One of our favorite family traditions, that has resulted from harvesting game, is making our own jerky. My in laws bought us a dehydrator a few years back and after a trip to the library for recipes and gleaning advice from veteran jerky makers, we mixed and dehydrated until we ‘batched’ our own good flavored venison jerky.

It is one of the most satisfying treats, albeit it is also the toughest little meat snack around. One popular greasy round jerky stick is promoted by a wrestling super star, another outdoor personality endorses the well-known thin strips of jerky in a re-closeable bag.

Commercial jerky comes sliced, peppered and pressed into pieces of smoky flavor and other favorites available over the counter wherever we buy groceries and snacks. Usually we find it is made of beef and other domestic meats. Specialty vendors offer everything from alligator to ox meat varieties. For those who do not appreciate wild game consider making flavored strips or rolls of beef jerky.

Venison and other wild game jerkys offer great flavors that cannot be reproduced with flavorings. For wild game hunters the joy of making your own jerky after the harvest is just a part of the experience. The only problem is deciding weather to slice the meat into thin strips or grind up the meat for dispensing with a jerky gun. Sliced jerky meat is tougher to chew and the other is just a bit chewy.

Dehydrators and accessories can make the whole experience easier. Eastman Outdoors makes a terrific jerky gun that works well for home use. It is a heavy duty plastic that holds up to repeated use and cleaning. There are also stainless steel jerky guns that are likely more expensive. Dehydrators come in all shapes and sizes, I suggest that you buy the largest dehydrator that you can afford. Also some of the newer dehydrators house the motor on top so that the greasy drippings that are lost during the drying process do not ‘gum up the works’ of the machine. Encased stainless steel oven type dehydrators are more expensive and hold more meat for larger jerky making. They are easier to clean and the units even work outside. These are the ovens that offer the user the option to use wood chips for that true smoked flavor.

Marinade or smoke, might be another question for the do it yourself jerky snacker. Smoke flavoring mixes right into the meat. Smoke biscuits and wood chips permeate the meat as you dehydrate it. A marinade is added to flavor the raw venison before it is dehydrated and after several hours will absorb the fullness of the marinade flavor. You can use a vacuum sealer/ canister to speed up the marinating flavor process.

Batching out a great recipe might very well be a trial of errors without a proven recipe or premixed packets. Recipe books and mixes offer choices of flavor that can be mixed into the meat that would otherwise be tasteless and bland after it is dried.

Hot or not, jerky that is spiced up with a bit of heat appeals to some. These kinds of full flavor recipes also make great gifts for true jerky fans.

When planning, edible meat snacks or gifting venison jerky for that special season, making a double batch puts one in the freezer for later. The jerky freezes well and can be thawed and repackaged into decorative glass jars or seasonal plastic canisters.

The major outdoor retailers offer one brand or another of jerky cure or seasoning kits for the homemade jerky connoisseur. Happy Harvest is the least expensive complete package. Windsor’s local Amish stores offer a basic meat cure that you can add to your own choice of seasonings to.

Oven jerky requires preparing one quarter inch meat slices that are about four inches long. Marinate meat. Drain on paper towel. Line the bottom rack with foil to catch the drippings. Lay the meat on cookie cooling racks, allowing space around each piece and set onto the middle oven rack. Set the oven for the lowest setting and cook three to four hours, more or less. Open the door occasionally to vent moisture. Meat is done when it is cracked and stringy in appearance.

Allow dehydrated jerky to cool, press additional grease from the meat with a paper towel and leave out to dry for a day before enclosing. Store dried jerky in airtight bags or canisters. Refrigerate jerky if there is a lot of moisture or humidity in the air. Freezing works well if you want to store it indefinitely. Dried meat can absorb moisture again. That was the purpose pioneers had in mind when they dried meat that could be used in stew at a later time.