Oh deer

[Prof. Salt]

Saturday I asked Matthew if he wanted to head out for an evening hunt to get a second deer, since he's going through the jerky supply pretty rapidly. He wanted to go, so he sat with Grandpa in our best location while I headed back to hunt another area. Winds were blowing 18-25 and it was drizzling but deer started to move. An hour later I had a doe eating in the road 180 yards away who kept looking into the brush. As luck would have it, I was eventually able to pick out a set of antlers watching her from deep cover. I had tried to arrow this big bodied cull deer a week earlier at 25 yards, but at the shot he dropped so fast that I barely grazed the top of his back. Now he was more wary of deer blinds (but not quite wary enough). Tonight I had the rifle, and after a few minutes he stepped part way out of the cover at 190 yards. All I needed was to see his shoulder, and when he offered it, I poked a 308 round through his lungs. I walked down and dragged him into some tall grass near the road, and covered him with grass cuttings, hoping he wouldn't spook any deer on the road later. Closer to dark I watched a really nice dark horned 8 point tending a doe out in an overgrown field. For the longest time he was laying down watching her, and all I could see was the tips of his antlers behind a bush. He finally got up and followed her through a right of way, and man I was tempted to tag out! He was a 3 or 4 year old with heavy body and dark, wide antlers. Just before dark I heard a shot from my boy's direction. I like that Matthew is hunting for meat and doesn't much about trophies. He wants jerky, and is willing to go out and get it. He was looking to shoot anything with horns, and as luck would have it a little buck from our cull list showed up. With two bucks on the ground we had work to do! I quartered my deer while Mattew helped Grandpa fill feeders, and then I walked him through skinning and quartering his own deer. I love watching him take more and more interest in not only killing game, but in cleaning and processing it too.

Yesterday I boned out both deer and packed all the meat on ice to drain one more day. I guess tonight will be our time to package lots of meat - Matthew's already asking if we can go ahead and start marinating a batch of jerky ...as if I could say no

[Mythman]

Nice trip Glenn.....................love that deer jerky.

My jerky reciepe is an old German reciepe and is 22 hours labor intensive (boning, slicing, marinating, cooking and smoking). Out of a Hill Country deer, I would only get 4 gallon bags of jerky and my two sons use to go through two bags, just on the drive to the lease. I couldn't keep up with them!

Your post brought back good memories................thanks for sharing.

[Prof. Salt]

Yep, he's a red meat eating machine. My BIL gave me six summer sausages made from his last deer, so I hid them in the freezer. Matthew found them and now there is one. ONE. How he didn't get sick is beyond me... and he is officially forbidden from eating the lone survivor.

I discovered a marinade at HEB called Allegro. It's delicious and one bottle marinates a one gallon ziploc of cut meat so all I have to do is put it in the dehydrator and 12-18 hours later we've got some high quality jerky!

[Bigrock]

Great day hunting! Sure is frustrating to spend the time it takes to make jerky and then watch the chilluns walk in and devour it in a sitting. I make three recipes when I make a batch. One with no spice for the wife, one spiced with black pepper for the average teenage glutton and one with habanero just to be sure I get some jerky.

[Prof. Salt]

I like that idea, but he enjoys the hot stuff at least as much as me. For now he's got a good supply of his own so maybe I can sneak in and make a batch between his...

[Copperfish]

Good trip! I like using the fiesta jalapeño salt on my venison hams. No smoke just a clean cut and a slow dehydrator session. Looking forward to restocking my supply soon.

[Yaklash]

Great day hunting! Sure is frustrating to spend the time it takes to make jerky and then watch the chilluns walk in and devour it in a sitting. I make three recipes when I make a batch. One with no spice for the wife, one spiced with black pepper for the average teenage glutton and one with habanero just to be sure I get some jerky.

What a father goes through........

[Thinwater skinner]

My jerky reciepe is an old German reciepe

Hey Mythman, is your German receipe made from the larger muscle groups and cut into larger hunks of meat. Then poke a hole through one end and tie string loop. Then string the meat on a cedar stave in the smoke house? If so, we would then leave for two week to smoke and cure. What part of Germany did you learn your trade? I grew up in the Tx. Hill country and learned from my Dad and family friends. Have a great day.

[Mythman]

My jerky reciepe is an old German reciepe

Hey Mythman, is your German receipe made from the larger muscle groups and cut into larger hunks of meat. Then poke a hole through one end and tie string loop. Then string the meat on a cedar stave in the smoke house? If so, we would then leave for two week to smoke and cure. What part of Germany did you learn your trade? I grew up in the Tx. Hill country and learned from my Dad and family friends. Have a great day.

Some things are the same but some things are different................my receipe come from Hill Country Germans............here it be:

Deer Jerky Recipe

• Cut Meat (try to keep it thin, thin, thin and cut all fat and whatever off)
• Put meat tenderizer and seasoning salt (I like the Cajun spicy kind of seasoning salt) on meat and leave over night in the refrigerator
• Combine:
o Water (enough to cover the meat)
o ½ cup Worchester sauce
o ¼ cup vinegar
o ½ cup of brown sugar
o 1 cup of curing salt


• Marinate meat in above mixture over night in the refrigerator
• String (Only string if you are going to smoke and dry with wood)
• Dip meat on string in hot boiling water or if no string dip into boiling water for 5 min’s per batch
• Roll in coarse mixture of coarse pepper and cornmeal (I just sprinkle coarse pepper on ½ of the batch……Grandkids can’t handle the pepper)
• Smoke to desired consistency or just smoke for a couple of hours
• If you don’t smoke and dry at the same time, dry in a dehydrator to desired consistency.

The length of time to smoke and dry depends on size of smoker, temp of wood fire and outside temperature. Usually in South Texas it only takes 24-48 hours to smoke and dry.

This is a very labor intensive method but the results are out of this world.

[Thinwater skinner]

My jerky reciepe is an old German reciepe

Hey Mythman, is your German receipe made from the larger muscle groups and cut into larger hunks of meat. Then poke a hole through one end and tie string loop. Then string the meat on a cedar stave in the smoke house? If so, we would then leave for two week to smoke and cure. What part of Germany did you learn your trade? I grew up in the Tx. Hill country and learned from my Dad and family friends. Have a great day.

Some things are the same but some things are different................my receipe come from Hill Country Germans............here it be:

Deer Jerky Recipe

• Cut Meat (try to keep it thin, thin, thin and cut all fat and whatever off)

This is why you can get your jerky smoked in 48 hours.

• Put meat tenderizer and seasoning salt (I like the Cajun spicy kind of seasoning salt) on meat and leave over night in the refrigerator

We only use large grain salt and course black pepper for the seasoning. Remember Germans are very tight with their money.

• Combine:
o Water (enough to cover the meat)
o ½ cup Worchester sauce
o ¼ cup vinegar
o ½ cup of brown sugar
o 1 cup of curing salt

We do not marinate the meat but the deer is hung in cooler or outside in cold weather to drain the blood from the meat for two to three days before the boning process starts.

• Marinate meat in above mixture over night in the refrigerator
• String (Only string if you are going to smoke and dry with wood)

this is where the large muscle groups are cut into large chunks and then smoking takes two weeks with very low fire in the smoke house. The meat is really about six feet above the fire so heat is not hot on the meat.

• Dip meat on string in hot boiling water or if no string dip into boiling water for 5 min’s per batch
• Roll in coarse mixture of coarse pepper and cornmeal (I just sprinkle coarse pepper on ½ of the batch……Grandkids can’t handle the pepper)
• Smoke to desired consistency or just smoke for a couple of hours
• If you don’t smoke and dry at the same time, dry in a dehydrator to desired consistency.

The length of time to smoke and dry depends on size of smoker, temp of wood fire and outside temperature. Usually in South Texas it only takes 24-48 hours to smoke and dry.

This is a very labor intensive method but the results are out of this world.

Thanks for sharing. Your system is a very good one for the quick fix. Try the larger chunks one time with maybe two pieces. When finished the meat should be firm but not hard. Then slice across the grain if the meat in very thin slices. The jerky will almost melt in your mouth, if you have removed the seinue fibers before smoking.

Good Luck and have a great holiday/ Christmas...... Happy fishing too!!!!!