Hi Cave Buddies!
I have not yet tried making jerky but am thinking about it. Those of you who do this - is it worth it? It seems to me that it might be just as easy to carry a whole porkchop in my pocketbook (LOL with Karen!) as to make/carry dried food. But maybe it is really woth it in terms of flavor, etc? Please give me your opinions. Thanks.
Love,
Polly
Food Drying
Moderators: Rosie, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Food Drying
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
Polly,
In my opinion, the only significant advantage is that you have to eat that pork chop within a matter of hours, to avoid the risk of spoilage, whereas jerky can be carried around for weeks or months, without that risk, (assuming you keep it dry and uncontaminated, of course). There is also a space advantage, since jerky takes up much less space, for the same amount of nutrition.
I would rather eat a fresh pork chop any day, than jerky, but there are times when jerky is just the ticket. At least that's the way I see it.
Love,
Wayne
In my opinion, the only significant advantage is that you have to eat that pork chop within a matter of hours, to avoid the risk of spoilage, whereas jerky can be carried around for weeks or months, without that risk, (assuming you keep it dry and uncontaminated, of course). There is also a space advantage, since jerky takes up much less space, for the same amount of nutrition.
I would rather eat a fresh pork chop any day, than jerky, but there are times when jerky is just the ticket. At least that's the way I see it.
Love,
Wayne
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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moremuscle
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Posts: 706
- Joined: Wed May 25, 2005 6:16 am
- Location: South Carolina
I agree with Wayne - jerky comes in handy for trips in particular. You can make it in advance and easily carry it in your purse - you can snack on it while driving etc.
I don't marinate mine - sometimes it is a little tough, depending on which cut of meat I use. Sometimes I don't dry it quite as hard and it retains a moist and delicious taste and texture but I keep it refrigerated until the day I plan to eat it because I have found that it will grow mold given too much exposure to heat and air.
I found a beef jerky at the HF store that I can eat - WOW! It is more tasty than what I make myself but it is extremely expensive. I paid $6.99 for a bag of it - it is PECAN SMOKED; the name brand I believe was Double B - I will have to double check that.
Like so many other things in life it is just another thing to add variety to the repertoir - perhaps not in itself so earth shattering. Still, it's nice to spice up your life with a treat every now and then.
Love,
Karen
I don't marinate mine - sometimes it is a little tough, depending on which cut of meat I use. Sometimes I don't dry it quite as hard and it retains a moist and delicious taste and texture but I keep it refrigerated until the day I plan to eat it because I have found that it will grow mold given too much exposure to heat and air.
I found a beef jerky at the HF store that I can eat - WOW! It is more tasty than what I make myself but it is extremely expensive. I paid $6.99 for a bag of it - it is PECAN SMOKED; the name brand I believe was Double B - I will have to double check that.
Like so many other things in life it is just another thing to add variety to the repertoir - perhaps not in itself so earth shattering. Still, it's nice to spice up your life with a treat every now and then.
Love,
Karen
Inspired by the paleolithic diet and lifestyle -
living w/o gluten, dairy, soy, corn, and yeast.
living w/o gluten, dairy, soy, corn, and yeast.
Polly
The only experimentation I have done with dehydrated food was before the symptoms of MC appeared. It is easy to find a lot of commercially prepared dried food marketed to backpackers or anyone else going into the wilderness in that they are light weight and need no special care to carry them for weeks. At the time , and I would guess now, they emphasized high carb foods that have been the main stay for physical outdoor exercise . Lots of pasta, dry cheese, dried peas, beans , pancake and pizza mixes that contained dried milk, dried eggs, yeast and all you had to do was add water. All products that are easily dehydrated or are dehydrated already. At the time the dehydrated meats available were so salty that they just created an incredible thirst not always quenchable in the high desert. To say nothing of tough even when rehydrated.
As you might guess, at this point these foods no longer fit my needs for feeling well and I now pack differently for the few trips I do every year. I prepare food beforehand and pack it in small coolers that will fit in a canoe with dry ice and ice just to make sure it does not thaw in the over 100 degree summer heat of the high canyons. It all comes out about the same in that I would have to carry water to rehydrate the food anyway.
I noticed that Loren Cordain’s “The Paleao Diet” he has a spice mix with not salt. Just wonder how well it would work in that historically dried meat has always included a lot of salt. Might work in a dry climate but wonder if it would dry enough to not cause problems in a damp one.
I just find it so easy to carry precooked food in a small cooler when I travel that I don't think much about it anymore.
I would be interested in anyone else’s experience. One of the great things in my life is to change my mind. LOL
Love
Matthew
P.S. Dried fruit is just to intense for me. Either that or I get carried away. So many fruits travel so well that it is not a concern.
The only experimentation I have done with dehydrated food was before the symptoms of MC appeared. It is easy to find a lot of commercially prepared dried food marketed to backpackers or anyone else going into the wilderness in that they are light weight and need no special care to carry them for weeks. At the time , and I would guess now, they emphasized high carb foods that have been the main stay for physical outdoor exercise . Lots of pasta, dry cheese, dried peas, beans , pancake and pizza mixes that contained dried milk, dried eggs, yeast and all you had to do was add water. All products that are easily dehydrated or are dehydrated already. At the time the dehydrated meats available were so salty that they just created an incredible thirst not always quenchable in the high desert. To say nothing of tough even when rehydrated.
As you might guess, at this point these foods no longer fit my needs for feeling well and I now pack differently for the few trips I do every year. I prepare food beforehand and pack it in small coolers that will fit in a canoe with dry ice and ice just to make sure it does not thaw in the over 100 degree summer heat of the high canyons. It all comes out about the same in that I would have to carry water to rehydrate the food anyway.
I noticed that Loren Cordain’s “The Paleao Diet” he has a spice mix with not salt. Just wonder how well it would work in that historically dried meat has always included a lot of salt. Might work in a dry climate but wonder if it would dry enough to not cause problems in a damp one.
I just find it so easy to carry precooked food in a small cooler when I travel that I don't think much about it anymore.
I would be interested in anyone else’s experience. One of the great things in my life is to change my mind. LOL
Love
Matthew
P.S. Dried fruit is just to intense for me. Either that or I get carried away. So many fruits travel so well that it is not a concern.
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annie oakley
- King Penguin
- Posts: 3859
- Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 5:56 pm
My Dad always has been "into" cooking....He cooked every weekend while I was growing up and I had to eat lots of experiments (often Sat. dinner was at 8 or 9 p.m., as he would choose a very labor-intensive dish and start late 
)
I distinctly remember homemade beef jerky - we made it many times - I think we had originally gotten a recipe from the Boy Scouts? Anyways it involved using flank steak, marinating it a long time and I believe cooking it at a very low temp in the oven overnight (we didn't have a food dehydrator). It was delicious - head and shoulders above the store-bought stuff! Quite a bit more tender, for sure! I should look into making some....MMMMM
Mary
P.S. Matthew - I am *totally* with you on the dried fruit - people cannot understand how I can love grapes, but cannot stand raisins
I tolerate dried apricots on the rare occasion, but that's it!!
)I distinctly remember homemade beef jerky - we made it many times - I think we had originally gotten a recipe from the Boy Scouts? Anyways it involved using flank steak, marinating it a long time and I believe cooking it at a very low temp in the oven overnight (we didn't have a food dehydrator). It was delicious - head and shoulders above the store-bought stuff! Quite a bit more tender, for sure! I should look into making some....MMMMM
Mary
P.S. Matthew - I am *totally* with you on the dried fruit - people cannot understand how I can love grapes, but cannot stand raisins
I tolerate dried apricots on the rare occasion, but that's it!!