8/12/2019 Drying Meat...by Tom Baith

1/1

A Backwoods Home Anthology

190 The Best of the First Two Years

September on Blue Mountain

Wasnt it a perfect Sunday?

You mowed our long, sloping lawn.

Sweat pored off youin rivulets

onto the arm of your chair.

I baked steamy pies

peach and fruity-peach

with leftover apples and grapes.

Not to waste them.

One would have thought

we were leftovers too,

but at sixty-nine you are strong.

So am I.

Learning to live on a mountain

close to snakes and rain,

inside clouds and freezing winds,

is nothing compared with

inner storms and losses

both of us have faced already

in other times and places.

Now is then and now will be.

Here the copperhead lurks

in the undergrowth

behind the next log.

But you in high boots

are prepared with your stick,

and I with my watchful eyes.

The groceries run out.

I gather up leftovers:

nothing is wasted really.

Not old apples nor grapes.

Not your first love, nor mine.

Not divorces, nor deaths.

They all come home to us daily

in the forest,in dreams,

in early morning stillness,

in misted clouds

hanging over our mountain.

Marilyn Smith MarshLinden, VA

By Tom Baith

The storing of preserved food is not ahuman phenomenon. Insects and cer-tain mammals were storing naturallydried nuts and grains long beforehumans came on the scene.

All foods deteriorate when keptbeyond their natural life, which mightbe anything from a few hours to a yearor more. Foods are under constantattack from microorganisms, and theirown enzymes.

Preservation methods are designed to

minimize spoilage or preferablyremove it entirely. Until the 19th cen-tury, and the discovery of microorgan-isms, methods of preservation hadbeen discovered primarily by chance.

After Pasteur demonstrated the rolethat microorganisms play in thedecomposition of food, progress inpreservation techniques became sys-tematic and advanced rapidly. Themost widely used methods of preserva-tion today include beat sterilizationand chemical preservatives. Many ofthe old methods of preservation, such

as smoking, are only retained for theflavor they impart.

Salting was a traditional method ofpreserving which involved applyingsalt either as a brine or dry salting.Microorganisms need water to survive.The application of salt preventsmicroorganisms from getting waterand inactivates them. If you useenough salt it will stop virtually allorganisms as well as inhibit the actionof enzymes. In the home processing ofmeat or fish, dry salting is recommend-ed over brining. Brining requires more

carefully controlled temperatures thandry salting and the flavor is less desir-able. Dry salting is a relatively simpleprocess. Rub the surface of the meat tobe cured with a combination of salt,saltpeter and sugar, then allow it tocure for several days.

Drying is the oldest form of foodpreservation. It works because dried

food is not spoiled by yeasts, molds, orbacteria as long as the amount of water

in the meat is not enough to supportlife processes. Even highly perishableitems like fish and shellfish can be suc-cessfully preserved by drying.

Unfortunately, there are few climatesthat lend themselves ideally to drying.In deserts, the relative humidity is typi-cally low and makes for an ideal cli-mate for drying. In areas of higherhumidity the item may need to beplaced directly in the sun. Rapid dry-ing is necessary to forestall decompo-sition. More certain results areobtained by purchasing a heat drying

system that can be easily regulated.Smoking is usually an adjunct to

salting and drying. A layer of chemi-cals with antiseptic quality cover thesurface of the meat or fish. Smokinghas little importance as a method ofpreservation today.

Jerky is a product of salting, dryingor smoking or any combination there-of. This dried meat has origins inSouth Africa where it is called biltong.Originally a food used by Dutch pio-neers who migrated northward fromthe Cape, it consisted of dried strips of

meat cut from game or failing oxen.

A Jerky recipe

To make jerky, cut lean meat (suchas round) against the grain into strips 2to 3 inches wide, inch thick andabout 6 inches long. Salt and pepperthe strips to taste and hang from thebars of an oven rack in a 175 degreeoven. The jerky should be ready inabout 5 hours. Leave the oven doorajar to allow the moisture to escape.The jerky should be very dry butslightly flexible. Place in a coveredcontainer and store in a cool area.

This is a basic recipe to which otherspices may be added or you can mari-nate the meat. To marinate, place themeat in your favorite marinade for afew hours and wipe dry with a papertowel. Drying time might need to beextended because of the excess mois-ture from the marinade.

Drying Meat