkins. Place arugula on a wide plate.
- Chop the bresaola into thin strips and place on top of the lettuce leaves.
- Grate Parmesan cheese over the herbs and meat. Squeeze a little lemon juice and drizzle with olive oil.
Salad with homemade bresaola and sun-dried tomatoes
You can enhance the recipe for salad with arugula and dried beef by adding sun-dried tomatoes.
Required ingredients:
- 150 g beef jerky per serving;
- Pine nuts;
- sun-dried tomatoes;
- 50 g parmesan;
- arugula leaves;
- olive oil;
- balsamic vinegar.
Beef jerky goes well with many fresh, canned vegetables
Cooking technique:
- The washed lettuce leaves are placed in a bowl and sprinkled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
- The dried beef is cut into thin slices, fried in a frying pan for about a minute, sprinkled with salt and pepper.
- Tomatoes are cut into small pieces.
- The serving plate is lined with arugula leaves, slices of meat and pieces of tomatoes are placed on top. The salad is sprinkled with grated parmesan and decorated with pine nuts.
Dried beef is also commonly used as the main meat ingredient in all kinds of appetizers, soups, and main courses. It makes an amazing dry-cured sausage, which is quite easy to make yourself in ordinary home conditions.
You can dry any meat at home - pork, beef, and poultry. The only question is technology. Different meats require different seasonings and spices, as well as time for “aging”.
Dried meat is good for many reasons: no preservatives except salt, long-term storage does not lead to a deterioration in taste, “first aid” in case of unexpected guests. Also add here its “transportability”, which is very important when you need to take lunch on the road.
➡ Dried pork
● Pork tenderloin (loin) ● Coarse salt ● Black peppercorns, coriander, dill, cumin, bay leaf
We clean the fillet from films. Rub the meat with coarse salt, place it in a tray of suitable size and place it in a cool place for salting. Depending on the thickness of the tenderloin, leave it for 2-3 days. The meat must be turned at least once a day. We take out the meat and clean off the excess salt.
Prepare clean gauze and spices. Spices need to be ground before use - it is thanks to this that our dried meat will acquire a unique aroma. Now it's time for a spicy "massage" for the tenderloin. Rub generously. In principle, the composition of spices can be changed if you don’t like some component or simply don’t find it in your kitchen.
We wrap the meat rubbed with spices in gauze and tie it with thread. Now we need to find a place for it. In summer, the ideal option would be a well-ventilated balcony, of course, not in the sun. In winter, a kitchen, a place near a radiator, say, will do. The meat must be hung vertically. The most difficult thing remains - to wait 5-7 days until it reaches the desired state. We remove the ready-made jerky, unwrap it, cut it... The magnificent aroma will confirm that you did everything right.
➡ Beef jerky
● Beef tenderloin (small, 3-5 cm in diameter) ● Coarse sea salt ● Freshly ground black pepper, dry (!) spices to choose from: caraway, cumin, coriander, sage, rosemary, dried garlic, paprika, thyme
We clean the meat of all excess. In a suitable tray, pour a layer of salt and ground black pepper on the bottom. Place the meat and sprinkle salt on top again. Fine salt is not suitable for salting meat; it is absorbed too quickly and in larger quantities than necessary. Instead of a sea one, you can take an ordinary stone one. Cover the tray with meat with film and put it in the cold (or in the refrigerator) for 12 hours. We take out the salted meat, clean off the salt (even wash it off). Dry with a paper towel.
Mix the selected spices and rub the meat with them. Wrap the tenderloin in clean, dry gauze (or a thin kitchen towel). Place in a cool place with good ventilation. You can also put the meat in the refrigerator, remembering to turn it twice a day. After a week the meat is ready. This does not mean, of course, that it must be consumed immediately and in full. As mentioned above, dried meat can be stored for a very long time, the main thing is to maintain the temperature regime and not let it get damp.
➡ Dried duck
Why duck? Well, in fact, in this way you can try to cook chicken, and goose, and whoever else is walking around our yard... There is a recipe circulating on the Internet in which they suggest salting a whole goose and hanging it for several months in an airtight bag to the cold. Like, this way it will be salted and dried out. Perhaps, under certain circumstances, this will happen. But it is very likely that the goose will simply go rotten. And it will be very disappointing. That's why we offer the recipe easier and faster.
● 2-3 duck breasts ● Coarse sea salt ● Black peppercorns (grind before cooking), thyme, rosemary, basil ● 1/2 cup of strong alcohol (cognac, for example)
Fresh fillets must be prepared: cleaned of skin, fat, films and the like. Wash and dry with napkins. In a suitable bowl, add a layer of salt and coarsely ground pepper to the bottom. You can also add some cognac here, if you don’t mind. And if you don’t plan to feed meat to your children. But it will also work out well without cognac, no doubt about it.
So, put the breasts in a tray, sprinkle salt, pepper and herbs on top. Cover tightly with a lid or cling film and place in the refrigerator for 12 hours. During this time, the meat should be salted and soaked in the aromas of herbs, spices and cognac. It is convenient to make this preparation in the evening, leaving it overnight. In the morning, take the breasts out of the refrigerator, rinse under water, and dry.
Wrap it in gauze (several layers) or a thin napkin and put it in the refrigerator until the evening (that is, another 12 hours at least). In the evening, you can gather everyone to the table and taste it together. In principle, you don’t have to eat the whole duck at once. After lying for a couple more days, it will become drier, but no less tasty.
Using the same technology, you can cook chicken fillet and turkey fillet. Only the “ripening” time will differ; the turkey may require a couple of days. Instead of alcohol, you can use a little vinegar or soy sauce for the marinade. Lovers of “smoky” food can add a little “liquid smoke”. Again, as with any recipe, to prepare dried meat, you need one recipe - a basic one, and then you can vary the spices and additives to your taste.
Some people are afraid to eat raw meat, even cured meat. There is a certain reason for this, for example, helminths can “live” in low-quality pork. Good salting usually solves this problem. If you are still afraid, then take beef or poultry, there is much less risk. Although pork bought in a store should not contain any inhabitants.
