The packet of seasoning had to be mixed with a curing packet and mixed in water. Nothing too hard there!

I used a London broil that I got on sale at the store and sliced it into 1/4″ strips. I stuffed a Ziploc bag into a large measuring cup so the bag would stay upright while I loaded it. I mixed the cure and seasoning packets with water and put the meat in with it and then squeezed out as much of the air as I could and zipped it shut. It went into the fridge for several hours before I patted the strips down with a paper towel and placed them in the dehydrator.

The meat dehydrated for about five hours and I dabbed at it with a paper towel once or twice during the process to get the oil off the surface as it dried.

When I make it again I’m not going to use one of the packets! The meat itself was fine but the seasoning was pretty bland. I’m going to go with this recipe I found at FoodReference.com next time:

1 1/2 – 2 pounds of lean meat
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon each of black pepper and garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon hickory smoke-flavored salt

Post from: Blisstree

Adventures in Jerky

Thankfully, you can make it at home and these people show us how (they’re all doing the same thing, but you’ll have fun visiting their blogs because they have other dishes you’ll want to try!):

Little Corner of Mine
Tazz in the Kitchen, Singapore
Leisure Cat Forum Thread on Bak Kua
My Zest, Italy
Amy Beh’s recipe in The Star Online
Evan’s Kitchen Ramblings

It’s not the same jerky you buy at those travel centers of course, this is decidedly Asian. But it’s oh-so-good…..

And it’s not exactly the same jerky I loved a child, my aunt who worked in Mindanao always brought us goodies from Cebu and Davao, and one of the things she’d bring were these spicy jerky things, don’t even remember the name now. So when I made bak kua for the kids, I added some cayenne pepper in there for some heat. I’d have barbecued them on the grill after baking, but the winter weather has finally caught up with us, and it’s sixteen degrees outside. Can’t wait for the summer barbecuing season — our friends are sure to enjoy these too!!

Processed, because I wanted that meat as finely ground as possible, to mimic my childhood jerky.

Rolled on the bottom of a baking sheet over wax paper or parchment — to about 1/4 inch thickness — if I weren’t in a hurry I would have tried to make it even thinner. This was then flipped onto another (same sized) baking sheet.

Here it is after baking, 20 minutes at 250 degrees and another 20-30 at 350 degrees. See how much that meat has shrunk? There was some fat rendering, but not much. Mostly your kitchen is filled with hunger-inducing aromas at this point.

And here it is after cutting. I prefer the jagged edged pieces myself. Now all we need is some sunshine so we can put these on the grill. This is sure to be a hit!

Post from: Blisstree

Bak Kua / Bak Kwa / DIY Pork BBQ / Pork Jerky