Cutting, Cooking, & Recipes

I'm not certain how many of you already make your own jerky and have your own process, but I thought I'd share mine for those that want to attempt it. My family grew up with venison jerky courtesy of my paternal grandfather and father. Their process was pretty straight forward and simple. They would cut strips of meat with the grain, season with salt and pepper, and occasionally corn meal, and hang them over metal wires/lines in a room of a storage building. This meant that the temperature had to be low enough that the meat wouldn't spoil and there wouldn't be any flies. This process could take a week or more before the jerky was ready depending on the temp and humidity. After I got older and had children of my own, I found that three boys could eat a lot of jerky and decided to carry …

This isn’t my recipe, nor is it new, but I’ve only recently been turned on to it. It is really simple and ridiculously good.

First, you start with a willing specimen to be the protein source. I chose a front shoulder from this sow I killed the day before this past season opened.

Next, gather the ingredients…

1 pack of dry ranch seasoning mix

1 pack of Au Jus mix

Some of y'all are probably old hands at it but this was my first go-round. Whop-um biscuits have always been so convenient that I never tried to make homemade biscuits until this week. The shelves were pretty bare so that helped motivate me.

Consistency in size is overrated. 😁

An iold friend makes jelly from wild vines her husband takes care of through the year.

This is my aunt's recipe. It's nothing extravagant or super secret but I bet you can't make it as good as she does. 😁 She lived in Louisiana for over 45 years and claims to be "part coon-ass" so it's ok to use the term for any overly-sensitive types. This makes enough for 4 but I usually cook for more than that so I'll increase it accordingly.

-2 chicken thighs, boiled and shredded. Thighs are non-negotiable! There ain't no flavor in breast meat or canned chicken. You can add canned chicken if more meat is desired but it CAN'T be your chicken base. Save the broth.

-1 cup Tony's roux mixed with water...yes, she uses it proudly. Making your own isn't worth the hassle and Tony has his roux down. Follow the directions and DON'T BURN IT! If you burn it, start over. The roux is the base to g…