JTT #1 - Which Brand/Flavor do you prefer, and why?

[vaporlock]

I'm suprised nobody has chimed in with their favorite jerky recipe. The stuff is only slighty more difficult to make than oatmeal. My Mom used to roll up a flank steak and stick it in the freezer for an hour or so, until it got stiff, but not frozen. Then she'd slice it about 1/8" thick and marinate it in water, salt, lottsa pepper, soy sauce, brown sugar, a little liquid smoke flavoring. The next day, she'd lay it out directly on the top oven rack (with a pan to catch dripping on the lower oven rack). She set the oven at 200F and let it go for a couple of hours until it had the right texture.

Yummy!!!! I'll see if I can get her recipe.

I've made it several times myself with fantastic results (I've lost the recipe), but then after a couple of days, I get all paranoid about the fact that my homemade stuff isn't full of chemicals and preservatives and quit eating it. My step-son once devoured about 1/4lb of my homemade jerky weeks after I made it. He didn't die and said that it tasted great, so I assume that it was okay.

As for store jerky - Pemmican Peppered is about my favorite.

[Zubivka]

On 2002-11-12 13:42, Redwolf wrote:
I think every culture has something that makes people from other cultures stare and say "you eat THAT????" Just consider blood pudding, for example. Or steak and kidney pie. Or laver bread. Or (God help us!) haggis. For us Americans, it's things like deep-dish Chicago pizza, red-hot Texas chili and, of course, jerky

Redwolf

Here it's a big different. Like the local specialty hereround is buckwheat pancakes stuffed with chitterlings. The real farm thing, 100% natural, 0% kosher. So, what's so different, you ask ? Well, I wonder "what, WE eat THAT ?". Look at it, think it's made of it ; cut it open, and wish it were… So, when visiting, nevermind frog legs, snails and the kin, these are OK, just another pretext to eat butter n' garlic

Now I never believed (or verified) "you Americans" being so univocal about food. It's reputed bland and W. Allen's deflavorizing machine comes in mind. However, I've had some pretty hot fish (kinda hairy, too ! maybe tis cat after all) in South, and the stinkiest cheese I ever met was Northern Californian. Don't remember the name, sorry, but it did outdo us Froggies, it could race the 1/4 mile--still stand from the fridge--way faster

[Bloomfield]

On 2002-11-11 12:35, Redwolf wrote:
Well, being a vegetarian, my tastes are probably somewhat different that those of most (What? You didn't know there was vegetarian jerky?). I think my favorite is Cajun Jerky's "Hot Pastrami" style. My least favorite is anything made by the Tofurky people...yuck!

Redwolf

Vegetarian jerky is the way to go, definitely.

[Michael Sullivan]

I don't get vegetarian meatlike products. What's the point? Everytime someone says, "Hey, you need to try THIS veggie burger--it's different--it's good--it's almost like meat!" first I wonder why they don't just have a hamburger and second I get ready for disappointment. I always am. I have yet to see one that, if not totally nasty, comes anywhere close to actual meatlikeness. Same goes for veggie sausage, jerky, etc.

I don't mind vegetables (much). [Okay I admit that's not always been true. I used to tell people that I had an allergic reaction to anything containing chlorophyll.] But if I don't want or can't have meat I like fruit or peanut butter or a salad or something. Fake meat is like those glass fruits my great-grandmother used to put out on her table.

I just don't get it.

[markv]

On 2002-11-11 15:39, Cyfiawnder wrote:
If you want REALY good Jerky then you have to make friends with a Bow Hunter, and then you may be able to get your hands on some Venison Jerky.... MMM MMM now we're talking. Take the best beef Jerky you've ever had multiply that Taste times 10, and subtract 75% of the fat.

I'd have to chime in with a whole-hearted agreement with Cyfiawnder. Deer or elk are definitly the way to go. Back when I used to bowhunt for deer a good portion of the meat always went to jerky for co-workers and freinds.

[Mack.Hoover]

Loren, You do have a dry sense of humor!

I don't buy jerkey of any kind.
A little too pricey is what I find.
Home made jerky from any meat,
Dried in the oven on low heat,
Soak in salt, black pepper, and wine.
Okay, terryaki is also fine.

I like Spam sliced thin and fried in a skillet. I'm not too fond of tofu hotdogs, though.
Mack

[serpent]

(chorus)
Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam,
Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam,
...

Sorry, Monty Python strikes again!

Bill

[Redwolf]

On 2002-11-13 10:04, Michael Sullivan wrote:
I don't get vegetarian meatlike products. What's the point? Everytime someone says, "Hey, you need to try THIS veggie burger--it's different--it's good--it's almost like meat!" first I wonder why they don't just have a hamburger and second I get ready for disappointment. I always am. I have yet to see one that, if not totally nasty, comes anywhere close to actual meatlikeness. Same goes for veggie sausage, jerky, etc.

I don't mind vegetables (much). [Okay I admit that's not always been true. I used to tell people that I had an allergic reaction to anything containing chlorophyll.] But if I don't want or can't have meat I like fruit or peanut butter or a salad or something. Fake meat is like those glass fruits my great-grandmother used to put out on her table.

I just don't get it.

It has to do with WHY people give up meat. Relatively few people give up meat because they don't like it (it does happen, but it's far from a primary cause). Most vegetarians give up eating meat either for ethical reasons, out of concern for the environment, or out of concern for their health.

Most vegetarians, at least in the West, were not raised so. There are still animal-based foods that they miss. Meat analogs can make the transition easier for them...whatever their reason for embracing a plant-based diet. And a lot of analogs are d*mned close...I've had omnivores at my table who, after tucking into my veggie tacos, have stopped and asked "but what are YOU going to eat?"

Now, I have to say that, when I first became a vegetarian, meat analogs weren't readily available. I learned to cook as though meat had never been invented, and I think I became a better cook for it. And, frankly, most of the time that's the way I prefer to eat. The reason I quipped about vegetarian jerky being "as close as I can tell" is, after 15 years eating that way, I have no idea how meat tastes (all I know is I can't stand the smell or the look of it). When I eat something like vegetarian jerky, or a veggie burger, I eat it because I like the way IT tastes...not because it resembles "the real thing" (in fact, in most cases, the analogs I like best are the least like "real" meat...for example, my favorite veggie burgers are grain based, and don't resemble hamburger in any way, shape or form, other than they work well on a bun with mustard).

A bit of trivia...the first meat analogs were made more than 500 years ago, by Shaolin monks in China. If you want to taste some REALLY authentic-tasting fake meats, find a Chinese vegetarian restaurant...some of that stuff is so scary real, I can't eat it!!

Redwolf

[Michael Sullivan]

I understand the easy-transition business. What doesn't make sense (to me) is to keep at the fake stuff permanently. If you want to get away from the real stuff wouldn't you want to dispense with the forgeries?

I say this mostly in the context of having in high school spent a great deal of time around Seventh-Day Adventists, most of whom had been vegetarians all their lives, but who seemed fanatical about fake meats. The idea of eating real meat horrified many of them but they traded fake sausage brands eagerly. It always seemed so abnormal.

[serpent]

With the exception of the appendix, humans (in fact, most large primates) have the most generalized digestive systems in the mammalian world. We can eat almost anything and survive on it. The idea that, because one is a vegetarian (even vegan), one consumes no animal matter, is a fantasy. I don't think I need to go into detail.

That said, Redwolf, I understand your aversion to meat, because as a child, I had a (completely non-medical) aversion to eggs. I didn't like them in any form. The thought of eating them made me physically ill. Then one day, at about age ten, I awoke and went downstairs to the kitchen, where my Mom was fixing breakfast for my Dad -- fried eggs. Something "clicked", and I asked for one. It was wonderful! Been eatin' 'em ever since! But I still have no satisfactory explanation for my early dislike of them.

I guess the bottom line is "different strokes for different folks". Which brings me all round the houses back to jerky -- Has anyone tried it with salmon, I wonder? I love lox, and the idea of a similar taste in a jerky is a real turn-on!

Cheers,
Bill Whedon

[Eldarion]

If any of you ever head to Asian (esp. South East Asian) countries with a significant Chinese population, you absolutely have to try what they called BBQ pork ("rou gan" or "bak gua"). Comes in thin square slices and is a colour slightly redder than beef jerky. Its also seasoned with spices and etc. Tastes great and surely will never leave you wanting for jerky anymore!

[Redwolf]

On 2002-11-15 09:39, Michael Sullivan wrote:
I understand the easy-transition business. What doesn't make sense (to me) is to keep at the fake stuff permanently. If you want to get away from the real stuff wouldn't you want to dispense with the forgeries?

I say this mostly in the context of having in high school spent a great deal of time around Seventh-Day Adventists, most of whom had been vegetarians all their lives, but who seemed fanatical about fake meats. The idea of eating real meat horrified many of them but they traded fake sausage brands eagerly. It always seemed so abnormal.

I guess the only answer to this is, why not? If one enjoys the taste of a product, then one should eat it, regardless of what it may be intended to resemble. As I said, one gives up meat for many reasons, but dislike generally isn't among them...there's certainly no ethical hypocrisy involved for vegetarians in eating something that looks or tastes somewhat like meat but is made from soy beans or wheat gluten.

And Serpent...Most vegetarians are quite aware that it's virtually impossible to completely avoid animal products, just as it's impossible to completely avoid walking down the street without occasionally stepping on an ant. Knowing that doesn't mean that one go out of one's way to step on ants, however. We do what we can...whether our goal is to minimize animal suffering, human suffering, our own health or that of the environment. My personal philosophy is "every little bit helps."

Sorry this thread keeps coming back to vegetarianism...that certainly wasn't my intention when I mentioned that I like vegetarian jerky!

Redwolf

[C4]

EEwwww beef jerky is gross..My husband loves the peppered kind. I always tell him its like eating scabs. And it makes his breath stink..Sorry to be such a party pooper.

[brianormond]

-Some meat "substitutes" are tasty in their own right, regardless. The wurst ones (groannn) IMHO are those made to taste like meat. The best, OTOH, taste like decent ingredients put together well with good seasoning, with their own taste. This doesn't make it meat, but does make it good, whether in a bun or not.

[dakotamouse]

Hmmmm, am I the only one who noticed in raindogs post that the picture of Ted Nugent's jerky, the one listed as all beef, has him riding a buffalo? That would not be beef. So, I wonder, just what IS in that package. Buffalo, by the way is delicious. Just made a fantastic stir fry with some tonight.