Monday, February 13, 2012

Jerky or Biltong

Phew what a week last week!  I had to renew my drivers license...and little did I know I would have to retake the two written tests AND the road test! Aaaaahhhhh.  I felt like I was in high school getting my learners all over again!  Now I have to put in a new fuel tank and of course they found something wrong with my fuel pump as well.  Hmmmmm...go figure!  Oh and then I had to go back a few days later to get a new battery.  All the while these things are happening I decided that jerky was the way to cure my headaches.  Of course cooking or really food in general will always be my cure-all, but this week it was jerky!


This is one food that brings back so many memories of my childhood.  Being born in South Africa, I feel like jerky was almost a staple, except it wasn't called jerky.  It was called biltong, which to me is such a nicer, more appetizing name than 'jerky'.  Also Zach, who is a more than a picky eater, loves jerky.  He requested a while ago for me to make him some jerky.  So this long overdue time has come.  Except I am going to call it Nik's Biltong! I am going to make one for Zach that is not spicy and doesn't have a huge flavor profile, I will remind you again that he is soooo hard to cook for.  It will actually have more of a teriyaki flavor than anything else.

Here goes...




Utensitls:


Chef knife
Bowl
Wire rack
Aluminum foil
Sheet pan




Ingredients:


Beef, sliced thin
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1/4 cup worchestershire sauce

1/4 cup molasses
2T of fresh garlic, chopped
1-2T black pepper
1T salt





I used a top round steak. You really want the leanest meat possible as the fat will make the meat go rancid.  Slice it thin, about a 1/4' thick and go across the grain. Combine all the ingredients and let the sliced meat marinate covered, in the fridge for at least 10 hours.  Pull out and rinse off with cold water.  Place on a rack and preferably put that on a foil lined sheet pan.  Put the sheet pan in the oven at 170F and crack the door open.  Let dry in the oven for 1hr, turn the oven off, shut the door and continue to dry for about another hour.  




Voila, you have jerky...biltong!  
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