So yesterday we covered the first part of the process for making jerky. Now we’ve got a bowl full of sliced goose meat and we’re ready for part 2…
Since goose has a heavy, greasy flavor and we cut the meat thick, we’re going to need a strong marinade. In this situation I use my “Jalapeno” recipe.
4 cups Soy Sauce
4 cups Worcestershire
1 Table Spoon Garlic Powder
1 TS Onion Powder
2 TS Coarse Black Pepper
5 TS of Jalapeño Powder
The jalapeño powder is obviously the secret to this flavor. With 4 T you’ll get a good flavor but it won’t be very hot. With 6 it will be hotter than some will like. I grow the peppers in my garden and dehydrate them myself. Once I have enough dried I’ll obliterate them in the food processor until I’m left with a very fine powder that is positively toxic. You may want to wear latex gloves and goggles when you’re dealing with it. You could use hot sauce or red pepper flakes if you don’t want to mess with whole peppers but the flavor makes it worth the work.
Put everything in some type of shakable container and mix it up real good then pour some in a Ziploc and add the meat. Make sure you mix and shake the bag so that all the meat is separated and coated.
I usually let it sit at least 24 hours but I’m not sure it makes any difference. I suspect as long as the meat was fully coated you could skip the waiting and still end up with good flavor.
After marinating you’re ready to start drying. My drying has evolved from a couple of terrible ideas. The first time I made jerky I used toothpicks and suspended the strips of meat from racks in my oven. It was time consuming, it made the whole house stink, and it was messy. I found that tactic on the internet somewhere but after one try it was clear I needed a new plan. Next I used an oven rack like so:
It was also messy, slow, and smelly. Part of the problem is that with these racks you can’t drop the temp low enough to keep from partially baking the meat.
Now I use this thing:
There is no contest, you need one of these. It’s faster, cleaner, and handles larger batches than any of the oven methods. It came with 4 but 6 racks makes a full gallon sized batch. You can add up to 20 racks, or so I’m told. It also produces a better product because you can control a lower temp. For today’s run we’re using 125 degrees for 5 hours. I’ll do about 3 hours one day, put the racks in the fridge over night, and do 2 hours the next day. I think it allows the moisture in the middle of the thicker pieces to spread out and get a more even level of drying. With thinner cuts 120 for 4 hours is standard.
When you’re done I put the jerky in the freezer for storage. I’ve never tested it to see how long it will last at room temp but I once sent two batches to Iraq and it arrived in good shape.
A few final tips:
- With heavy marinades (like those with tomato paste) it will take longer, sometime a lot longer.
- With sugary marinades either add oil or spray the racks with pam.
- With acidic marinades (like pineapple juice) don’t leave it soaking too long or the meat will get mushy.
- The type of pepper you add to pizza has a good flavor and sticks to the meat well. It can be substituted for black or red pepper.
- Write the recipe on the bag you store the jerky in.
- Don’t underestimate the effect the weather has on the drying time. Dry winter air is much faster than humid summer air.
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