Dried pork meat at home by cold drying must be prepared in advance - in total, the meat will dry for about 14 days. That is why the most important ingredient for its preparation is patience.
Drying is considered one of the oldest methods of preserving various products. Our ancestors dried everything on their own - fish, meat, poultry, etc. Not surprisingly, they didn't have many options for food preservation. And today this method of cooking remains accessible to everyone and everyone - you just need to want and take the time to do it.
By the way, homemade jerky defies most store-bought snacks. Such meat will certainly surpass the quality of most producers - in cooking we will use fresh products that we can choose ourselves. So, you can be 100% sure of the quality.
I am a huge fan of these meat delicacies, for me, prosciutto, jamon, breazolla and a huge number of such meat products are simply heaven on earth. I've been making jerky with this recipe for many years now and I have to say it's a great addition to any meat plate.
By the way, if you like spicy meat, this jerky at home is definitely for you! Not a single gourmet can resist such deliciousness! So I highly recommend!
Ingredients:
- 800 g pork (I had a thick cue ball)
- 350 ml vodka
- 2 tsp ground sweet paprika
- 2 tsp ground pepper Chile
- 2 tsp ground allspice (grind in a mortar)
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- Salt as needed
- 1 tsp ground sweet paprika
- 1 tsp ground chili pepper
- 1 tsp ground allspice (grind in a mortar)
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
In ancient times, drying was one of the most effective ways creating stocks of meat. If a successful hunter brought large prey (for example, deer or elk), they tried to process a significant part of the carcass so that the meat did not deteriorate and was stored for as long as possible. With exact observance of technological conditions, the process was safe and provided quite decent results. taste qualities finished product.
A modern hostess does not need to solve everyday problems, familiar to her distant predecessors. Today, jerky is considered a delicious delicacy that is easy to prepare even for a beginner who is not too experienced in cooking. culinary wisdom. Our article is addressed to those who want to learn how to dry meat properly.
Feedstock Selection and Precautions
You can dry beef, horse meat, goat meat, lamb and even pork, as well as poultry meat (chicken, duck, turkey) and various game. For blanks of this kind, only low-fat raw materials are suitable, preferably taken from adult animals. To dry meat, choose dense muscle tissue (for example, tenderloin); from poultry carcasses, breasts are most often processed. Some experts are skeptical about the possibility of curing pork. The fact is that the density of pig meat is lower, and the fat content is higher than, for example, that of beef or horse meat, which does not have the best effect on the fermentation process itself. In addition, pork is much more likely to be infected with worm eggs, which can be preserved in the finished delicacy.
To avoid health problems, you need to learn the following. During the drying process, the meat is not subjected to heat treatment. The only protection against dangerous diseases in this case is salt, which inhibits the vital activity of pathogens. Of course, products that are sold by official sellers undergo sanitary checks, but this does not mean that the possibility of the presence of pathogenic organisms in them is completely excluded. If you decide to dry the meat yourself, scrupulously follow all the requirements of the technology (especially the salting time) and do not purchase raw materials from random suppliers.
If you decide to dry the meat yourself, scrupulously follow all the requirements of the technology (especially the salting time) and do not purchase raw materials from random suppliers
Preparation of meat and methods of salting it
The meat intended for harvesting must be washed well, dried and cut into not very thick pieces (strips) that do not contain films and layers of fat (400-800 g each). There are three main recipes for curing meat at home.
wet way
The meat is kept in brine, then dried. We offer a detailed recipe:
Dry way
Combined method
The curing process of meat
After you have salted the meat in one of the three ways suggested above, proceed to curing. The first stage is smearing the salted pieces with spices. A mixture of spices is prepared to taste. It may include different kinds ground peppers (necessarily hot red pepper - a natural preservative), sweet paprika, coriander, star anise or mustard seeds, zira, cloves, cumin, juniper berries, dried garlic and any spicy herbs. Seasonings are evenly ground and rubbed with a mixture of pieces of meat.
Raw materials are wrapped in gauze (each piece separately) and placed in a clean, dry dish. The meat should lie in the refrigerator for at least 1 week, then it is taken out and again rubbed with a mixture of spices. Each piece is wrapped in clean gauze and tied with a strong thread so that it can be hung.
Pieces of meat are packed in clean gauze and tied with a strong thread so that they can be hung (drying meat in a suspended state is correct)
For creating optimal conditions fermentation, raw materials must be kept in a dry, cool and well-ventilated place at an optimum temperature of 4 to 25 ℃ (up to 40 ℃ is acceptable). Important: do not dry meat in the sun.
For poultry meat, the process ends after a few days (maximum after a week), but to completely dry strips of beef or horse meat, it will take from 2 weeks to 1 month. In the cold season, meat is best hung on a balcony or ventilated loggia. You can even lay out a small amount of raw materials on the kitchen window (with the window constantly open), but so that the pieces do not touch each other.
In the photo you see hanging pieces of cured meat (no gauze or other fabric, just rolled in spices)
Those who often dry meat on their own make portable dryers that have special slats or grates for hanging raw materials. In the warm season, keep the product outdoors is not worth it: it can deteriorate from the heat or suffer from flies. In the summer, it is better to bring the meat to readiness right in the refrigerator, hanging small pieces between the shelves or laying them directly on the grates (in this case, they will often have to be turned over).
How to dry meat in an electric dryer
To dry meat, you can use the oven and dryer. With an electric dryer, organizing the process is easier. In this case, the raw material is immediately cut into slices no more than 1 cm thick. The pieces are kept for about 1 hour in a marinade made from vegetable oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, sugar, mustard and spices (the ingredients are mixed in an arbitrary ratio, as you like). Then the meat is laid out on dryer trays and processed at maximum convection at a temperature of 60 ℃ for 6-8 hours (in the middle of the process, the slices must be turned over). The finished product turns out to be quite soft, but, according to connoisseurs, it is much inferior in taste to air-dried meat.
We offer you to watch a video in which the owner tells how he makes jerky at home (dried small pieces of pork and turkey) using an electric dryer.
Storage of jerky
Storage jerky provides maximum protection against moisture. Therefore, it is best to place the finished product in a tightly closed container.
Dried meat can be frozen. In an airtight package, it will lie for 10-12 months.
Pieces can be wrapped in parchment or shifted with paper napkins, which will absorb the condensation that has appeared. In this form, the meat can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. If you pack the product in airtight bags, which then put in the freezer, it will retain its taste and aroma and remain usable for a year.
Dried meat is not difficult, it is important to preserve it. Storage involves its maximum protection from moisture. Therefore, it is best to place the finished product in a tightly closed container.
Our article is about curing meat at home. In this sense, pork is not the most suitable product (jamon, for example, you can’t make it at home): it is more often than other types of meat contaminated with “all sorts of filth”. This means that very careful salting is required to minimize the risks. In addition, pork is much softer and fatter than the meat of other animals and rots faster. It turns out that it is unsafe to process it without heating and without a very large amount of salt.
Do you know why religions, originally born in hot countries, are against eating pork? This is an ancient sanitary norm, which turned out to be so important that it was reborn into a religious dogma. The point is not that pigs cannot be bred in the desert (they live and breed anywhere). It is important that their meat in the heat immediately begins to deteriorate, which is fraught with severe poisoning.
We hope that our tips on how to dry meat will be useful to you. Please share your experience in the comments.
Video
We offer you to watch a video on the topic of the article.
Text: Emma Murga
So listen
Let me be in the middle of summer
Bliss under the old pear,
Treating yourself in the cool
The wine that gurgles in the bottle
Ilyansky, or something, and moreover
The most delicate piece of ham,
Yes, so that there are seasonings for it ...
Lope de Vega "He who left stayed at home"
Dried meat or ham is not just a piece of meat, it is a delicacy. It is suitable as an appetizer with wine, beer, sherry and whiskey. Pre-salted meat, and then dried, is stored for a long time. For this reason, warriors and travelers often took it with them on the road.
There are many varieties of jerky, they are all delicious and some can be cooked at home.
Jamon
Jamon is the culinary pride of Spain. This famous delicacy has existed for over 2000 years. Roman emperors adored him, and Miguel de Cervantes described the beauty of taste in his novel Don Quixote. In his novel Goya, or the Hard Path of Knowledge, Lion Feuchtwanger described Pepa, comparing it with a delicacy - "A plump jamon is a nice pig with a pleasant, smooth skin like satin."
First, the hind legs of the pig are salted and kept for a week at 3 °C, and then they are dried for 6-36 months. Drying begins in winter or early spring, so that the temperature slowly increases until the very end of summer.
In autumn, jamon is hung in the cellar, where it is kept for 9-12 months at a temperature of 8 °C. In the cellar, under the influence of microflora, the meat acquires aroma, structure and characteristic taste. To check the readiness of the ham, the expert pierces it with a thin needle from the bone of a cow and draws conclusions from the aroma.
There are two types of jamon: Iberico and Serrano. Jamon Iberico (Spanish: jamón ibérico, often called "pata negra" - "black leg") is more expensive. For its preparation, an Iberian pig (black pig) fed on acorns is used. The meat is very tender and just melts in your mouth. Most often it is served on holidays. Jamon serrano (Spanish jamón serrano, "mountain jamon") is made from pigs raised on the plateau (white pig). In Spain, it is eaten as a daily dish.
Jamon must be cut into thin strips. Cortador is the very specially trained person who will cut your jamon perfectly.
Jamon goes well with fruits such as melon, pear, grapes. For drinks, choose dry white wines or sherry.
Prosciutto
Prosciutto is an Italian cured ham. It is prepared from the hind legs of pigs, which are fattened with fruits and corn. On such diet food meat acquires an amazing taste and aroma. The most famous type of prosciutto is Parma ham. In this variant, the pigs are fed whey left over from the production of Parmesan cheese.
First, the hams are salted and then dried for at least 9 months. The meat turns out dense and dry due to the low content of fat in it.
Prosciutto is cut into thin slices and served with melon, figs and dry red wine.
Basturma
Basturma is a cured beef tenderloin in a crust of spices. For the first time this dish was invented by the warriors of Genghis Khan. They put pieces of meat under the saddle, under the weight of the rider, excess juice came out of it, and it was salted with the salty sweat of the horse. During the trip, it was dried in the wind and a delicious delicacy was obtained. Later, such meat was in demand in the countries that were part of the former Ottoman Empire.
Basturma is prepared from veal tenderloin, rubbed with salt and put under pressure for 12 hours. Then it is washed, plentifully smeared with gruel of black and red pepper, garlic and blue fenugreek (chaman). Basturma is hung in a ventilated room for 12-14 days. The taste of basturma is rich, and the meat itself is quite tough. Serve it thinly sliced as an appetizer for beer or whiskey.
Bresaola
Bresaola is an Italian dry-cured veal tenderloin. The tenderloin is covered with a crust of salt and black pepper and left for 15 days, then hung out to ripen for 5 weeks at a temperature of 24-25 ° C and an air humidity of 40-50%, and it ripens at a temperature of 12-15 ° C and an air humidity of 70 % about 3 weeks. Under these conditions, the meat slowly releases moisture and ferments. Thanks to this, bresaola acquires its unique taste. Each cook has his own secrets for preparing bresaola, and sometimes dry red wine is added when salting.
Bresaola is not too salty in taste. Dried meat is cut into thin slices and served with olive oil, lemon juice and ground black pepper. Dry red wine is suitable for drinks.
Eat not much, but tasty!
If you love meat, love not only eating it, but also cooking, then one day you will definitely want to try this recipe! Very impressive to the eye, very tasty to the stomach, and very easy to make. The secret of this beef jerky is an amazingly selected bouquet of seasonings and spices, as well as methodical adherence to technology. With a piece of such meat, you can always set an exquisite table for a spontaneous friendly party, take it with you on a visit or a picnic, or even present it as an exclusive gift along with a bottle of brutal full-bodied red wine. If you have already dried meat at home, for example, you used mine, then this recipe will not seem difficult to you. If you decide on such a gastronomic adventure for the first time, then the recommendations given in the recipe will help you get an excellent result, and not “the first pancake is lumpy”.
Recipe Information
Cooking method: curing .
Ingredients:
- 1.5 kg of young beef (even oblong piece of pulp)
- 60 g sea salt
- 40 g sugar
- 6 g coarsely ground coffee
- 15 g coarsely ground black pepper (or a mixture of peppers)
- 12-15 g juniper berries, crushed in a mortar
- 5 large bay leaves.
Drying beef
For cooking, you will need a rectangular container of a suitable size, a stone or sandbag as weight, cling film, parchment, twine, a piece of cotton fabric of a suitable size.
Separately, it is worth making a reservation about meat. For home curing, young beef is best, with beautiful bright red meat and white fat. When buying in the market, pay attention to all the pieces of carcass. In old beef, the fat is yellow, and the meat is purple. Such meat will be tougher and rougher. Veal for this recipe is also not recommended, since the meat did not have time to gain the desired taste, the result may be disappointing. It is better to choose a piece that is even, with fibers along the length, or one from which it can be easily made with a knife and a few manipulations. There should also be no fat on the piece. Naturally, the meat should be purchased from a trusted butcher and be as fresh as possible, since it will not be cooked.
Since the drying process involves dehydration, the meat during the drying process will decrease both in volume and in weight, this should be taken into account. From a one and a half kilogram piece you get a block of dried meat 800-900 grams.
To prepare meat in the first stage, you will need a salt-coffee mixture with spices. To do this, in the container in which the meat will dry, mix sea salt, sugar, ground coffee and pepper, crushed juniper berries, crumble bay leaf. Such a set of seasonings should not embarrass anyone, and coffee and juniper, oddly enough, make up a spicy but discreet accompaniment to beef meat, emphasizing its rather bright taste favorably. 
Wash the formed piece of meat, dry it slightly. Dip the piece in a mixture of salt, sugar and spices on all sides and thoroughly breaded. Place the meat in a container and cover with a piece of cling film. 
The next week, the meat should be stored in the refrigerator under oppression. As oppression, you can use a suitable size cutting board and pebbles for salting, a bag of sand, or even a jar of pickled mushrooms. This is not so important, it is important that there is oppression. A day later, the meat must be taken out, the resulting juice drained and the piece turned over. 
After a week, take the meat out of the refrigerator and remove from the container. Blot excess liquid with paper towels, leave the spices. You can mix in additional breading from your favorite spices, or simply sprinkle a piece of meat with a ready-made set of spices for pastrami or barbecue. This will make it even tastier. 
The next two or three weeks, the meat will fall and dry out. There are two options for bringing meat to readiness. In any case, it is better to wrap the meat with cotton cloth. Further, if the meat “reaches the standard” on the shelf of the refrigerator, then it must be additionally wrapped in paper, tied with twine and put on ripening. It is better to check the meat a couple of times a week, if necessary, changing the wet cloth and paper. In a couple of weeks it will be possible to hold the first tasting.
There is a second way, faster and more radical. A piece of meat is wrapped in a cloth, or a bag is made from it with an overcast seam and a piece is placed inside and hung on the door of the upper cabinet or on the edge of the hood above the gas stove in the kitchen. If lunch and dinner are cooked on the stove every day and the oven is turned on several times a week to make bread or pastries for tea, then this will be quite enough so that in a week you can have gatherings over a piece of amazing jerky! The warm, dry air rising up while the stove is on will help the meat dry out more quickly.
If the house has an electric dryer for vegetables and fruits, then after a week of pickling in the refrigerator beef jerky can be cut into slices and dried on wire racks for several hours at 40-60 degrees.
You can serve such dried meat with dried or pickled spicy fruits, tomatoes, as well as with sauces based on sweet mustard. is obligatory, and a bottle of red wine will only decorate the meal of real gourmets.
cook jerky home is much easier than it might seem at first glance. There are quite a few ways, they all differ in the duration of pickling, drying and the thickness of the pieces. Consider the most practical cured meat at home.
You can dry pork, beef, lamb, veal and even venison.
Among some northern indigenous peoples, venison is cured over a fire, without the use of pre-marination. Cut into large pieces, about 3 cm thick. In this case, a large piece is obtained, as it were, with holes. A wooden frame is being constructed from sticks, under which there will be a small fire. At one time, you can wither about 10 large pieces of venison. You can't cook too much at one time. Pieces are abundantly sprinkled with spices, the main thing is to salt them well. A small fire is lit. Juniper is placed on it, thanks to which the meat will acquire a special aroma. Grass is placed on top of the fire to bring down the fire and leave hot coals, on which the actual fire takes place. curing meat. On the fire, it is dried for several hours until fully cooked. Then you can remove and put away for storage. Dried venison can be stored all winter in a cool, dry place without refrigeration.
AT modern conditions more commonly used curing meat with pre-marination. There are many special dryers with which you can cook cured meat at home, but if there is no such dryer, then you can use the following recipes.
Recipe one. First, a brine is prepared, about 1 liter of water per 0.5 kg of meat. Bring the water to a boil, add salt, a little sugar, 1 tablespoon of black and red pepper, black peppercorns and bay leaf. Boil the brine a little, then cool, remove the bay leaf. The meat must be washed, cut into medium pieces and put in brine for 5 hours at room temperature. Then we put it in the refrigerator for a period of about three days. After 3 days, you need to remove it from the brine, put it under a press so that it can drain. We rub with black and red pepper on all sides, if you wish, you can take other spices. Seasoned meat should be wrapped in clean cheesecloth and refrigerated in a covered container for about 6 days. After 6 days you can start meat curing, re-processing it with spices. It must be hung in a dry and warm place. If you are going to hang it on an open balcony, then be sure to wrap it in clean gauze, this will get rid of insect attacks. In about a week, the meat will be ready to eat. Store best in the refrigerator (can be stored for up to three months).
Second recipe. The meat should be taken in one large piece, about 30 cm long, generously seasoned with seasonings and laid out in a narrow form. For 1 kg, the following seasonings are needed: salt 40 gr., sugar 20 gr., 10 gr. black pepper, preferably coarsely ground, 10 gr. juniper and 6-7 bay leaves. Cover with cling film, press on top with a plank and refrigerate for at least one week. Press down on top of the plank with some kind of load so that the juice comes out of the meat. The juice must be drained every two days while it is in the refrigerator. Remove and dry after a week. You can wipe it with a paper towel, season it again. If the refrigerator is large, then the meat can be tied with a rope and hung. If there is no space, then simply put it on a wire rack and refrigerate. It is not necessary to cover, it should dry and dry, turn over every two days. In the fridge the meat is cured no more than one to three weeks. When ready, it can be wrapped in paper and stored in the refrigerator. With this method of preparation, the shelf life is not more than a month.
