Venison jerky is a tasty treat that you can make right in the comfort of your home. Jerky is made by removing the moisture from the meat, in effect drying it out. There is no special equipment to purchase to make your own venison jerky. All you need are some simple spices for the marinade, a sharp knife and an oven.
Instructions
1. Remove fat and gristle from the deer shoulder. Use a sharp knife to cut away as much of the fat and gristle from the meat as possible.
2. Cut the deer shoulder into 1/2-inch thick and 1-inch wide strips of meat. It is important that the cuts be made along with the grain (instead of across the grain) for a more tender piece of jerky.
3. Mix the marinade. In a large container add the Worcestershire sauce, salt, black pepper, cider vinegar and brown sugar. Mix ingredients well.
4. Add the sliced deer meat to the container. All the meat must be covered in liquid for proper marinating. Cover the container, place in the refrigerator and marinate for 24 hours. Mix the meat several times during the marinating process.
5. Remove the meat from the container and place them on paper towels and pat dry. If the deer meat is still wet after drying with paper towels let it air dry for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover the bottom rack with heavy duty aluminum foil. The bottom rack will catch all the drippings from the deer meat while it is drying.
7. Lay the strips of deer meat directly on top of the wire rack. Do not cover the rack with foil or place the deer meat on a tray. The meat must have air circulation to dry properly. Prop the oven door open a bit so that moisture can be released from the oven. Deer meat will take approximately 10 hours to dry. Check the meat during the drying process.
Tags: deer meat, bottom rack, container place, deer shoulder, from deer, from meat, gristle from