Retreat 2012 Pork Jerky!

Oct
8

Post by community member:

When preparing for the 2012 Chickens in the Road Retreat dehydrating classes, Kellyb and I emailed the attendees in advance to see what they were looking for, in particular, from the class. One of the most common answers – jerky! I was not surprised, since jerky was the number one reason that many people purchased dehydrators for years – and was the first dehydrated food that I prepared in my Ronco dehydrator over 25 years ago. In my case, it was deer jerky.

Well, we couldn’t dehydrate wild game in a public venue, even if we could obtain some, and beef has taken a tremendous hike in price this summer due to drought and grain shortages. What to do?

Why pork, of course!

Whole pork loin has remained stable for years at around $2.00 per pound. At least half of each loin is very lean – perfect for jerky. I had the butcher cut the best end of the loin into 1 1/2″ chops which I froze, then partially thawed for classes. Partially frozen meat is definitely the easiest to slice up for jerky. Attendees sliced the pork about 1/8″ thick after all fat was trimmed away, then soaked the meat briefly in a marinade that they mixed up. The marinated meat strips were stretched out nice and flat on the mesh screens of an Excalibur dehydrator and the machine set to 155 degrees. Most of the jerky was ready to eat in 5 hours – and it was DELICIOUS! It was left in the dehydrator overnight to ensure that it was all ready to eat or store. Here’s the recipe if you’d like to try what we accomplished – it’s a keeper!

pork-jerky

Pork Jerky

1/3 lb. brown sugar
3 cups soy sauce
½ cup liquid smoke
½ tsp. lemon pepper
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
Lean pork loin, sliced 1/8” thick x 1” to 2” wide, all fat removed

Mix ingredients in bowl and let stand while you are cutting the meat. Slice pork loin. (Partially frozen is easiest to thinly slice.) Place meat into the bowl of marinade and let stand about 10 minutes after stirring well to cover all pieces equally. Drain briefly in sieve or colander. Place on mesh trays and dehydrate at 155 to 160 degrees. Drying time is about 5 to 8 hours with a motorized-fan dehydrator. Jerky is finished dehydrating when it nearly snaps when bent.

Get the handy printable and save it to your recipe box: Pork Jerky

Do you have a recipe post or kitchen-related story to share on the Farm Bell blog?
See Farm Bell Blog Submissions for information, the latest blog contributor giveaway, and to submit a post.

Want to subscribe to the Farm Bell blog? Go here.

What can you enter to win this month? Click here.

Comments

  1. kellyb says:

    Dede,

    You are absolutely right that this is a keeper. I made jerky last weekend and had to hide it from Earnie or there would have been none left. My son-in-law came to visit yesterday and tried some. I was surprised when I couldn’t find the bag later in the evening but then it dawned on me, he had taken it with him. I guess I know what to give him for a Christmas present!

    Good stuff.

  2. Debbie says:

    Can’t wait to try this! I’ve never made jerky before but I tried it at the retreat and it was awesome! Anyone ever made it before using beef tongue? Talk about LEAN! I have a couple in the freezer…think I might try it!

    -Deb

  3. kellyb says:

    Debbie,

    Let us know how that works for you if you try it. Maybe that’s one cut of beef we could afford.

  4. grammieearth says:

    dede

    I make jerky often, usually beef but sometimes I get lucky and am gifted with a cut of deer or moose. I usually soak my meat in my marinade for 24 hours before dehydrating. It’s delicious but now I wonder if it would be just as good if I only soak it for ten minutes. Have you tried soaking for a longer time? Does it make a difference? Does pork soak up faster? I guess I’m wondering if I can do this in one of those last minute situations, and expect the same delicious outcome 🙂
    I will try the pork jerky as soon as I can get my dehydrator back from my DIL! She’s on a kraizy apple dehydrating mission…except the kids eat them faster than she can dry them!!!

    Thanks, Pam

  5. Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:

    Pam, I have done it all ways LOL. Short marinade and 2 day marinade. It’s all good. Stronger, saltier flavor with the long version. The short marinade on the pork is terific! Haven’t tried long marinating time for it though. My jerky has been primarily venison for years or beef from the freezer that needs a flavor boost.

    dede

Add Your Thoughts



Search Farm Bell Recipes

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
All Recipes
Appetizers & Snacks
Bagels
Bean Soups
Beans
Beans, Grains & Rice
Beef
Beverages
Biscuits
Blog
Boiling Water Bath
Bread Machine
Breads
Breakfast
Brownies
Budget
BWB Condiments
BWB Fruits
BWB Jams, Jellies, Butters & Preserves
BWB Marmalades & Conserves
BWB Other
BWB Pickles & Pickled Stuff
BWB Salsas
BWB Sauces
BWB Tomatoes & Combos
BWB Vegetables
Cakes
Candy
Canning
Casserole
Casserole
Casserole
Cereals
Cheese
Cheesecakes
Chilis
Chowders
Cobblers
Coffee Cake
Cold Remedies
Condiments
Cookery 101
Cookies & Bars
Cream Soups
Crisps
Crock Pot
Crowd-Size
Crusts
Cupcakes
Cure & Smoke
Dairy
Dehydrating
Desserts
Diabetic
Dips
Doughnuts
Dressings
Egg Dishes
Eggs
Entertaining
Fat-Free
Featured
Fermenting
Fillings
Fish
Food Photography
Freezing
Frostings & Icings
Frozen
Fruit Breads
Fruit Cakes
Fruit Salads
Fruits
Gift Basket Goodies
Giveaways
Gluten-Free
Goat Cheeses
Gourmet
Gravies
Griddles
Grill-Outdoor Cooking
Hard Cheeses
Herbs & Spices
Holiday
Homemade Cheese
How To
Ice Creams
Ingredients
Ingredients & Mixes
Jell-O
Jell-O Salads
Kid-Friendly
Kitchen Gadgets
Kosher
Lactose-Free
Lamb
Leftovers
Lettuce & Greens
Low-Carb
Low-Fat
Low-Sodium
Main Dish
Marinades
Meat Salads
Meet the Cook
Muffins
Non-Dairy
Old-Fashioned
One Dish Meal
Other Breads
Other Breakfast
Other Condiments
Other Dairy
Other Desserts
Other Main Dish
Other Salads
Other Side Dishes
Other Soups & Stews
Other Special Diets
Pasta
Pasta
Pasta Salads
Pastries
PC Beef
PC Chicken
PC Meats
PC Other
PC Poultry
PC Soups & Stews
PC Veggies
Pets
Pickling
Pies
Pizza
Pizza Crusts
Pork
Potato Salads
Potatoes
Potluck
Poultry
Presentation
Preserving
Pressure Canning
Pressure Cooker
Puddings & Custards
Recipe Requests
Relishes & Chutneys
Rolls
Rubs
Salads
Salads
Salsas
Sandwiches
Sauces
Scones
Seafood
Side Dishes
Soft Cheeses
Soups & Stews
Sourdough
Special Diets
Special Occasions
Steam Juicer
Stocks
Stuffings
Substitutions
Syrups
Tarts
Tips & Tricks
Tortillas & Pitas
Using FBR
Vegan
Vegetable Breads
Vegetable Salads
Vegetables
Vegetarian
Wild Game
Yeast Breads

Browse Tags

4th-of-July American Amish Asian bake-sale cast-iron-skillet chocolate Christmas Christmas Cookie comfort-food Country-Style Cuban Dutch Easter easy egg-free Fall Filipino Finnish flowers garden German Greek Halloween healthy holiday Italian jam make-ahead Mennonite Mexican microwave no-bake no-cook no-knead picnic Polish quick sausage soup Southern spicy Spring Summer Tex-Mex Thai Thanksgiving Traditional vanilla zucchini


If you would like to help support the overhead costs of this website, you may donate. Thank you!



Thanks for being part of our community!