# A Beer Accompaniment



## Kai (24/7/04)

I picked up this recipe a couple years ago from my uncle, who got it from a south african bloke. They call it biltong over there, and its certainly nicer than any oven-dried jerky you buy here.

Ingredients are thusly:

Meat, as lean as possible. I prefer topside, but roo makes a nice alternative.
Rock salt.
Vinegar, I usually use brown but some good malt vinegar would probably work nicely.
Seasoning, whatever you desire. Good options are cracked pepper, coriander, cayenne, cumin, onion, garlic, mustard powder and so on.
Have the butcher slice you some nice thin slices of topside, say less than 1cm thick
Cut these into strips around 1cm wide. Lay them in a dish on a bed of rock salt. The salt does not need to cover all of the meat, it's only there to suck out some of the moisture. Sprinkle salt over the top too, you can build up layers in the dish if you're doing a lot of meat. It's important to use rock salt, normal salt will be absorbed into the meat making it too salty.
After around 15-20 minutes, scrape off the salt. Immerse the strips in the vinegar, either a quick rinse or a 5 minute soak if you want your meat tart (and a little safer). You can also add crap to the vinegar for flavouring, like lemon, lime, worcestershire, soy, tabasco, bourbon, etc.
Remove the meat from the vinegar, shaking or squeezing off the excess. Lie on a tray and cover with dry seasoning of your choice. Cover sparsely, otherwise the seasoning will be too strong when dry. Also, avoid premixed seasonings that contain salt, they make the meat too salty when it's dry.
Either air dry on a rack or hang them up on a clean area free of dust and insects. I usually hang mine using paper clips on a shower rail, but at the moment I'm trying to dry a batch on a rack in the oven with the fan on. On the shower rail, pieces of this size usually take no more than 24 hours to dry.
There's room to move with this recipe. You can make it saltier/less salty, make the vinegar stronger, put on whatever seasoning you desire, try different meats and different sized cuts, dry it out more or less, and so on. I like mine this way because they dry quickly and I cut them in half afterwards so they end up like little twiggy sticks, but another option is to make the pieces around 1 inch by 1/2 an inch, and eat them by slicing off a thin piece at a time.

Obviously, this has the potential to be a risky product. I'm sure you mob know how to be hygienic in the kitchen, though. I've never gotten sick from eating it, I think it's fine so long as you use good fresh meat, keep things clean, make sure the salting and vinegaring are done adequately and make sure it doesn't get contaminated while drying.

Compared to ordinary beef jerky, it comes out a lot softer. If it dries right, the outside goes firm and dry while the inside remains soft and chewy. It's also a lot more flavoursome than regular jerky, I like mine with chilli and cumin and a nice tart flavour. Kangaroo's a real pearler, I seasoned some with wasabi and pepper, the strength of roo meat is tasty but not overpowering and it comes out surprisingly tender.

Oh, and it all goes great with beer.


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## wardy (24/7/04)

Kai, i love this stuff. My wife's family is south african, and every now and again they get the roo version!! delicious. i'll have to try and make some. it's really great stuff, especially with beer!!


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## Hoops (24/7/04)

I have made heaps of jerky. It comes out awesome and at a fraction of the cost of retail jerky.

Hoops


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## Mrs_ozdevil (24/7/04)

Hello All

i personelly love beef jerky wether home made or theretail version as long as it isnt the the beef jerky in the green pack..

Mrs_Ozdevil


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## JasonY (24/7/04)

Top stuff Kai, grabbed some topside shopping today so I am having a crack at this one  hopefully I will live to tell the tale.

Love the beef jerky. B)


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## Kai (25/7/04)

Good stuff, Jason. Let us know how it turns out.

wardy - do you know what method your wife's family use? I've read a lot of different ways of doing it, the one above is just the way I think is easiest and best. I'm considering trying to replace the rock salt with a brining step, but that'll be hit and miss to begin with.

Oh yeah, and I took photos. Nothing like posting pictures of your meat on the internet


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## Kai (25/7/04)

And another one of it on the rack. Drying in the oven with the fan on worked well, it was done in around 18 hours.

I used pepper, cayenne, cumin and coriander on this lot.


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## timmy (25/7/04)

I've suggested they open up a jerky factory at work. They make a killing off the dried pig's ears they use as pet treats.

mmmmmmmm jerky


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## JasonY (25/7/04)

Well I went for a cracked pepper + garam masala combo. Bloody tasty stuff! this will be a regular from now on. Only problem is that it is fast dissapearing so I wish I had made more.  

How much do you normally make Kai? I just did the one piece of topside this time but may up it to two pieces next time so it last longer than a day.


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## Kai (25/7/04)

I usually only do a couple pieces at a time due to space constraints. As you've mentioned, the biggest problem is that it disappears too quickly.

It'll keep for months in the freezer without drying out too far, so I'd say make as much as you have room for. I usually keep mine in the fridge, if it lasts that long.

Good to hear it turned out well . I made a couple pieces with garam masala on them the first time I did it, but I dropped those pieces on the floor so never got to try them.


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## Hoops (26/7/04)

When I make jerky I hang it on the oven racks so I get quite a bit in there. I then set the oven to the lowest setting with the door open a bit to let the moisture out.
I usually use either a whole blade roast or some topside, so a kilo or two for me.
It has the same problem as HB in kegs - disappears faster than you plan!


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## deebee (8/8/04)

Had a go at this yesterday and the results are bloody marvellous. I used kangaroo steaks, put some crushed garlic in the vinegar and sprinkled some with chilli, some with curry powder, some with pepper and left some au naturel. Left it to dry in the fan forced oven with heat down as low as it gets (barely warm) and door open. A few hours like that then turned it over, turned the oven off and left it overnight. Another hour this morning and it's done.

Easy recipe and great results, it is going very quickly and I can see it would be impossible to make too much of this stuff. Next time I will make a big mob of it.


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## Kai (8/8/04)

Great stuff isn't it, deebee? I'm glad you've tried it and like it.


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## Jye (12/12/06)

At the last couple of QLD gathering someone has brought along jerky and its about time I gave making some ago. Im going to give Kai's method ago this week but would also like to know how others make jerky and whats your favorite recipe?

Cheers
Jye


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## Adamt (12/12/06)

I was looking at this thread the other night... I think I need to make some for the case swap this sunday


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## Duff (12/12/06)

Jye said:


> At the last couple of QLD gathering someone has brought along jerky and its about time I gave making some ago. Im going to give Kai's method ago this week but would also like to know how others make jerky and whats your favorite recipe?
> 
> Cheers
> Jye



Ditto, I missed this one but after reading it convinced me to make some this weekend. Love to hear of any modifications to any receipes.

Cheers.


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## Blackfish (12/12/06)

deebee said:


> Had a go at this yesterday and the results are bloody marvellous. I used kangaroo steaks, put some crushed garlic in the vinegar and sprinkled some with chilli, some with curry powder, some with pepper and left some au naturel. Left it to dry in the fan forced oven with heat down as low as it gets (barely warm) and door open. A few hours like that then turned it over, turned the oven off and left it overnight. Another hour this morning and it's done.
> 
> Easy recipe and great results, it is going very quickly and I can see it would be impossible to make too much of this stuff. Next time I will make a big mob of it.



Heya, out of interest, do you know what cut of roo it is? I have a 'non commercial'  source of roo meat and and have been meaning to get a hold of some to dry.


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## homekegger1 (16/12/06)

Well I saw this the other day and thought that I should give it a go. After all I do owe it to myself. Went to the butcher today and have just finished seasoning and placing in the oven with the fn on and heat off. Will let you know how it turns out.

Cheers again to Kia for a great thread... and idea 

HK


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## tipsy_mcstagger (16/12/06)

anyone tried to dry any in the weber? might be worth giving it a go with some of the hickory chips you can get. how long do you leave it in the oven.


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## browndog (16/12/06)

I spent ages trying to emulate the local Reedy Creek Butchery Jerky, which I must say is outstanding and I found the best method was to hang it up for a few days. If you are going to use the oven, make sure you don't dry it out too much. Also, if you google jerky, you will find websites dedicated to making the stuff, absolutely wonderful this internet thing :super: 

cheers

Browndog


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## pint of lager (16/12/06)

fhgwgads said:


> Heya, out of interest, do you know what cut of roo it is? I have a 'non commercial'  source of roo meat and and have been meaning to get a hold of some to dry.



Maker sure your 'roo is killed and butchered in as clean conditions as you can organise. The flesh should not be contaminated by contact with the fur. Usually when an animal is butchered, the skin is punched off, then the meat cut up. Fur has lots of bacteria and contact with this bacteria makes the meat go off quickly. 

Also make sure that the meat has no worms. There are two common worms, the ones that look like cellophane noodles that live between the muscle fibres and the coiled worms that live between the joints. A young roo usually does not have worms.

The best cut is the backstrap meat. Try using this for your jerky. Makes a delicious product. Roo meat is low in fat and ideal for jerky. Must cook up some more.

With any jerky, you are aiming to dry the meat rather than cook it, so go as low as possible with the heat.


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## FNQ Bunyip (17/12/06)

Great stuff Kai, I spent 2.5years in southern Africa and have tryed a huge range of differant meat. Hippo is very good as is Elephant , most of the jumping buck type of things but a personal faviort was Kudu. 

Back here I have made heaps and I use a few variations of recipes one very simmilar to your Kai and another very simple one that follows..


Best cut of steak/meat no fatty bits 
Kikkoman soy sauce
salt
good vinegar
lemon juice
pepper
garlic
chilli

Mix the marinade together , Remove any moisture from meat by squezeing in paper towel or a clean tea towel and place meat in an air tight container with marinade overnight in a fridge. next day hang to dry.


I use a "NARA" food dehydrater , and it works great. A nice slow dry.

Billtong is way better than jerky. Jerky is traditionaly very dry where Billtong is dryed in bigger strips and remains slightly moist in the middle. I've seen 1/2 a ton of hippo cut up and hung to dry in huntting camps on the Zambezi river .. Just unberliverable but bloody good chewing.. 

Cheers


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## Screwtop (17/12/06)

Safety Steve Says: There are two types of smoking of protien, hot smoke and cold smoke. Hot smoking involves placing the meat in with a heat source and some wood to provide the required flavour. The wood should only smoulder not burn. This method cooks and preserves meat.

Cold Smoking is the use of smoke from a remote heat source to preserve meat, this cold smoked meat must be cooked before human consumption.

Dehydrating is a way of preserving meat similar to hot smoking, the meat must be kept slightly above pasteurisation temp for a minimum of an hour. Smokey flavours can be reproduced using spices.

I use a dehydrator to dry marinated meat strips over 24 hrs.

My recipe for the marinate: 
500g round steak cut into this strips
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper and curry powder to taste

Combine the ingredients and add the meat, put in a tupperware container and leave overnight in the fridge. Remove strips from marinate and dry for a minimum of 10 hrs (pref 24 depends on heat) in fan forced oven or dehydrator. Strips must be just pliable and bendable when ready, not too dry.


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## FNQ Bunyip (17/12/06)

So Screwy since were talking beer related snacks do you feel like shareing your "Nuts & bolts " recipe ?

They went down a treat at the swap. 

:beer:


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## browndog (17/12/06)

Here is some jerky recipes I found on the net
View attachment jerky.txt


cheers

Browndog


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## Screwtop (18/12/06)

FNQ Bunyip said:


> So Screwy since were talking beer related snacks do you feel like shareing your "Nuts & bolts " recipe ?
> 
> They went down a treat at the swap.
> 
> :beer:



OK, the wife's family Nuts and bolts recipe:

300g Nutri Grain
1 Desertspoon Curry Powder
600g Unsalted Peanuts
1 pkt French Onion Soup Mix
1 Pkt Cream of Chicken Soup Mix
3/4 Cup Olive Oil

Mix thoroughly, great with BEER!


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## FNQ Bunyip (18/12/06)

Thanks Screwtop .


they were a hit at the swap.. 

:beer:


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## homekegger1 (18/12/06)

Well gave it a go. Very happy with flavour but I think I need to get thinner slices. Had a friend over today for a beer to see the Aussies bring back our Ashes trophy and offered him some of my homemade Jerky. He likened it to cold roast beef. SO I think it was a little to thick. I will try to make it thinner and season with a few of the ideas I have seen here.

Cheers

HK


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## browndog (19/12/06)

Thanks for the recipe Screwtop, I love that stuff and will make some next time we have a do. I had a crack at making some jerky today. I bought 1kg of thinly sliced topside which I cut into strips, patted dry then marinated with a mixture of teriaki sauce, tspn of onion powder, tspn of garlic powder, 1 1/2 tspn chilli powder and 2-3 tspn of honey. The marinade tasted great, I'll marinate for 24 hrs then hang the strips up to dry for 3 days or so and should be right for the weekend.

cheers

Browndog


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## browndog (19/12/06)

Don't really know if anyone is interested, but I hung my jerky up today. I made a rack from 3/4" pine and used bamboo skewers to hold the meat. I hung the rack from the ceiling in the front room to keep the creepy crawlies off it. It smells great and I can't wait till sat or friday if the weather is warm to try it. 




Topside steak sliced aprox 5mm and cut into strips, marinated for 24hrs in the fridge.



hanging from the makeshift rack in the front room with lots of newspaper underneath to catch the drips, and yes, I have a very understanding wife.

cheers

Browndog


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## Screwtop (19/12/06)

browndog said:


> Don't really know if anyone is interested, but I hung my jerky up today. I made a rack from 3/4" pine and used bamboo skewers to hold the meat. I hung the rack from the ceiling in the front room to keep the creepy crawlies off it. It smells great and I can't wait till sat or friday if the weather is warm to try it.
> 
> View attachment 10558
> 
> ...




BD that's not hot smoking just drying, they'll need to be cooked to kill any micro nasties that might hatch and eat your brain, or at least heat at pasteurisation temp for an hour.


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## pint of lager (19/12/06)

Hey Browndog, hope you don't have a dog nearby. That would be sooooo tempting to stand on the chair and scoff.


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## Kai (19/12/06)

I lost a batch to the dog once.


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## Darren (19/12/06)

Oooh,

Is this another Garibaldi coming on?

Dont let your kids eat it.

cheers

Darren


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## Ross (19/12/06)

Screwtop said:


> BD that's not hot smoking just drying, they'll need to be cooked to kill any micro nasties that might hatch and eat your brain, or at least heat at pasteurisation temp for an hour.



I'm confused now :unsure: I thought the whole idea was to dry the meat, not smoke or cook it??

Cheers Ross


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## Screwtop (19/12/06)

Ross said:


> I'm confused now :unsure: I thought the whole idea was to dry the meat, not smoke or cook it??
> 
> Cheers Ross




Drying meat preserves it, you can use smoke at the same time (cold smoking). Then you have to cook it before eating it, same as salt cure etc. Hot smoking or drying cooks the meat as well as preserving it, then you don't need to cook it. Same with smoked fish, you'll be offered hot or cold smoked.


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## Ross (19/12/06)

Screwtop said:


> Drying meat preserves it, you can use smoke at the same time (cold smoking). Then you have to cook it before eating it, same as salt cure etc. Hot smoking or drying cooks the meat as well as preserving it, then you don't need to cook it. Same with smoked fish, you'll be offered hot or cold smoked.



I understand the concept of smoking - But Kai's instructions & others on this page, say to air dry & not to cook or smoke - so that's where my confusion is. 

cheers Ross


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## browndog (20/12/06)

Well, I've done some research and it appears Safety Steve is very correct in what he says. The meat must be cooked to kill any nasties. I read a particularly good page that is copy writtten so here is the link About a bloke poisoned by some bugs after eating some cougar jerky he made. The author goes to great lengths to explain the neccessity to heat the meat to kill the germs, it is a good read. Seems like 160F for a few hrs does the trick, that is what I'l lbe doing to mine tomorrow.

cheers

Browndog


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## Bobby (20/12/06)

i was watching a show on foxtel, i think its called 'little cottage' or something like that, and the host built a cold smoker out of a tin, some air conditioning duct and an old cider cask. looked quite good.


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## Screwtop (20/12/06)

Sunbeam make a good cheap food dryer, usually somewhere around $80 on special. These are great for making jerk and drying any fruit or vegies that you might have an abundance of at different times of the year. Suspect it'll be pretty good at drying hop flowers too, will find out soon.

These appliances keep the temp up using pretty much what appears to be a hair dryer built into the lid, blowing hot air over the drying racks below, don't think it would be too difficult to make one out of a box with some old fridge shelves and air holes, and a $15 hair dryer stuck in the lid.


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## FNQ Bunyip (20/12/06)

another use for the old fermenting fridge when it dies. A mashmaster temp controll on a small fan heater (last longer than a hair dryer) . I've seen a couple up here doing bannanas and mangos. 

All the meat I ate as billtong in africa was just air dryed. and I never had any ill afects. However I've never done it that way here just used the dehydrater.. We have 2 "narra" dehydraters one has a mashmaster fitted as the thermo bruntout last year, so now its digital 

:beer:


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## Ducatiboy stu (20/12/06)

*Biltong* is air dried salted cured meats

*Jerky* is cooked over smoke. It uses the same curing/salting technique as biltong


A butcher told me that he makes his biltong using a small box with a light in it and a small fan to draw warm air over the meat to dry it out.


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## Hopsta (20/12/06)

I love beef jerky and biltong but its pretty expensive at $3 for a little packet, making your own is a great idea providing it can be done in a safe way.

Im about to go and buy a food dehydrator after reading this! 

So i just need to get this straight, if i dehydrate the meat at 55*C for 12 hours this is enough to get rid off all the nasties and preserve it? or must you add salt aswell? 

Things like soy souce, wistochere, vinegar, chilli etc... these all act like a natural preservative aswell correct?


EDIT - Anyone know where to get a cheap food dehydrator in syd? just did a quick search $130 for a hillmark one.... bit steep. Ebays not much better.


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## Ducatiboy stu (20/12/06)

Yes, you need salt.

Sugar ( Honey ) is also a preservative

Vinigar will actually cold cook the meat. This is why you dont use vinigar on fish as it will cook it


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## Kai (20/12/06)

browndog said:


> Well, I've done some research and it appears Safety Steve is very correct in what he says. The meat must be cooked to kill any nasties. I read a particularly good page that is copy writtten so here is the link About a bloke poisoned by some bugs after eating some cougar jerky he made. The author goes to great lengths to explain the neccessity to heat the meat to kill the germs, it is a good read. Seems like 160F for a few hrs does the trick, that is what I'l lbe doing to mine tomorrow.
> 
> cheers
> 
> Browndog



The cougar case is a parasitic infection usually only found here in pork (as the article mentions). It's also worth pointing out that you can pick up a parasite (if one is present) from ordinary beef simply by eating your steak rare, something I sure as heck am never going to give up.

Bacterial causes of food poisoning are a fair concern, but it's worth remembering that bacteria are typically only present on the surfaces of the meat (which is why cooking a steak rare is ok and doing a hamburger the same is not). I don't know exactly how effective a short salting then a quick vinegar rinse / pickle is, but if the meat is clean to begin with then you are lessening the risk of food poisoning by reducing the water content, water activity and pH. I wouldn't be using meat that had been sitting in the fridge for a few days or on the back seat of the car for a few hours and I wouldn't be feeding this stuff to the young, the old or the immuno-compromised (unless I didn't like them) but I do not think it is terribly dangerous.


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## tangent (20/12/06)

> (which is why cooking a steak rare is ok and doing a hamburger the same is not)


steak tatare is ground and eaten raw

salting is a method of curing, it's all in the salt and vinegar. like gravalax of salmon salt and vodka


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## browndog (20/12/06)

Well here is the finshed product, chewing on it now as I post



It seemed quite well dried when I took it down this arvo, but I chucked it in the oven at 100C for 15 min to kill the bugs, turned out with a nice terriaki flavour but lacking the chilli I was looking for, a few quick turns of the chilli grinder over the lot and it is not too bad at all and less than 1/2 the price my butcher sells it.

cheers

Browndog


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## Darren (20/12/06)

hey,
Rare steak = BSE (bovine spongiform encaphalitis) Also known as mad cow disease.

Takes 30+ years to minifest its symptoms. No reported BSE in Australia so far yet. (BTW, I love steak tartare but worry each time I eat it, not only from the meat but raw eggs (salmonella))

Hanging some meat to dry is just asking for problems unles you killed and dressed it your self. God only knows what happened to it in the "butchery"

If you are doing it yourself, pasteurisation is advisable. There are thousands of cases per year of "home poisoning" with poorly cured meat.

The risk is real and lifethreatening especially in the young/old/immunocompromised. 

Beware!


cheers
Darren


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## bindi (20/12/06)

I only eat seafood, true for 16 years, and a beer ,any beer goes great with my all time fav , *Cajun Fish * :super: spicy , Google it if you don't know.
Fish like Snapper,Pearl perch, Barra and even Nile perch done this style is GREAT, and not forgeting wild prawns, not farmed.
Cooking it now.


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## Kai (20/12/06)

Darren said:


> hey,
> Rare steak = BSE (bovine spongiform encaphalitis) Also known as mad cow disease.
> 
> Takes 30+ years to minifest its symptoms. No reported BSE in Australia so far yet. (BTW, I love steak tartare but worry each time I eat it, not only from the meat but raw eggs (salmonella))



Salmonella would only be an issue with poorly cleaned eggs as there have been no instance of enteral salmonella in australia... yet. 

CJD I worry about almost as much as I do being hit by a beer truck tomorrow.


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## Darren (20/12/06)

Kai said:


> Salmonella would only be an issue with poorly cleaned eggs as there have been no instance of enteral salmonella in australia... yet.
> 
> CJD I worry about almost as much as I do being hit by a beer truck tomorrow.



Kai,

Is that what they taught you at Tafe? Watch out for that truck!!!!

http://www.foodscience.afisc.csiro.au/eggquality.htm 

From the CSIRO site:
Egg safety
Eggs, like other protein foods such as meat, fish and poultry, may be contaminated with microbes which can, if allowed to grow, cause food poisoning. There have been many documented outbreaks of Salmonella food poisoning from poorly handled eggs.

Salmonella is easy to destroy in cooking. Any food cooked uniformly to a temperature of 72&deg;C will be free of Salmonella. The problem is that we often eat eggs raw or only lightly cooked. Such foods, along with shell eggs, should be treated as though they were contaminated.

Safety Tips
A few simple steps will significantly reduce the risk of food poisoning from egg dishes. 

Buy your eggs from supermarkets or shops which store them in the refrigerator or at least in a cool area of the store. Refrigerate your eggs immediately on arriving home - treat them like you treat your milk. 
If you make dishes in which the eggs are only lightly cooked, such as some sauces, serve the food immediately or refrigerate. Don't let it stand around at room temperature. 
Any souffles, egg nogs etc., containing raw eggs must be kept in the refrigerator until just before they are eaten. Avoid giving young children, the elderly and people with impaired immune systems foods containing raw or lightly cooked eggs. 
Observe good personal hygiene when preparing food; always thoroughly wash your hands before starting to prepare food and after handling raw foods. 

google: egg, salmonella sofia australia or 

An outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium PT135 gastroenteritis associated with a minimally cooked dessert containing raw eggs 

if you have doubts

Also, I didn't say CjD as i am not eating human brains, I said BSE. Maybe google the difference too!

And sure fly blown meat is safe?

cheers

Darren


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## Kai (20/12/06)

Darren,

I can't contract BSE as my brain is not bovine.

The reference to enteral salmonella was to salmonella infection within the chicken's oviducts and hence, within the egg yolk itself -- a condition that is as far as I konw nonexistent in australia and why raw egg products are a safer venture here than overseas. Hence my saying that if the exterior of the egg is clean and without cracks, the risk is not too high and you can enjoy your tartare. I know I'll enjoy my egg nog this chrissy.

And while my food microbiology subjects were at TAFE, the content and lecturers were from university. And no, I wouldn't eat fly-blown meat.


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## AndrewQLD (20/12/06)

Sadly, the more "cleaner" our food products become the less chance our bodies have to fight off these bugs. With the way our foods are processed now our stomachs natural bacteria can not cope with the odd occurance of the bacteria mentioned in this thread. We have cleaned our food to the point where we are now susceptable to the slightest infections where once a side off beef could be left to hang for considerable time with no adverse affects because our bodies had a natural capacity to fight them off.

Our bodies are becoming a cleaner growing enviroment for the bad bugs while the good bugs (that fight the bad ones) are slowly dying off.

But I will still make my own sausages and cheese and beer in the hope of negating the effects of our sterile enviroment.

Cheers
Andrew


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## TidalPete (20/12/06)

AndrewQLD said:


> Sadly, the more "cleaner" our food products become the less chance our bodies have to fight off these bugs. With the way our foods are processed now our stomachs natural bacteria can not cope with the odd occurance of the bacteria mentioned in this thread. We have cleaned our food to the point where we are now susceptable to the slightest infections where once a side off beef could be left to hang for considerable time with no adverse affects because our bodies had a natural capacity to fight them off.
> 
> Our bodies are becoming a cleaner growing enviroment for the bad bugs while the good bugs (that fight the bad ones) are slowly dying off.
> 
> ...



Very well said Andrew. I am with you 110% on this. :beerbang: 

:beer:


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## Darren (20/12/06)

Kai said:


> Darren,
> 
> I can't contract BSE as my brain is not bovine.
> 
> ...




Kai,

Prion (CjD vCJD BSE) disease is not species inhibited.

As for the salmonella, yes, cracked, or poorly cleaned eggs are a problem. Chickens and ducks (birds in general) are absolutely covered with salmonella sp. Did you google salmonella, Australia, egg?

As for no risk with meat hung to dry and not pasteurised, that is just plain silly.

cheers

Darren


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## AndrewQLD (20/12/06)

TidalPete said:


> Very well said Andrew. I am with you 110% on this. :beerbang:
> 
> :beer:



I agree with you agreeing with me Pete, as I have said before "we make a great team".

Cheers
Andrew


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## Kai (20/12/06)

Darren said:


> Kai,
> 
> Prion (CjD vCJD BSE) disease is not species inhibited.



I'm aware.



> As for the salmonella, yes, cracked, or poorly cleaned eggs are a problem. Chickens and ducks (birds in general) are absolutely covered with salmonella sp. Did you google salmonella, Australia, egg?



Nope. 




> As for no risk with meat hung to dry and not pasteurised, that is just plain silly.
> 
> cheers
> 
> Darren



Silly is thinking I intimated there is no risk.


----------



## Screwtop (20/12/06)

Darren said:


> Kai,
> 
> Is that what they taught you at Tafe? Watch out for that truck!!!!
> 
> ...



I'm voting 100% with the info above, purely because Darren finally posted a positive response!

Thanks Darren!


----------



## Kai (20/12/06)

Darren said:


> As for the salmonella, yes, cracked, or poorly cleaned eggs are a problem. Chickens and ducks (birds in general) are absolutely covered with salmonella sp. Did you google salmonella, Australia, egg?



Apologies for replying to the same quote twice, but I did just google this and the first line I found was "Australian egg industry is untroubled by the strains of Salmonella Enteritidis that have caused human
illness abroad."

You probably found it yourself, it was the point of my first post concerning raw egg products and why they are less of a risk here than they are overseas. Not arguing anything else about it, though I suspect any professional opinion about raw egg will be the same as mine and the same as mine about biltong; avoiding the young, the old and the immunoblahblah.

Merry xmas, daz. You're welcome to drop around for some parasitic O157:H7 dried meats and a few botulistic ales. I'll even whip you up some egg nog.


----------



## AndrewQLD (20/12/06)

Kai said:


> Apologies for replying to the same quote twice, but I did just google this and the first line I found was "Australian egg industry is untroubled by the strains of Salmonella Enteritidis that have caused human
> illness abroad."
> 
> You probably found it yourself, it was the point of my first post concerning raw egg products and why they are less of a risk here than they are overseas. Not arguing anything else about it, though I suspect any professional opinion about raw egg will be the same as mine and the same as mine about biltong; avoiding the young, the old and the immunoblahblah.
> ...



Yeeha, I am now untroubled by my indulgence in Batz's home grown eggs and my own cultured brewers yeasts, home made sausages and home made cheese. Thanks kai, I will have one egg nog slightly underdone.

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## Darren (20/12/06)

Kai,

Interesting but if enteridis was the only concern then no worries.

The problem with your theory is that all eggs are cleaned thoroughly and are not cracked (yes even hair-line cracks will cause problems). Birds in general are absolutely covered in Salmonella species (of which there are many). Would you eat raw chicken? 
I refer you to these papers:

Fielding J, Snell P, Milazzo A, Del Fabbro L, Raupach J. An outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium phage type 4 linked to cold set cheesecake. Communicable Diseases Intelligence 2003; 27(4):513-514.

Hall R. Outbreak of gastroenteritis due to Salmonella Typhimurium phage type 135a following consumption of raw egg. Communicable Disease Intelligence, 2002: 26(2):285-287. 



As for the raw beef hung from a rail exposed to the environment, count me out please. 

Dont give it to your kids.


cheers

Darren


----------



## browndog (20/12/06)

AndrewQLD said:


> Sadly, the more "cleaner" our food products become the less chance our bodies have to fight off these bugs. With the way our foods are processed now our stomachs natural bacteria can not cope with the odd occurance of the bacteria mentioned in this thread. We have cleaned our food to the point where we are now susceptable to the slightest infections where once a side off beef could be left to hang for considerable time with no adverse affects because our bodies had a natural capacity to fight them off.
> 
> Our bodies are becoming a cleaner growing enviroment for the bad bugs while the good bugs (that fight the bad ones) are slowly dying off.
> 
> ...




When I was a youngster I used to drink the water from the creek that ran behind all the homes in my street, I did this for nearly 10yrs or so. Back then I never got sick, looking back I reckon I had more bugs in my guts than there were in any food that I ate. Ads I got older I noticed that I was more suseptable to illness, so I really think you have something there Andrew.

cheers

Browndog


----------



## Kai (20/12/06)

> As for the raw beef hung from a rail exposed to the environment, count me out please.
> 
> Dont give it to your kids.



It's not raw meat, it's salted (slightly), pickled (slightly) and dehydrated. 

I wouldn't if I had any.



Darren said:


> Kai,
> 
> Interesting but if enteridis was the only concern then no worries.
> 
> ...



No need. I don't disagree with you there. Likening raw chicken to raw egg is not a particularly accurate comparison though.


----------



## Darren (20/12/06)

Kai,

The paper specifically refers to raw egg.

cheers

Darren


----------



## Kai (20/12/06)

What's that got to do with raw chicken?


----------



## browndog (20/12/06)

Guys,
Which got infected first? the chicken or the egg?


sorry, could not restist that  

Browndog


----------



## Kai (20/12/06)

The chicken, browndog. It passes the infection onto the egg.


----------



## davidp (20/12/06)

Darren said:


> Rare steak = BSE (bovine spongiform encaphalitis) Also known as mad cow disease.



It's my understanding that prions are somewhat heat tolerant, making an outbreaks a nightmare in hospitals where autoclaving may be insufficient to deactivate the proteins. So I wouldn't exactly rely on a well done steak to stop your brain getting holes in it. You're far more likely to suffer spongiform encaphalitis due to an endogenous mutation, anyway.


----------



## Boozy the clown (21/12/06)

> It's my understanding that prions are somewhat heat tolerant, making an outbreaks a nightmare in hospitals where autoclaving may be insufficient to deactivate the proteins. So I wouldn't exactly rely on a well done steak to stop your brain getting holes in it. You're far more likely to suffer spongiform encaphalitis due to an endogenous mutation, anyway.



Yeah. :huh: :blink:


----------



## Screwtop (21/12/06)

browndog said:


> When I was a youngster I used to drink the water from the creek that ran behind all the homes in my street, I did this for nearly 10yrs or so. Back then I never got sick, looking back I reckon I had more bugs in my guts than there were in any food that I ate. Ads I got older I noticed that I was more suseptable to illness, so I really think you have something there Andrew.
> 
> cheers
> 
> Browndog




Same here BD stopped in the creekbed one morning and had a big drink, sweet clear water. Wandered upstream around the next bend in the creek and started to smell something off. There was a dead cow in the creek, I mean really dead, she'd been in there a couple of weeks I reckon. Never did hurt me and come to think about it, I still drank from the creek on most days on the way home from school.


----------



## Fingerlickin_B (2/1/07)

Here is mine:





Doesn't look like the packet stuff...tastes bloody brilliant!

I made sure (after reading the other posts here) to add the chilli numerous times, once in the initial marinade, again after 12 hours and then once again before it went in the oven. I gave some to my dad and he couldn't handle it :lol: 

Awesome, only thought of doing it because of this thread...I'm never buying jerky again! :super: 

PZ.


----------



## AndrewQLD (2/1/07)

I'm quite partial to a bit of smoked fish when I have a few mates over.
3 tbs of brown sugar
1 tbs salt
sprinkle of chillie flakes.

Shake over some fresh Mullet fillets and refridgerate for 2 hrs, then smoke for 15 minutes in the smoker box with some Rose Gum shavings. Yummo.

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## browndog (2/1/07)

AndrewQLD said:


> I'm quite partial to a bit of smoked fish when I have a few mates over.
> 3 tbs of brown sugar
> 1 tbs salt
> sprinkle of chillie flakes.
> ...



Jeez Andrew, that might be a request when we have the inaugural Brewerhood meeting mate. Sounds very tasty indeed.

cheers

Browndog


----------



## AndrewQLD (3/1/07)

browndog said:


> Jeez Andrew, that might be a request when we have the inaugural Brewerhood meeting mate. Sounds very tasty indeed.
> 
> cheers
> 
> Browndog



I will bring down the smoker and some mullet and cook it on the spot Browndog. Hope we get some jerky to go with it  . Resourceful lot us brewers.

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## InCider (4/1/07)

Is there any brewers out there who just love Chilliies? I do, I know Screwtop does, but has anyone made or eaten Rellenos? 


Recipe here...
Mr Linky

Basically a stuffed and de-seeded Jalapeno (not the really hot ones, they're Habaeros) with mozarella cheese/diced bacon etc. Toss them in oil to fry them or wrapp them in puffed pasty and oven.

Goes well with REALLLY COLD BEER and biltong & nuts and bolts! I'll bring some to the next Brewerhood meeting.

InCider.


----------



## Duff (4/1/07)

InCider said:


> Is there any brewers out there who just love Chilliies? I do, I know Screwtop does, but has anyone made or eaten Rellenos?
> Recipe here...
> Mr Linky
> 
> ...



Meow. Worst bet I ever took on one night was in Birmingham, Alabama. Sitting at the bar 'Wings' the barman bet me a round of beers I wouldn't eat a tablespoon of straight habenero paste. As Dr. Karl says "Biggg Mistake" :huh: I spent the next 30 minutes practically crying trying to dull the pain, don't know what was worst, trying to reduce the burn with Bud Light or realising I'd have to pass on the free round  Hurt big time the next day too :blink: 

Stuffed 'poppers' like you describe are fantastic. Great bar food :beerbang:


----------



## pint of lager (4/1/07)

Hands up who has tried Dave's Insanity Sauce, or the Megadeath sauce?


----------



## bradmcm (4/1/07)

pint of lager said:


> Hands up who has tried Dave's Insanity Sauce, or the Megadeath sauce?



Yes. The end.


----------



## tangent (4/1/07)

2 hands up POL, my brother is a chilli freak.


----------



## browndog (4/1/07)

InCider said:


> Is there any brewers out there who just love Chilliies? I do, I know Screwtop does, but has anyone made or eaten Rellenos?
> Recipe here...
> Mr Linky
> 
> ...



I am REALLY looking forward to that one Incider, it sounds devine. I think our inaugural meeting is going to be a gastronomic feast  

cheers

Browndog


----------



## Kai (5/1/07)

Duff said:


> Meow. Worst bet I ever took on one night was in Birmingham, Alabama. Sitting at the bar 'Wings' the barman bet me a round of beers I wouldn't eat a tablespoon of straight habenero paste. As Dr. Karl says "Biggg Mistake" :huh: I spent the next 30 minutes practically crying trying to dull the pain, don't know what was worst, trying to reduce the burn with Bud Light or realising I'd have to pass on the free round  Hurt big time the next day too :blink:



I would have stipulated a quart of gargling yoghourt.


----------



## shotduck (5/1/07)

I used to erat raw chillies all the time when I was younger. I would have prefered sitting down to a good movie with a bag of chillies rather than popcorn or chips. I paid for it big time several years back when my guts finally rebelled. The first case of gastritis had me in hospital, hooked up to a heart monitor with doctors running around treating me for a suspected heart attack - the pain was that great it was affecting the regularity of my heat beat! :blink: 
Now I can only drink a few glasses of beer a day, or perhaps one or two glasses of wine if the acid is not too great. Kind of limits my brewing to about one batch every two months or so... and that is with plenty of assistance in drinking the keg  
In short... you can keep your bloody chillies, thank you!

Cheers,
TSD


----------



## browndog (5/1/07)

The Shot Duck said:


> I used to erat raw chillies all the time when I was younger. I would have prefered sitting down to a good movie with a bag of chillies rather than popcorn or chips. I paid for it big time several years back when my guts finally rebelled. The first case of gastritis had me in hospital, hooked up to a heart monitor with doctors running around treating me for a suspected heart attack - the pain was that great it was affecting the regularity of my heat beat! :blink:
> Now I can only drink a few glasses of beer a day, or perhaps one or two glasses of wine if the acid is not too great. Kind of limits my brewing to about one batch every two months or so... and that is with plenty of assistance in drinking the keg
> In short... you can keep your bloody chillies, thank you!
> 
> ...


Jeez, SD that is pretty extreme, I love hot food but would never dream of eating a raw chilli, no wonder you buggered up your guts. Anything in extremes is going to harm you in one way or another.

cheers

Browndog


----------



## bonj (5/1/07)

InCider said:


> Is there any brewers out there who just love Chilliies? I do, I know Screwtop does, but has anyone made or eaten Rellenos?
> Recipe here...
> Mr Linky
> 
> ...



They sound pretty good InCider. Habaneros are apparently 1 million times more powerful than jalapenos. Just in case anyone is interested in some chilli trivia, jalapenos were genetically engineered from habaneros by Texas A&M University to be less powerful. I tried habaneros once... ahh!! they burn! The residue burns your arms in the washing up!


----------



## Hopsta (5/1/07)

I love chilli's i grow heaps of different kinds at home, chilli "hotness" is rated in "Scoville units".

A Jalapeno has a maximum of 10,000 Scoville units, and in my opinion are not hot for sh*t.

I grow a variety called Naga Jolokia from North eastern india, they are rated a bit over 1,000,000 Scoville units, you can cut one in half and just dab it once or twice on your plate of food and that is enough for me. :wub: <---- thats a burning face by the way!


----------



## InCider (5/1/07)

browndog said:


> I am REALLY looking forward to that one Incider, it sounds devine. I think our inaugural meeting is going to be a gastronomic feast
> 
> cheers
> 
> Browndog



I can't wait either. I got some large chillies about 100mm long today from a mate and will stuff tonite or tomorrow to get some practice in. Might end up with a bum like a japanese flag!


----------



## chillamacgilla73 (5/1/07)

InCider said:


> Is there any brewers out there who just love Chilliies? I do, I know Screwtop does, but has anyone made or eaten Rellenos?
> Recipe here...
> Mr Linky
> 
> ...


Sounds delicious InCider. I will definatley try making them once my young jalepeno starts fruiting.

I had a crack at a similar chilli number that Ainslie Herriot ph34r: ) made on one of his TV shows. He made both Paprika's and Jalepenos stuffed with garlic, ginger, a bit of butter and a peeled prawn then secured with a couple of tooth picks. On the barbie till cooked and enjoy with a beer, a top horse-doover.

:beer:


----------



## Duff (5/1/07)

Anyone tried this stuff? Some friends of ours have it sent over from the US. Seriously hot. Painful actually B)


----------



## petesbrew (5/1/07)

I heard of one chili sauce available over in USA where you had to sign a waiver before you bought it. Apparently a toothpick dipped in this small jar would give a bowl of salsa a decent kick!

Shot Duck, you're a mad man. A bag of chillis?

While we're on food, does anyone have any good bbq beer-marinade recipes? I have yet to try my homebrew in one.


----------



## PostModern (5/1/07)

Hopsta said:


> I grow a variety called Naga Jolokia from North eastern india, they are rated a bit over 1,000,000 Scoville units



That's the variety the Indian army kept classified for a few years while they looked into military applications isn't it? Where did you get the seeds? I'm currently planning a chilli bed in the garden.


----------



## Hopsta (5/1/07)

PostModern said:


> That's the variety the Indian army kept classified for a few years while they looked into military applications isn't it? Where did you get the seeds? I'm currently planning a chilli bed in the garden.




Got the seeds last year from a chilli shop on ebay. I just did a search and they still sell them, along with a variety of habanero's which are another favourite of mine.

Heres the link

I bought a food dehydrator for my xmas present and made some habanero kangaroo jerky.... blew my head off, strong stuff. 

Edit spelling, and im not sure about the indian army story although i wouldnt be surprised they're very hot.


----------



## PostModern (5/1/07)

Cheers for that. I see they have white Habanero too. I think I'll be blowing a few of my PayPal $$ here


----------



## danbeer (7/1/07)

Hey,

Came across instructions for a jerky drier made from milk crates:
http://www.instructables.com/id/ESTVDBSTREEP287ZT7/?ALLSTEPS


On a side note, anyone know of plans/photos for making a gas powered smoker from a keg?


----------



## Screwtop (7/1/07)

Have a bottle of "Pappy's Moonshine Madness" from the Kentucky Cookout Company, Bourbon and Chilli Sauce mix, the bottle says "SO FRIGGIN HOT YOU'LL GO BLIND". Not that bad had a bottle of their "KICK ASS CHILLI SAUCE" once which was good.

I grow Halapenjo, Habanero, Cayenne and for the faint hearted a few milder asian or Thai styles. Chilli's don't die off completely in the winter here so I let em grow into bushes. After picking, tie them into ristras and hang them under the eaves to dry, they keep forever then, great for cooking.

Those of you keen on Chilli checkout The Byron Bay Chilli Co site, register and they send a regular newsletter with great chilli recipes. BBCC Chilli Recipes


----------



## Bobby (7/1/07)

byron bay chilli company make some really nice sauces, none as extreme as some of the other sauces here though.


----------



## n00ch (7/1/07)

The Chilli Factory seems to have quite a few outlets around the country and has some really good sauces. I bought some "Turbo Supercharge" Habenero paste the other week... now i'm a chilli freak and love it hot but jesus this stuff is hot. I don't think i would go anywhere near the Naga Jolokia if it's hotter.

Also wtf would you use this for? 16 million scoville heat units?!?!?!


----------



## Hopsta (7/1/07)

n00ch said:


> Also wtf would you use this for? 16 million scoville heat units?!?!?!



"Blairs 16million reserve" thats a bit over $600 aussie dollars for 1ml of pure capsicum crystals. I dont think that stuff would be edible, you could play some dangerous (and expensive) jokes on people though.

I currently have 1kg of prime lean beef in the food dehydrator. I find that if i put too many spices in it can be a bit too salty and overpowering, i've kept the recipe a bit simpler this time.

Following Kai's preperation method with rock salt etc, 

splash of soy
splash of wistochere
apple cider vinegar
2 orange habanero's
1 clove garlic
splash of lemon juice
lemon pepper
tabasco

the marinade tasted great cant wait to try the finished product.


----------



## InCider (8/1/07)

Here is some pics of the Rellenos in pastry - less oil and lovely after a quick buzz in the oven.

If you come to the SE QLD March get together, you'll be having a few...and some of these!














And that 16 million Scoville stuff is enough to run a small car on. Or blow it up! IED perhaps?

InCider.


----------



## jupiter (3/2/07)

the thought of dried meat never really appealed to me, i remember trying some as a kid and never really liked it. anyways, i was over my brothers over christmas and he had made some jerky in his food dehydrator, i tried some and i just couldn't stop eating it cause it was so delicious.

so 2 days ago i purchased a food dehydrator and it's been running non-stop since then (i'm a bit worried about my power consumption 500W is listed on the bottom!). i've god some beef strips marinating in the fridge now, they will be going into the dryer tonight when my cherry tomatoes are done. the recipe:

(based on the recipe that came with the manual for the dehydrator)
1.5kg beef strips
5 tablespoons soy sauce
5 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
1/2 tablespoon ground peppercorns
1 tablespoon curry powder
3 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 teaspoon seasalt
1 fresh (of the plant) orange habinero chilli finely chopped.

i can't wait.


----------



## AndrewQLD (3/2/07)

Jupiter, sounds great, let us know how the jerky tastes.

InCider I can't wait to tuck into those Rellenos, I am dipping into some Habanero Salsa at the moment, nice and hot  .

I am also tucking into my Stilton cheese, only 4 weeks old but tasting great already, I will bring some down to the Bat cave for anyone into cheeses.




Cheers
Andrew


----------



## altstart (3/2/07)

AndrewQLD said:


> Jupiter, sounds great, let us know how the jerky tastes.
> 
> InCider I can't wait to tuck into those Rellenos, I am dipping into some Habanero Salsa at the moment, nice and hot  .
> 
> ...



:beer:

Gooday Andrew long time no see I am heavily into cheese and Habanero chillis. Looking forward to seeing you at the cave.

Cheers Altstart


----------



## Duff (3/2/07)

AndrewQLD said:


> Jupiter, sounds great, let us know how the jerky tastes.
> 
> InCider I can't wait to tuck into those Rellenos, I am dipping into some Habanero Salsa at the moment, nice and hot  .
> 
> ...



Andrew,

That looks unreal :beerbang: :super: 

Would love to try my hand at that. If you could PM or email some guidelines that would be great as my wife and I love cheese.

I've just started roasting my own coffee today so why not something else :lol: 

Cheers.


----------



## AndrewQLD (3/2/07)

Duff, PM sent mate.

Altstart, I am looking forward to the weekend and sharing a Pint or two while we contemplate the toilet arrangements for the morning, Rellenos, Vindalloo, and I am sure other spicy stuff is going to play havoc in the morning :blink: .

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## TidalPete (3/2/07)

Screwtop said:


> Same here BD stopped in the creekbed one morning and had a big drink, sweet clear water. Wandered upstream around the next bend in the creek and started to smell something off. There was a dead cow in the creek, I mean really dead, she'd been in there a couple of weeks I reckon. Never did hurt me and come to think about it, I still drank from the creek on most days on the way home from school.



Whilst paddling the surf ski in the upper reaches of the Mooloolah River a few years ago I rolled off (Middle of summer) & lay on the sandbank drinking up the H2o. How good is this I said to myself, Rainforest on the right & clear water all around? But never saw the 10 or 15 cows shitting in the river until I got around the next bend. :lol: 
Screwtop & Browndog,
My young days were just the same. You never worried abont drinking water from any running source as it was always safe. the world has changed & not for the better. Looking forward to your jerky BD.

:beer:


----------



## THE DRUNK ARAB (3/2/07)

Duff said:


> Andrew,
> 
> That looks unreal :beerbang: :super:
> 
> ...



Andrew, I *LOVE * Stilton cheese mate and the idea of making my own appeals to not only Duff but myself as well.

If you could also send PM some info on this as well I would be most appreciative. :super: 

C&B
TDA


----------



## TidalPete (3/2/07)

altstart said:


> :beer:
> 
> Gooday Andrew long time no see I am heavily into cheese and Habanero chillis. Looking forward to seeing you at the cave.
> 
> Cheers Altstart



Andrew,

I am a cheese fanatic. Just can't wait. :beerbang: 

:beer:


----------



## Screwtop (3/2/07)

Have been making cheese at home for years, from the very simple quark curded with lemon juice to the soft white Camembert and Brie, occasionally a Chedder, but I love to make Stilton. Andrew my last Stilton matured for 8 months, had all sorts of stuff growing on the rind, a visiting Australian cheese judge demanded I sacrifice it for his visit, boy was it good. 

Our homebrew fermentation fridges and temp control units are perfect for cheese maturation. Cheese is easy to make in the home kitchen up to about 20L of milk. Best if you can source some raw (non-pasteurised) milk, but any full cream milk will do. A few special cultures, rennet, cheese moulds etc is all that is required, the kit is a lot cheaper than what's required for AG brewing.

For those interested contact Carol Willman at Cheese Links they have an online store and conduct workshops around the country. If you have access to Goat or Sheep milk you've got it made, they make fantastic cheese.


----------



## InCider (4/2/07)

TidalPete said:


> Andrew,
> 
> I am a cheese fanatic. Just can't wait. :beerbang:
> 
> :beer:



Who cut the cheese? :blink: 

Andrew, the cheese looks fantastic. I am a cheese lover too, and looking forward to picking your brains at e swap.

Currently I have a 1/8 of a shopping bag of hababeros from the garded. Over the coming 6 weeks I hope to have added another 20 or so habs and 'water them down' with some other chillis and then make a sauce for the meet. I usuially add vinegar (2 metric splashes) and brown sugar (imperial handful) and then lemons, apple, onion or whatever else is to hand. I am on my last jar I made from last season. 

InCider.


----------



## AndrewQLD (4/2/07)

Screwtop said:


> Have been making cheese at home for years, from the very simple quark curded with lemon juice to the soft white Camembert and Brie, occasionally a Chedder, but I love to make Stilton. Andrew my last Stilton matured for 8 months, had all sorts of stuff growing on the rind, a visiting Australian cheese judge demanded I sacrifice it for his visit, boy was it good.
> 
> Our homebrew fermentation fridges and temp control units are perfect for cheese maturation. Cheese is easy to make in the home kitchen up to about 20L of milk. Best if you can source some raw (non-pasteurised) milk, but any full cream milk will do. A few special cultures, rennet, cheese moulds etc is all that is required, the kit is a lot cheaper than what's required for AG brewing.
> 
> For those interested contact Carol Willman at Cheese Links they have an online store and conduct workshops around the country. If you have access to Goat or Sheep milk you've got it made, they make fantastic cheese.



Yes, it is easier to make than most people think. Only being a novice with 4 x 6lt batches under my belt I am still struggleing to leave them long enough to mature properly. The Stilton I bring to the swap will be 10 weeks old. Your 8 mth old one must have been fantastic.

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## AndrewQLD (4/2/07)

InCider said:


> Who cut the cheese? :blink:
> 
> Andrew, the cheese looks fantastic. I am a cheese lover too, and looking forward to picking your brains at e swap.
> 
> ...



Rellenos AND chillie sauce, I can't wait, come on March 10th  

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## fixa (4/2/07)

I'll bring the frozen toilet paper...mmmmmmmmm soothing..lol


----------



## tangent (4/2/07)

...as for my recent weight gain, I'd like to thank cheese and beer.
2 of the greatest consumables on earth


----------



## kirem (4/2/07)

I have made my own white, blue and washed rind cheese for about 6-7 years.

This is a great book http://www.cheeselinks.com.au/book.html

This place also sells the rennet, cultures and moulds that you will need.

I use my stainless pot on the stove for hitting the right temps and a large knife to cut up the curd, a collinder to drain the whey off

I use large stormwater drain cut into rounds for the hoops, cheese cloth is easy to find at spotlight etc. 

A rectangular cake tin wedged towards the bottom of a foam brocolli box with some water in the bottom to create a humid environment, put the foam lid on and put this inside your ferment fridge and dial up the temperature you want to mature your cheese at.

Hard cheese require a press and it can be as simple as an empty large 'tin' can with a weight on the cheese or you can purchase one.

Same as brewing, be clean and use temperature control.

You can choose to pasturise or not. I haven't used supermarket 'milk' for cheese making, I think it needs something added back to it like calcium chloride. I have a good friend at Langhorne Creek that has a dairy. I get my milk from him. For the best results find a dairy farmer and offer to purchase some milk from them, considering how much they get ripped off by national foods etc, they will probably just give you 20L or so, but do offer to pay for it, they are really struggling.

I am also happy to field any questions. I taught myself when I was at uni. The best cheeses I have made, by a long way have been un-pasturised. Please be very careful and clean, listeria can be quite dangerous with cheese. Maybe Darren can make a post on the dangers of the micro spoilage of cheese and what to look for.
I look for any irregular mould growth, sometimes I just cut it out, sometimes I will ditch the whole cheese.

Kirk


----------



## AndrewQLD (4/2/07)

WOW, AHB members are a VERY versatile lot!  

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## kirem (4/2/07)

sorry screwtop I didn't see your earlier post, I repeated some of the info.

Happy to swap cheeses with any of you if you are interested.

Blessed are the cheesemakers, for they provide the ultimate accompaniment to beer


----------



## tangent (4/2/07)

i'm sure Kai would be another good source of cheese info.
we used to make our own butter as well.
there's nothing like real home produce.


----------



## Screwtop (4/2/07)

kirem said:


> sorry screwtop I didn't see your earlier post, I repeated some of the info.
> 
> Happy to swap cheeses with any of you if you are interested.
> 
> Blessed are the cheesemakers, for they provide the ultimate accompaniment to beer




Have been brewing hard for 12 months and not made any in that time, back into it soon, happy to swap, heat and Aust Post could be a problem.

Have any of you vine ashed your soft whites? For the Tassie guys - near Woodbridge south of Hobart there is a sheep cheeserie called Grandviewe. They make a wine washed rind hard cheese from sheep milk that is fantastic, think they wash it daily in Merlot. The red colour makes it's way in through the rind for about 3 mm.


----------



## InCider (4/2/07)

out of contol...


Mexican wants chilli king crown

A Mexican cabbie is searching for a world body to crown him king of the raw chilli eaters.

Manuel Quiroz can guzzle down dozens of Mexico's spiciest chillies, rub them on his skin and even squeeze their juice into his eyes without as much as blinking.

SMH Chilleater article linky







Wholesale nutbaggery! :blink:


----------



## Duff (4/2/07)

Madness  

I used to work with a bunch of Mexicans in Florida. They would just sit there at lunch with a sandwich in one hand and in the other was a packet full of birds eye chillies, one of those sandwich bag sizes. Per person. Munch a few chillis while eating the sandwich, then just finish the chillis off one by one :blink:


----------



## chillamacgilla73 (4/2/07)

I made a basic hard cheese in November 06 and will definately make more in the future. The process was a lot easier than I anticipated and the cheese was delicious. I used full cream milk and fortified the protein/fat content with a bit of cream, for the starter culture I used cultured buttermilk and for rennet I used a flavourless Junket tablet. 

I will have a bash at a blue cheese next and I'm thinking a culture of blue mould spores could easily be propogated from a piece of purchased blue cheese or would the cell count be too low? 

Give it a go but be super hygienic and as with salami making, add salt as per the recipe or you're asking for trouble.

Cheers
Chilla


----------



## tangent (4/2/07)

a cheese maker said to me "sure, we could make blue cheeses, but everything in the whole building would be blue cheese!"


----------



## Duff (4/2/07)

Isn't blue produced by piercing the cheese allowing air in subsequently producing the fungus which all blue cheese lovers love? :wub:

If I can produce something like King Island Roaring 40's, I will die a very happy man.

Cheers.


----------



## chillamacgilla73 (4/2/07)

tangent said:


> a cheese maker said to me "sure, we could make blue cheeses, but everything in the whole building would be blue cheese!"


Similarly, IIRC The Margaret River Cheese Company has two seperate buildings about 1km apart - one I think is for making the cheeses and the other building is for innoculating and ripening their soft fungus cheeses(brie n camembert).

A bit like lambics really.


----------



## kirem (4/2/07)

I don't do the cheese piercing thing, I just add the blue mould to the milk, works just fine.
I use seperate foam boxes for my different cheeses. The common equipment gets a good wash, clean and sanitise. I have no contamination problems.


----------



## MVZOOM (4/2/07)

kirem said:


> I don't do the cheese piercing thing, I just add the blue mould to the milk, works just fine.
> I use seperate foam boxes for my different cheeses. The common equipment gets a good wash, clean and sanitise. I have no contamination problems.



I was told once that they ran copper through the cheese, to get the blue mould growth?!


----------



## AndrewQLD (4/2/07)

chillamacgilla73 said:


> I made a basic hard cheese in November 06 and will definately make more in the future. The process was a lot easier than I anticipated and the cheese was delicious. I used full cream milk and fortified the protein/fat content with a bit of cream, for the starter culture I used cultured buttermilk and for rennet I used a flavourless Junket tablet.
> 
> I will have a bash at a blue cheese next and I'm thinking a culture of blue mould spores could easily be propogated from a piece of purchased blue cheese or would the cell count be too low?
> 
> ...



Hi Chilla, I use a blue cheese of choice from the supermarket for my cultures, works very well, the photo I posted uses a Roquforte cheese disolved in milk and added to the main milk before the rennet and at the same time as the basic culture or buttermilk. Here is the site I got my instructions from Cheese. English Stilton cheese makes a good mold starter too.
I have yet to try my hand at a hard cheese, but I am looking forward to it.

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## kirem (4/2/07)

MVZOOM said:


> I was told once that they ran copper through the cheese, to get the blue mould growth?!



I think that is old school/traditional. I used to do it with a knitting neddle, but found no change in not doing it, so now I don't.


----------



## AndrewQLD (4/2/07)

kirem said:


> I think that is old school/traditional. I used to do it with a knitting neddle, but found no change in not doing it, so now I don't.



In the old days it could possibly have been Copper wire, but now it is stainless steel thin rods. The idea is to create air pockets within the cheese for the mold to form in. The more air holes the denser the mold growth.
I find if I press the cheese, then the air holes help greatly, But if the cheese is unpressed, and has more cavities the mold will form by itself.

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## Kai (4/2/07)

chillamacgilla73 said:


> I will have a bash at a blue cheese next and I'm thinking a culture of blue mould spores could easily be propogated from a piece of purchased blue cheese or would the cell count be too low?



Yes, it can easily be reused. You don't need a lot of mould spores to effectively inoculate a batch, it's the lactic starter that's important.


----------



## Screwtop (4/2/07)

Do it the French way, throw in a bit of bread with blue mould on for your blues  

Cheese and Beer - Roquefort and Rochfort yum!


----------



## jupiter (6/2/07)

AndrewQLD said:


> Jupiter, sounds great, let us know how the jerky tastes.



yeah tastes good, pretty good for a first effort. the pepper and curry powder give it a twang, then every strip there is a piece or 2 of chilly that gets you by surprise. one piece will have nothing, the next you drowning yourself in beer to put the flames out... and lovin it  

i think maybe for the next lot i'll put the chilli in the garlic crusher to get it more fine and evenly distributed through the marinade. choppin it with the knife just doesn't get it fine enough.

what is it with jerky? you can't just eat one or 2 pieces, you have to eat it all until it's all gone.


----------



## browndog (7/2/07)

> what is it with jerky? you can't just eat one or 2 pieces, you have to eat it all until it's all gone.


Mate, if I had a dollar for every dollar I've spent on jerky at my local butchers in the last 5yrs I could have bought a bloody good brew sculpture from the states I reckon. I''l buy 20 bucks worth and eat it in a night or two. Very addictive stuff.

cheers

Browndog


----------



## InCider (7/2/07)

Screwtop said:


> Do it the French way, throw in a bit of bread with blue mould on for your blues
> 
> Cheese and Beer - Roquefort and Rochfort yum!


I knew you'd come around to the Blues! Even without Andrew Johns!  

Sean


----------



## tangent (7/2/07)

"what is it with jerky? you can't just eat one or 2 pieces, you have to eat it all until it's all gone."

i stayed on a station up north, while the blokes would be having their evening beers, they'd slice off pieces of roo and dunk them in a chilli marinade. Then before bed they'd load the electric dryer.
Those blokes would polish off the majority before lunch and stink the landcruiser AND the whole sheep yards out with one fart.
A diet of 303 roo jerky is dangerous stuff.


----------



## chillamacgilla73 (7/2/07)

AndrewQLD said:


> Hi Chilla, I use a blue cheese of choice from the supermarket for my cultures, works very well, the photo I posted uses a Roquforte cheese disolved in milk and added to the main milk before the rennet and at the same time as the basic culture or buttermilk. Here is the site I got my instructions from Cheese. English Stilton cheese makes a good mold starter too.
> I have yet to try my hand at a hard cheese, but I am looking forward to it.
> 
> Cheers
> Andrew






Kai said:


> Yes, it can easily be reused. You don't need a lot of mould spores to effectively inoculate a batch, it's the lactic starter that's important.



Thanks very much for the info guys - I will definately try making a blue cheese very soon. I can't wait!


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (12/2/07)

I made some rather nice jerky yesterday

Basically all I did was bought some corned silver side from the butcher. I sliced it into 1cm slices then marinated it in soy, honey, balsamic, chiili salt and some black been over night.

I then sprinkled it in chilli flakes and ground pepper, put it on a rack in the oven, set the oven to 90*ish and let it go for about 5 hrs .


Turned out fantastic and as good as any bought stuff.

With he next lot I shall be changing the marinade to make a honey,soy chilli. But you can use whatever marinade you like.

Corned silverside is ideal because it is already partly cured and nice and tender


----------



## MVZOOM (12/2/07)

On Thursday I marinaded some Holumi (?) cheese - chilli, garlic, olive oil, sundried tomato and olives. Wacked it on the bbq hotplate with some olive oil, last night and cooked it - bloody beautiful. 

Talk about calories!

Cheers - Mike :beerbang:


----------



## Screwtop (12/2/07)

MVZOOM said:


> On Thursday I marinaded some Holumi (?) cheese - chilli, garlic, olive oil, sundried tomato and olives. Wacked it on the bbq hotplate with some olive oil, last night and cooked it - bloody beautiful.
> 
> Talk about calories!
> 
> Cheers - Mike :beerbang:




Haloumi is great for breakfast, you can fry it without it melting, dip it in egg and fry off, poli kala.


----------



## bindi (12/2/07)

MVZOOM said:


> On Thursday I marinaded some Holumi (?) cheese - chilli, garlic, olive oil, sundried tomato and olives. Wacked it on the bbq hotplate with some olive oil, last night and cooked it - bloody beautiful.
> 
> Talk about calories!
> 
> Cheers - Mike :beerbang:




I have done the same with Bacio cheese [it's like Haloumi] but have not used sundried tomatoes and olives <_< so after reading this post I now have some marinating in the fridge with all the above.
can't wait. 

Edit spelling of Haloumi


----------



## warrenlw63 (12/2/07)

Yasou to fried Saganaki also. :beerbang: 

Another one I'm slowly getting addicted to are those nice marinated fetta-stuffed bell peppers that a lot of good delis carry these days.  

Good stuff with a nice hoppy pale ale. 

Warren -


----------



## therook (12/2/07)

Wazza,

made these last year stuffed with cream cheese ....sensational


----------



## browndog (12/2/07)

This thread has so much great stuff about gourmet food for the beer drinker, can we make it a sticky topic Admins?


cheers

Browndog


----------



## Asher (12/2/07)

I didn't realise there were so many cheese makers out there! Maybe we need our own topic. I've got a few kilo's of Juncthouse Cheddar Maturing at the moment. Its waxed and in the fridge at the moment as I have no other long term storage spot for it.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (12/2/07)

My missus bought me some pickled hot chillies.

* Fantastic with stout*


----------



## AUHEAMIC (12/2/07)

I have been into this home made dip lately.

DIP
Philadelphia cream cheese
Keens curry powder
Spring onions

BISCUITS
Chicken in a biscuit (the rectangle ones with the serrated edges).

A match made in heaven.

I have tried it with different biscuits but it doesnt work as well.


----------



## warrenlw63 (12/2/07)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> * Fantastic with stout*



What Isn't? :lol: 

Something I have a bit of a penchant for that goes really well with Porter is chocolate coated coffee beans. :beerbang: 

Warren -


----------



## Boozy the clown (12/2/07)

And as a sidenote to the current cheesy conversation...

The Biltong/jerky

Dont marinade in malt vinegar then salt (Dr Karl) Biiiig mistake.

Too salty! (But I did still manage to eat it, slowly over time)


----------



## AndrewQLD (24/2/07)

Home made spicy sausages and my waxed Cheddar cheese. The sausages are hanging to bloom and will be eaten tonight at the BBQ with heaps of Bosuns Best Bitter, the cheese I have to wait a few months for.





Cheers
Andrew


----------



## InCider (24/2/07)

AndrewQLD said:


> Home made spicy sausages and my waxed Cheddar cheese. The sausages are hanging to bloom and will be eaten tonight at the BBQ with heaps of Bosuns Best Bitter, the cheese I have to wait a few months for.
> View attachment 11572
> 
> Cheers
> Andrew



Andrew, my mouth is watering already...

Today would be chilli sauce brew day but with all the rain my very mild chillis have still a week or two to go to ripen. It will be ready for march no problem.

This thread is dangerous to read before going to Woolies!


----------



## AndrewQLD (24/2/07)

InCider said:


> Andrew, my mouth is watering already...
> 
> Today would be chilli sauce brew day but with all the rain my very mild chillis have still a week or two to go to ripen. It will be ready for march no problem.
> 
> This thread is dangerous to read before going to Woolies!



I hope the sun comes out soon InCider, I am really looking forward to the chillies. My wife asked me to swipe a tiny sample of the sauce   she's another chillie freak.

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## InCider (24/2/07)

AndrewQLD said:


> I hope the sun comes out soon InCider, I am really looking forward to the chillies. My wife asked me to swipe a tiny sample of the sauce  she's another chillie freak.
> 
> Cheers
> Andrew




I'll bring some extra sauce for Mrs AndrewQLD  I bought the jalepenos already in BNE a week or so again (tinned) so I'll be ready without having to rely on my plants. I will make some fresh ones though - extra hot they are!


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (24/2/07)

Got another batch of jerky in the fridge marinating..

Going to be "Honey, Soy Chilli "jerkey

Simple recipie using 1cm slices of corned beef, Honey, Soy, Balsamic vinigar and chilli ... The dried in the oven for about 5hrs

:super:


----------



## Tony (24/2/07)

Chilli sause........

i love home made chilli sauce.

I make a sweet chilli cause with ginger and garlic, lemon juice, white viniger water and sugar i think.

first time i made it i boiled it down on the tsove in the kitchen and the fumes made the kisd cry and everybody had to leave the house.

the second batck i made (i used 1/2 a plactic shopping bag of home grown chillies) i boiled it on a ring burner on the BBQ outside 

You should have seen the bees swarm to the smell 

My chilli plants are starting to bear a heap of fruit so with the bag i already have in the freezer, there is going to be a heap of sauce.

Does any one have a recipe for a hot chilli sauce thats not sweet?

cheers


----------



## Adamt (3/3/07)

Finally got off my arse and decided to make some jerky! Well, actually biltong but feh, people call megaswill beer.

1kg Round Steak, thinly sliced (put in the freezer for a couple of hours to aid in cutting)
1/2 cup soy
4TBsp Sugar
Probably about 3 tsp crushed garlic
1tsp Sambal Oelek (Hot chilli paste)

It's definitely necessary to cook some of it at this point to "make sure it tastes ok"!

Im going to marinate it overnight and throw it in the dehydrator at 60C for 8 hours.

I hope it turns out okay, I've got nearly a kilo of it!


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (3/3/07)

Adam...you will also need salt...( personally I would use corned beef as it is pre salted/cured and is nice and tender)


And don,t think you will end up with 1KG of jerky  ...It will shrink before your eyes...you would be lucky to get 200gms of dried jerky....



But it sure will taste nice... :super: 

And you made it yourself. Thats all that matters B)


----------



## Adamt (3/3/07)

Even with full-salt soy sauce? I'd have though there would be plenty in there.


----------



## tangent (3/3/07)

tony, my brother does some awesome chilli sauces
chilli oils as well
Start by just making a regular tomato sauce and adding sh!tload of chillis  go from there.
The latest one he did was chockers full of mustard seed as well.
just don't add too much sugar mate - that sweet chilli sauce is so crap.


----------



## FNQ Bunyip (3/3/07)

adamt , we have never added salt to a good soy sauce biltong marinade. 
The soy dose the trick nicely... 

Pat the meet dry on kitchen towel or clean tea towels (just put them straight in the washing machine with a bit of nappie san) to remove any excess moisture befor soaking in your marinade of choise ... 

:beer:


----------



## Adamt (3/3/07)

Yep did that bunyip, paper towelled.

Cheers!


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (3/3/07)

FNQ...yeah...it does depend on the soy that you use...some are more salty than others.

Pating the meet help heaps. The less water content, the better it will dry. The salt will help draw the water from the meat...

If it is a fatty meat, then it will take ages to dry out.


----------



## Kai (4/3/07)

If the meat is fatty then it will also go rancid faster.


----------



## InCider (4/3/07)

Tony said:


> Chilli sause........
> 
> i love home made chilli sauce.
> 
> ...



I made this one today Tony - 2 apples, one green lemon + zest, 2 onions, a bag of habaneros and other assorted chillis. I added 5 cloves, of which I have found 3, and sea salt, 3 spoons of ginger and the same of garlic. And a dollop of pickle lime. Boiled and about to be blended. Used a bit of white vinegar. House smells great!

I ditched the sugar this time. I would love to make a sauce like nandos.

Cheers 

Sean.


----------



## Kai (4/3/07)

Did the kid go in too?


----------



## InCider (4/3/07)

Kai said:


> Did the kid go in too?



She is chief tester. When she was one I was dipping corn chips with habanero sauce. She insisted on trying it (pestering me) so I let her have the tiniest bit. I thought that would stop her. Nope. :blink: 

Jus tried the sauce and it's lethal.

She eats what I eat if shes around (off my plate) and has lots of spicy food. She has an Indian grandman. We eat a lot of curry here!

Sean


----------



## Kai (4/3/07)

She'll probably be able to eat hot food all her life, then. I think I recall reading somewhere that before the age of 7 or 9 or so, built up tolerance to chilli does not dissipate like it does in adults.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (4/3/07)

Kai said:


> If the meat is fatty then it will also go rancid faster.




No chance of that here...be lucky to last a week in this house B)


----------



## InCider (4/3/07)

Kai said:


> She'll probably be able to eat hot food all her life, then. I think I recall reading somewhere that before the age of 7 or 9 or so, built up tolerance to chilli does not dissipate like it does in adults.



She might be like that crazy mexican bloke earlier in the thread who squirted the juice in his eyes! 

Seriously though, she is 2.5 and eats anything. And boy is almost 6 and fussy as. I never got him to eat any hot food in case he cried or my reminded me of poor parenting. With her, I haven't held back and she is much easier to feed. Dahl is a favourite with her.

Sean


----------



## InCider (8/3/07)

Just an update of the chilli sauce: It's awesome! I should be more modest but I think I have got it close to the taste I was aiming for. Great lingering 'hum' of habanero, clean bite but I think in a few months some more flavours will come out of it - apple, clove I hope.

It's so good I'm eating left over nachos at 6.30am!

InCider.


----------



## tangent (8/3/07)

My Mum makes Devilled almonds for Xmas every year.
Almonds, olive oil, salt and loads and loads of cayenne pepper heated in a pan.
Excellent beer snack!

I've also got to mention one of my favourite places when I'm travelling:
The Crossing Cafe in Deniliquin. Just near the bridge.
Bloody excellent wood oven pizzas and good staff.
Their hangover cure of eggs Benedict and watermelon juice works wonders!


----------



## Asher (9/4/07)

Heres a picture of the first wheel of Juncthouse Camembert Cheese.... tasting notes to follow in the next few weeks as I'm planning to taste this batch (5 wheels) over several weeks to see when the best time to eat it is...




Asher for now


----------



## Doc (9/4/07)

One of the latest vblogs from Stone Brewing is where they combine Double Arrogant Bastard with Chilli Sauce.
At one point they have the pepper concentrate that will burn your skin.
Check it out here

Beers,
Doc


----------



## AndrewQLD (1/6/07)

Having a go at making Biltong, here's a couple of badly taken photos of the Biltong drying in a home made Biltong box.





Asher that cheese looks great, any updates on taste ect?

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## sjc (1/6/07)

Asher said:


> Heres a picture of the first wheel of Juncthouse Camembert Cheese.... tasting notes to follow in the next few weeks as I'm planning to taste this batch (5 wheels) over several weeks to see when the best time to eat it is...
> 
> View attachment 12048
> 
> ...



Hi Asher

how long have you been making cheese? I've been going for almost 12 months now and had a lot of fun producing a lot of different types and styles. Have you done any hard cheeses?
I'm in southeast Queensland and source unhomogenised milk from around the Gympie, Maleny and Burnett regions. Have got most of my cultures, hoops and paper (camembert/brie wraps) from Cheeselinks.

We need to set up a cheesemakers' forum!

Cheese,
Stephen.


----------



## InCider (1/6/07)

Hi Chilli lovers.

I am picking up some habaneros off Screwtop tomorrow and I'm going to make a nice sauce. I had an idead to toss in some hops on a sample batch to see what I can create. Any suggestions on the type of hops? I only have Saaz pellets, but I'm sure they'll be fine!

InCider.


----------



## AndrewQLD (1/6/07)

sjc said:


> Hi Asher
> 
> how long have you been making cheese? I've been going for almost 12 months now and had a lot of fun producing a lot of different types and styles. Have you done any hard cheeses?
> I'm in southeast Queensland and source unhomogenised milk from around the Gympie, Maleny and Burnett regions. Have got most of my cultures, hoops and paper (camembert/brie wraps) from Cheeselinks.
> ...



Hi Stephen,

I am in Bundaberg, making cheese for the last 12 mths or so. I didn't know it was possible to get unhomogenised milk, can you tell me where you get it from? Have you any pics of your cheesemaking efforts? here's my Stilton style effort stilton

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## warrenlw63 (1/6/07)

AndrewQLD said:


> Hi Stephen,
> 
> I am in Bundaberg, making cheese for the last 12 mths or so. I didn't know it was possible to get unhomogenised milk, can you tell me where you get it from? Have you any pics of your cheesemaking efforts? here's my Stilton style effort stilton
> 
> ...



Andrew, that Stilton looked bloody brilliant. :super: 

How does it compare to the real English McCoy? 

Warren -


----------



## AndrewQLD (1/6/07)

warrenlw63 said:


> Andrew, that Stilton looked bloody brilliant. :super:
> 
> How does it compare to the real English McCoy?
> 
> Warren -



Mine was a lot softer, mainly because I didn't press it, but the flavour was awesome, perhaps a little stronger than the original. I have made several batches of this and it seems a light overnight pressing gives a nice firm consistancy like the real stuff, and the veining is not quite so pronounced.

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## sjc (1/6/07)

AndrewQLD said:


> Hi Stephen,
> 
> I am in Bundaberg, making cheese for the last 12 mths or so. I didn't know it was possible to get unhomogenised milk, can you tell me where you get it from? Have you any pics of your cheesemaking efforts? here's my Stilton style effort stilton
> 
> ...


Hi Andrew
sorry, no pics of the cheese I can post (a bit of a technophobe - no digital camera, no mobile phone!). There are a number of small producers selling unhomogenised milk inlcuding:

Barambah organics (Burnett region)
Edenhope (Gympie)
Cooloola Milk (Dagun, near Gympie)
Maleny Milk.
There could be others I'm not aware of. I've only used unhomogenised milk but I understand you can use ordinary store milk by adding Calcium chloride solution.
At the moment I have a romano I made two weeks ago that I am applying salt and olive oil to to help create that hard rind, and a cloth bound cheddar that I'm turning daily and washing with a vinegar soaked cloth where necessary to any surface mould blooms. I'm just finishing a cloth bound cheddar I made 6 months ago and this time I want to mature it for at least 12 months. Also have a gorgonzola that I made a month ago and will probably break into in about two months time.

We should catch up next time you're in Brisbane. Ross has my contact details.

Cheers
Stephen.


----------



## AndrewQLD (1/6/07)

sjc said:


> Hi Andrew
> sorry, no pics of the cheese I can post (a bit of a technophobe - no digital camera, no mobile phone!). There are a number of small producers selling unhomogenised milk inlcuding:
> 
> Barambah organics (Burnett region)
> ...



Thanks for the info, a cheese and beer night at Ross's place sounds great, and trying some of those cheeses you have described would be fantastic, what say you Ross, don't mind us inviting ourselves over to drink your beer :lol: .

I think a dedicated forum for beer related food would be a great idea, with perhaps sub forums for catagories such as cheese, meat, recipes ect. Although it might be pushing Dane a bit with all he has to handle now, but it can't hurt to ask.

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## QldKev (1/6/07)

AndrewQLD said:


> Having a go at making Biltong, here's a couple of badly taken photos of the Biltong drying in a home made Biltong box.
> 
> View attachment 12880
> View attachment 12881
> ...



Hey Andrew

Like he look of the dryer, couple of questions.
Do you have anything over the light to stop drips hitting it?
Have you done anything to the wood to seal it; just with raw food? (I realise the meat shouldn't touch it, but just in case)

I ended up making one from a platic storage box with a pc fan cut int the lid.

QldKev


----------



## AndrewQLD (1/6/07)

QldKev said:


> Hey Andrew
> 
> Like he look of the dryer, couple of questions.
> Do you have anything over the light to stop drips hitting it?
> ...



Hii Kev,
No I haven't sealed it yet and there is a piece of wood that covers up the light. I didn't get any drips at all this time but the meat, after 24hrs marinating had lost a lot of it's moisture and was pretty dry when I hung it.
I just tried one of the thinner bits and it tastes great (after 24hrs in the dryer), the texture of the meat is not tough and chewy but firm and dry at the same time. I used some bicarb in the marinate so I assume this helped to tenderise the meat quit a bit.

Do you make Biltong/jerky often?

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## QldKev (2/6/07)

Hey Andrew

We make Jerky roughly every 2 weeks. Our method is quite a bit different.

Cut 100% fat free 500grms rump steak (the local stuff at $6kg) into 1cm thick x 2cm wide strips.
If the meat is very wet pat dry with paper towel.
Cover with rock salt for 20-45mins
Remove excess salt (leaving a small amount is ok)
Mix 1/4 vinegar to 3/4 water and soak meat for 15-45mins
Remove meat and pat dry with paper towel
Mix spices in mortal/pestel (eg 50% corriander seeds, 40% gara masala and 10% chilli powder)
Lightly cover meat with spice mix
Place into dryer.

Our dryer (the jerky machine) is a platic storage bin 28L
Holes (size of 5cent peice) drilled around the outside edges at the bottom 
PC fan mounted in the centre of the lid, with an old 12v mobile phone power pack to run it. (depending on fan speed you may need two fans)
Chrome wire shelf mounted horizontally about half way up.
We just lay the strips onto the shelf, ensuring they do not touch each other.

I found to many spices mixed together on it looses distinct flavours; I tend to keep the spice mix fairly simple. You may want to lightly brown the corriander seeds prior to crushing.

I plan on putting flywire over the holes around the bottom one day; but have noticed flys never try and get in from there as the holes are sucking air, and all the smell is vented at the fan outlet.

QldKev


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## MVZOOM (2/6/07)

InCider said:


> I made this one today Tony - 2 apples, one green lemon + zest, 2 onions, a bag of habaneros and other assorted chillis. I added 5 cloves, of which I have found 3, and sea salt, 3 spoons of ginger and the same of garlic. And a dollop of pickle lime. Boiled and about to be blended. Used a bit of white vinegar. House smells great!
> 
> I ditched the sugar this time. I would love to make a sauce like nandos.
> 
> ...



InCider - I have just chopped and popped a sauce on the stove top as per the above! Will let you know the result!

Cheers - Mike


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## InCider (2/6/07)

MVZOOM said:


> InCider - I have just chopped and popped a sauce on the stove top as per the above! Will let you know the result!
> 
> Cheers - Mike



Great stuff Mike. let me know how it goes... I am going to Screwtops this afternoon for a pickup of a ice cream container of Habaneros - for my special Hops Sauce I'm going to make.. he ehe hehehehe...  

Sean.

PS the one I made is the pics is so bloody hot! I need to mix it with mayo to eat it now... it's getting hotter!

I used ALL the seeds too...


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## MVZOOM (2/6/07)

InCider said:


> Great stuff Mike. let me know how it goes... I am going to Screwtops this afternoon for a pickup of a ice cream container of Habaneros - for my special Hops Sauce I'm going to make.. he ehe hehehehe...
> 
> Sean.
> 
> ...



Sean - Yep, I'm all in too :beer: . Couple of questions:

- How long did you simmer for?
- How have you stored it?

Cheers - Mike


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## InCider (2/6/07)

MVZOOM said:


> Sean - Yep, I'm all in too :beer: . Couple of questions:
> 
> - How long did you simmer for?
> - How have you stored it?
> ...


  
Hey Mike - got pics? 

I simmered until it all went really limp and a gluey mess. Then 10 mins or so, flameout and let it sit for an hour ( I got distracted ) and stored in 2 x coopers Pet. I have a pop top on the bottle and it lives in the fridge... works a treat.

Sean.


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## MVZOOM (2/6/07)

Yep... phruck, it's nice and hot. Tastes good too, nice and neutral (ie.. not too salty or sweet).

Chers - Mike

PS - excuse the horrific state of my BBQ, it's due for a rather heavy clean this weekend..


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## Screwtop (2/6/07)

Sean, all's good for this arvo, meeting cancelled. Andrew, that stilton looked the goods, send me a PM can put you onto raw milk supply, not far from Batz place.


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## InCider (2/6/07)

MVZOOM said:


> Yep... phruck, it's nice and hot. Tastes good too, nice and neutral (ie.. not too salty or sweet).
> 
> Chers - Mike



Excellent! It looks like it's all going to mush... mmm i'm going to eat some chilli sauce NOW!  

I have no huge hangups about the amounts of any of the adjuncts to the chillies. All you can taste is chillies in the end, with tints of this and that...

Sean.


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## InCider (2/6/07)

Screwtop said:


> Sean, all's good for this arvo, meeting cancelled. Andrew, that stilton looked the goods, send me a PM can put you onto raw milk supply, not far from Batz place.



No worries Mike - have to meet the Mother Out Law at 3.30 - at Clown Town so I might meet up before or after that - will see how it goes...

We're all excited here as we may have another 'brewer' hatching in 9 months... all tests so far are +ve. :beerbang: 

Sean.


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## Screwtop (2/6/07)

InCider said:


> No worries Mike - have to meet the Mother Out Law at 3.30 - at Clown Town so I might meet up before or after that - will see how it goes...
> 
> We're all excited here as we may have another 'brewer' hatching in 9 months... all tests so far are +ve. :beerbang:
> 
> Sean.




Good news, fingers crossed for you both and the hatchling. Will you be driving? Maybe you could be dropped off and then picked up on the return, suggesting this may cause scratches and loss of fur.


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## InCider (2/6/07)

Screwtop said:


> Good news, fingers crossed for you both and the hatchling. Will you be driving? Maybe you could be dropped off and then picked up on the return, suggesting this may cause scratches and loss of fur.



Loss of fur? I went and told her what I wanted to do (goto Pete's then stay at yours for a wee while before this party we're going to and she said she was going to suggest it! I'll text when I'm at Pete's.

Sean.


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## Screwtop (2/6/07)

Cool


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## Kai (3/6/07)

Have bumped this over to the stylish new beer food forum since it fits here better.


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## capretta (23/6/07)

just attempted my first jerky (in lieu of cheese, im not sure how time intensive the cheese is to make so im waiting for a full free day). made jerky with 
500g kangaroo sliced salted and soaked for 45 mins in
200ml rice vinegar
150ml red wine vinegar (probably could have used less of the vinegars)
teaspoon paprika 
desertspoon pepperberries
splash of light soy
then into the oven at 80-100 degrees for 5 hours. 






ate it last night when i came back from the pub and im not dead yet (although my mrs almost killed me when i suggested she try some!) so I think it is a success!


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## InCider (23/6/07)

capretta said:


> just attempted my first jerky (in lieu of cheese, im not sure how time intensive the cheese is to make so im waiting for a full free day). made jerky with
> 500g kangaroo sliced salted and soaked for 45 mins in
> 200ml rice vinegar
> 150ml red wine vinegar (probably could have used less of the vinegars)
> ...


That looks delicious capretta!


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## uneekwahn (7/12/07)

OMG where has jerky been all my life.

I'm 30, and I only just tried jerky on Wednesday. Since then, I've tried three different ones (nobbys, jacks' and currently about to finish a pack of bilton stokkies I only bought about an hour ago!) and I'm preferrign the nobby's spicy jerky. The biltong is a bit too tough for my liking, and the jack's was just really average IMHO.

Looks like on top of buying my AG gear and starting to make cheese, I'll be making jerky too!

Cheers,

Jason.


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## capretta (7/12/07)

hahah welcome to the dark ( and dried ) side. it has become a bit of a staple at my work as im on trains i dont get a chance to refrigerate and may be on board for up to 12 hours at a time.. shame i cant have a beer with it! try kangaroo jerky, i recommend it above beef myself..


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## sathid (7/12/07)

My favourite Biltong comes from these guys: http://www.proteafoods.com/

I just LOVE the peri-peri biltong stockies.

Problem is it's so damn expensive!

If I could make some that tasted the same, I'd be doing it all the time!


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## Ducatiboy stu (7/12/07)

Its easy to make

Get some corned silver side, trim off the fat, cut into 5mm slices
marinate in soy/honey/chillie/whatever
sit overnight

Place in oven set at 90*c ( no higher ) and let dry for about 6 hrs


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## Adric Hunter (21/1/08)

ive been making biltong for several months now, yours is a preety good version i would recomend using apple cider vinegar, and seasoning with ground corriander seeds and cloves for that authentic Seth Efrican touch


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## Kleiny (27/1/08)

this jerky recipe from kai rocks

made some to take to a party yesterday eveyone couldn't get enough
making some more today

thanks kai


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## Kai (27/1/08)

Cheers, kleiny. Glad you liked it.


Amazing how this thread just keeps on going.


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## Jye (19/10/08)

One thing I havent found mentioned anywhere is what sort of temp is needed in a Biltong box? Im guessing warmer temps will just speed the process up but whats the average temp everyone else is drying at?

And is there any importance to the visible aspect of the lamp (help prevent mold?) or is it just to provide heat.


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## capretta (19/10/08)

i pop mine in the oven on a low setting getting about 50-80 degrees, my mrs feels better about it if i tell her the "bugs" have been cooked out. usually bout 5 hours is plenty. biltong is traditionally air dried i thought? bit too much risk i think for me


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## Blackfish (19/10/08)

Jye said:


> One thing I havent found mentioned anywhere is what sort of temp is needed in a Biltong box? Im guessing warmer temps will just speed the process up but whats the average temp everyone else is drying at?
> 
> And is there any importance to the visible aspect of the lamp (help prevent mold?) or is it just to provide heat.



Jye, my understanding is that dry moving air is what you are going for. The theory of the box is to have air moving past the meat, not hot enough to cook it, but not cold/slow enough to let airborne bugs take hold of it. 

I made jerky in the oven for a long time but found I liked the cured 'softness' of biltong much better. I'm no Afrikaner, but to a certain point, how dry you make it is a matter of taste.

A 60W globe in the bottom of a 1ft square box with air holes top & bottom dries my biltong to the characteristic slightly squishy firm not rock hard texture that I like in about 3 days. But I think what is critical is that you are drying the outside of the pieces within the first day. My lamp is invisible to the meat & I have never had mould issues. 

I never thought to put a thermometer in there to check, It just seems to work!

BTW has anyone seen "Into the Wild" ?


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## browndog (24/10/08)

> BTW has anyone seen "Into the Wild" ?



With Harry Butler?


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## Doc (26/10/08)

I'd had a few beers on Thursday night and read this topic.
I was inspired.
Bought a dehydrator online on Thurs night, shipped Friday so should be here tomorrow.
Bought some nice steak today, and have just made up the marinade and put the steak in it. It is sitting nicely in the fridge. Did some searches and found some Youtube and Foodtv links and came up with the following marinade:

For 1kg of Steak;

2/3 cup Worcestershie sauce
2/3 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup bourbon
1 tbsp Smoky Bourbon marinade
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp tobasco
1 tsp sour cream and chives
1 tsp garlic salt
pinch smoked sea salt
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp chilli flakes

Tasted the marinade and it is awesome. Great heat, but not over the top. That nice addictive level of heat.
The sour cream and chives and garlic salt spices were in sub for onion powder which we'd run out of.

Looking forward to firing up the new dehydrator tomorrow night and having a whole bunch of jerky for morning tea over the next few weeks.

Thanks for the inspiration AHB'ers.

Doc


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## InCider (26/10/08)

Drool, drool, drool.... :icon_drool2: 

Great recipe Doc. I was checking out stainless smoking units the other day after all the delicacies that AndrewQLD has served up at Batz' place.

InCider.


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## Doc (27/10/08)

The dehydrator showed up at 3pm, and I had it cleaned loaded and on at 3:25pm. 
The smell of the meat dehydrating after marinating for 24hours in a bourbon chilli marinade is awesome.
Can't wait to taste. Hopefully it only takes a few hours to dehydrate.

Doc


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## Mercs Own (23/11/08)

Making my first jerky today - it's marinating in the fridge as I type and I cant wait to get it in the oven tomorrow (I should probably leave it for 24 hours in the marinade but....)

1/2 cup soy
2 tbls of worcestishire
2 - 3 tbls wild turkey
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp smokey paprika
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp ceyanne pepper
1/2 tsp ginger powder
salt and pepper

900 grams of corned beef, all fat removed and sliced long and lean

go into the oven at 90 degrees until done and probably sprinkled with some chilli flakes for good measure.

90 degrees the right temp??


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## capretta (23/11/08)

i reckon if you are gonna have the temp that high make sure its sliced real thin otherwise it will be powdery dry on the outside and under done on the inside which will be ok for a few days but then it will sweat heaps. i'd maybe have it at 90 for a hour or so then back down to approx 50 for the duration.. try kangaroo next! thats my favourite!


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## Ducatiboy stu (24/11/08)

Merc

As you are basically using the same method as me, except I slice a bit thicker, about 5mm, 90 should be Ok but 80 would prob be a bit better.

Of course as it is thinner it wont take as long in the oven. I usually have it in the oven for at least 6 hrs.


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## Mercs Own (27/11/08)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Merc
> 
> As you are basically using the same method as me, except I slice a bit thicker, about 5mm, 90 should be Ok but 80 would prob be a bit better.
> 
> Of course as it is thinner it wont take as long in the oven. I usually have it in the oven for at least 6 hrs.



I had the jerky in the oven at about 75 for 3 1/2 hours and it was done (oven turned off and they sat in the open oven for another couple of hours as I wasnt home) - still moist and tender not dry - chewy but very delicious!! I may use low salt soy next time as I found the initial salt hit a bit much from the soy - I didnt take into account the salt content of the corned sliver side. Will be making this again soon!

Anyone doing a pork jerky???


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## Katherine (27/11/08)

pork jerky... YUMMMM! never tried it!

Try Tamari....


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## Mercs Own (27/11/08)

Katie said:


> pork jerky... YUMMMM! never tried it!
> 
> Try Tamari....



Tamari I use for the kids dinner so I have some and will use it.

I had some pork jerky that was done in a Malay type chilli satay sweet marinade and it was fantastic - made by a butcher in Newcastle. Anyone with a recipe?


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## bonj (27/11/08)

Katie said:


> pork jerky... YUMMMM! never tried it!
> 
> Try Tamari....


We used to drive past a guy everyday, that sold jerky on the side of the road in San Antonio (TX) with a big sign for Turkey Jerky, which amused us greatly.


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## Adamt (27/11/08)

Puts a whole new swing on turkey slapping!


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## Mercs Own (6/12/08)

Made my second lot of jerky but used Tamari instead of soy and added some maple syrup to give it a little sweetness. Dried in the oven at 75 degrees for about four hours. The silverside is certainly adding a big hit of salt so I will use a different cut next time. Btw the silverside is marinated or pickled in a brine that also has pineapple juice in it. That is the way my butcher does it.

The jerky is/was terrific and didnt last long - it never does!


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## Ducatiboy stu (6/12/08)

Different butchers have different brine recipies, maybe you couls soak the silver side overnight to draw some salt out


I just use store bought generic stuff, and its salt level is fairly low compared to some of the butchers brined silverside


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## Mercs Own (13/12/08)

Picked up some pickled pork today and will trim it up and then freeze it ready for my next sojourn into jerky making. Thinking of a satay/fruity/chilli type marinade any one done one?


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## Mercs Own (28/12/08)

2 tbs peanut butter
1/2 cup of tamari
2 tsp sambal olek
1/2 mango pulped
2 tsp castor sugar
1ts garlic powder

Put all the ingredients in a pan and heated it over a stove so as to make sure all the ingredients were well combined. 

Sliced up my trimmed pickled pork (it had been in the freezer since the day I trimmed it) and put it in the marindae and gave it a real good mix then put it in a sealed container and in the fridge for three days.

Took it out this morning gave it a dry down and put it in the oven at 80 degrees. It has been going for 2 hours and my wife just tried a bit and said that she is going to find it hard to stop eating it! I guess she likes the sweet aspect of it.

Another hour or so and it will be done. I will try and take a picture and post it - I say try because my wife may have eaten it all before I can get a shot.


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## Barramundi (28/12/08)

Mercs Own said:


> 2 tbs peanut butter
> 1/2 cup of tamari
> 2 tsp sambal olek
> 1/2 mango pulped
> ...




put me down for a bag of it when its done merc ...

i seriously gotta get motivated and build my biltong box ...


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## Mercs Own (30/12/08)

Yes yes yes this jerky is good! I thought at first the peanut butter was a little strong but after a couple of days it has evened out anicely - the nuttiness combined with the sweetness from the mango, the salt from the tamari and the chilli from the sambal is all working together in a very enjoyable and subtle way.

A little more chilli would have been good for my taste how ever my wife is loving this jerky also and it has just the right amount of heat for her. 

Key word is balance - it is balanced as it is more chilli would push it into the out of balance big chilli hit side of things.


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## Jye (2/1/09)

After 2 yrs of thinking about making a dryer I finally did  Ended up going for a 50L storage container over wood as I dont like the idea of not being able to clean the surface well. The lid is sealed with foam strip made for door jams and the holes on the bottom and fan are covered with SS mesh from an oil splatter thingy. The fan actually blows air in instead of out due to be gluing it on and then finding out I couldnt just reverse the wires to change the directions  The hanging rack is an old fridge rack cut down to size.

Went with some corned silver side cut into 10-15mm strips. Covered it with rock salt for 30min and then dipped in brown vinigar for 3-4min, dried off with a paper towel and covered with 50% corriander seeds, 40% gara masala and 10% chilli powder (QldKev's recipe and the gara masala smells freckin awesome :super: ).

Cant wait to try it and keep looking to see how its progressing.


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## Mercs Own (10/1/09)

some pictures of my pork jerky - all gone now - but I have 2 kilos of pickled pork in the freezer and ready to go in the next week or two.


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## I like beer (11/1/09)

That looks great Paul.
I have never heard of pork jerky before.

When I made my (one and only) batch, I made the mistake of having the oven a little too high.
It still disappeared fast so it wasn't too bad.

There are some great flavouring ideas here.

(Mrs) I like beer


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## Fermented (11/1/09)

I've seen pork jerky in the Asian supermarkets around here, but haven't given it a try. 

Merc's recipe looks great! I have a couple of questions as I think I would like to try this out as I have a nice new oven that's raring to go:

* 80C, understood. Fan forced, fan assisted (ie bottom element and fan) or conventional (top and bottom element)?
* Why tamari? Could standard Chinese dark soy sauce be used (saltier, maltier)?
* How did the mango flavour come up? Was it there as mango or did it move to a generic tropical pulpy fruity flavour? 
* Did you use garlic powder for a different taste or beacuse it's easier to get into solution than finely smashing fresh garlic?

Apologies for all the questions, but you've enthused my tastebuds. 

Cheers - Fermented.


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## Mercs Own (17/1/09)

Fermented said:


> I've seen pork jerky in the Asian supermarkets around here, but haven't given it a try.
> 
> Merc's recipe looks great! I have a couple of questions as I think I would like to try this out as I have a nice new oven that's raring to go:
> 
> ...




I have a fan forced oven and so when I make the jerky I leave the oven door ajar therefore the fan blows the warm air around the oven and out the door - it helps to dry the meat evenly and slowly. I think on fan setting it is probably bottom heat only with fan. I also turn my jerky half way through the drying phase.

I use tamari because of the low salt content but believe me you still get plenty of saltiness. Also as I am using pickle pork or corned beef they are already pretty salty from that process so much so that I may soak my corned beef in some water to help reduce the salt character. If I was not using the corned beef or pickled pork but just some rump strips etc I would probably use soy sauce as you do need the salt content to help and dehydrate the meat as well as add flavour. I have not used any other meat so far only the corned beef and pickled pork.

The mango added some fruit character and sweetness to the meat and in combination with the peanut butter and the other flavours worked really well. It wasnt dominant and if I didnt tell people there was mango in there they may not have picked it but I like what it added and how it worked with the other flavours. I also didnt use too much chilli as I was going for a sweet jerky not a hot one.

I use the garlic powder as it is easier to mix it into the solution and I like the flavour that it gives. Sometimes with using fresh garlic it can be over powering and bitter but the powder is more mellow. I have not used fresh garlic in my jerky but from different marinades I have made for meats there are times I use fresh and times I use powder depending on the end result I am after.

Hope that helps! Best thing to do is get in there and go for it and along the way you will develop your method suited to your tastes!

Cheers

Paul


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## Ducatiboy stu (17/1/09)

I reccently made some chilli jerky, but for some reason the chilli-ness did not come out in the final product. It was marinated for 24hrs in a very hot marinate, but no flavour.

I did a couple of pieces by spreading chilli sauce directly on the meat about halfway thru the drying, it worked fine..So I am thinking thatI may need to turn the oven temp down a bit from 80*c to 50*c or just spread the sauce on near the end so that it dries on the meat.

The jerky with the sauce came out very nice....

Just ask Tony...went well with his ESB Yumm.. :icon_drool2:


----------



## Mercs Own (17/1/09)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> I reccently made some chilli jerky, but for some reason the chilli-ness did not come out in the final product. It was marinated for 24hrs in a very hot marinate, but no flavour.
> 
> I did a couple of pieces by spreading chilli sauce directly on the meat about halfway thru the drying, it worked fine..So I am thinking thatI may need to turn the oven temp down a bit from 80*c to 50*c or just spread the sauce on near the end so that it dries on the meat.
> 
> ...



How wet was the marinade?? What liquids did you use? Was the chilli fresh, dried, powder or a sauce/chutney? I wonder if the chilli was oil based would that stop or inhibit the meat absorbing flavour from the marinade? quite likely. What cut of meat did you use?

I marinate my meat for three days so maybe longer than 24 hours would help - I also give the meat a mix once a day to make sure it is in good contact with the marinade.

I dont think lowering the temp will make a difference to how much flavour the meat absorbs from your marinade as that happens when the meat is soaking up the flavours over the 24 hours etc Lowering the temp will only mean more time to dry it out which might make a difference texturally to the meat but I wouldnt think the flavour.

What was the recipe for the marinade?


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## Ducatiboy stu (17/1/09)

Trimmed Corn beef

Soy sauce
honey
balsamic vineger
splash tomatoes sauce
1 tbl spoon Habanero chilli paste
4-5 Tbl spoon chilli sauce ( from Steve )
ground pepper

Left in the fridge with the meat fully covered for 24hrs...

Marinade was nice and hot... :beerbang:


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## Mercs Own (17/1/09)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Trimmed Corn beef
> 
> Soy sauce
> honey
> ...



Leave it for three days and see if that makes a difference. Maybe if the the chilli paste and the chilli sauce had lots of oil....


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## Steve (18/1/09)

Mercs Own said:


> Leave it for three days and see if that makes a difference. Maybe if the the chilli paste and the chilli sauce had lots of oil....



There was no oil in the sauce I made.
Cheers
Steve


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## Fermented (18/1/09)

Mercs Own said:


> I have a fan forced oven and so when I make the jerky I leave the oven door ajar therefore the fan blows the warm air around the oven and out the door - it helps to dry the meat evenly and slowly. I think on fan setting it is probably bottom heat only with fan. I also turn my jerky half way through the drying phase.
> 
> I use tamari because of the low salt content but believe me you still get plenty of saltiness. Also as I am using pickle pork or corned beef they are already pretty salty from that process so much so that I may soak my corned beef in some water to help reduce the salt character. If I was not using the corned beef or pickled pork but just some rump strips etc I would probably use soy sauce as you do need the salt content to help and dehydrate the meat as well as add flavour. I have not used any other meat so far only the corned beef and pickled pork.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the reply! 

I used your recipe but swapped the tamari for a crap bulk lot of Chinese soy sauce that we bought which was big on wheaty maltiness but poor on salt, left out the mango and the garlic yet it still turned out very tasty. Likewise, I cut the fermentation to one day, but sprinkled dried crushed chilli onto part of the batch as an experiment... which yielded tasty results.

Similarly, I used fan forced mode only but didn't crack the door open. Overall, it took about six hours at 80C-ish. I preheated and used the notorious Ikea digital meat probe to test and set the temperature. Low = 75, high = 85. 

Meat was sliced at nominally 8 mm - I think thinner will be better and quicker.

The end result was some really tasty pork jerky that lasted only two days at drinking time for the missus and myself.

Thanks for a great recipe, some good hints and your kind reply. 

Am looking forward to trying it out with some beef, corned silverside and venison over the coming weeks.

Cheers - Fermented.


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## Fermented (18/1/09)

Steve said:


> There was no oil in the sauce I made.
> Cheers
> Steve



If you want to try a pleasantly hot chilli sauce that *is* oily, try 'Lao Gan Ma' (say "Laow Gann Mah", where 'Laow' rhymes with 'Bough' as in tree bough) chicken version. It's also referred to as 'Ugly Woman Chilli', owing to the pic of the originator (a street vendor from Szechuan Province, China) on the label. It's mostly crushed chilli with something that looks like dehydrated chicken bits with some oil... very flavoursome and pleasantly hot. There are some other varieties including black bean chilli and the like, but imho they taste crap compared to this one. 

You will need to read the Aussie nutritional / importer label to confirm which one on the shelf has chicken in it unless you can read Chinese/Kanji characters. The original Chinese label has almost no useful Roman characters on it, iirc.

About three bucks at your local Chinese supermarket.

Cheers - Fermented.

EDIT: PS: If you want a pic of the bottle so you don't have to embarrass yourself or explore English as a fifth language at your local Asian supermarket, please let me know and I will post the pic for you. I get to make bad Asian jokes scot-free because I'm married to a Chinese and am a Dutch-Indo-Aussie mongrel myself, so the politically correct police can sod off in advance.


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## Fermented (18/1/09)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> [...] oven temp down a bit from 80*c to 50*c [...]


First off, sorry for so many replies in the same thread... my e-mail all hit me at once after a few days and all in one go. 

Going to 50C wouldn't be a good idea from a health risk perspective, possibly. I'm also guessing that it really wouldn't enhance the marinade's uptake by the meat. 

As I understand it, 80C for two hours minimum is needed to kill off most of the microbes that would otherwise give one a couple of dunnie-days or worse. 

A one day marinade based on Merc's recipe yielded a 'good enough' flavour, but with sfa chilli. Either more time and tossing in the sauce or adding chilli powder / crushed chilli at cooking time will more likely give the _bite_ you're seeking.

Cheers - Fermented.


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## wyatt_girth (18/1/09)

Dehydrator on sale here. $49.95 + a tenna for post


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## Mercs Own (18/1/09)

Fermented said:


> A one day marinade based on Merc's recipe yielded a 'good enough' flavour, but with sfa chilli. Either more time and tossing in the sauce or adding chilli powder / crushed chilli at cooking time will more likely give the _bite_ you're seeking.
> 
> Cheers - Fermented.



My other recipe posted on p11 has some good bite to it and if you wanted more heat then just up the chilli and cyenne component AND sprinkle more crushed chilli on the meat when you put it in the oven to dry!


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## Fermented (19/1/09)

Thanks Merc - missed that one! It's next up in that case.

Cheers - Fermented.


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## MarkBastard (20/1/09)

I've never eaten beef jerkey before, what's a good commercial variety so I can give it a go and see if I like it?


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## Katherine (20/1/09)

Mark^Bastard said:


> I've never eaten beef jerkey before, what's a good commercial variety so I can give it a go and see if I like it?



Road Kill and is pretty good....

Jack Linx is a little plastic tasting but I dont mind it!


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## Ducatiboy stu (20/1/09)

Good commercial jerky is hard to find, most of the jerky is OK but n ot great.

Nothing beats the home made stuff. :beerbang:


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## danbeer (20/1/09)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Good commercial jerky is hard to find, most of the jerky is OK but n ot great.
> 
> Nothing beats the home made stuff. :beerbang:





Has anyone tried the 'pork floss' in the asian supermarkets?


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## capretta (20/1/09)

This guy in wollongong opened up on a little side street a jerky SHOP! i thought for sure the dude would go out of business but he's been going for about a year now and business seems to be expanding. when i first tried it it was remarkable how close to the homemade product it was. i yakked to him for a bit and he has been a bit of a drifter and lived up in NT where indonesians taught him how to dry fish. 
i run a snack machine at work and we go through a fair bit of his product. the pepper is awesome, smokey pretty good ( he uses smoke essence tho ) the original a bit plain IMO and he has just started a chili varitey which for chili heads like me unfortunatly failed to raise a tingle, but still very good.
He mainly services the local area, but does get out to ute musters and the like occasionally.
His shop is 
Aussie Battler Jerky

shits all over the (is it nobbys that is the worst) mass produced vareties!

no aff etc. other than being a customer...


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## browndog (20/1/09)

capretta said:


> This guy in wollongong opened up on a little side street a jerky SHOP! i thought for sure the dude would go out of business but he's been going for about a year now and business seems to be expanding. when i first tried it it was remarkable how close to the homemade product it was. i yakked to him for a bit and he has been a bit of a drifter and lived up in NT where indonesians taught him how to dry fish.
> i run a snack machine at work and we go through a fair bit of his product. the pepper is awesome, smokey pretty good ( he uses smoke essence tho ) the original a bit plain IMO and he has just started a chili varitey which for chili heads like me unfortunatly failed to raise a tingle, but still very good.
> He mainly services the local area, but does get out to ute musters and the like occasionally.
> His shop is
> ...



I'm really blown away by that, who would have thought a jerky shop would have a big enough turn over to survive, Best of luck to him. I have a butcher near me who makes and sells jerky, and it is divine, but at $69 per kilo, a bit of a luxury.

cheers

Browndog


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## capretta (20/1/09)

Thats what blows me out too, his prices are reasonable! $3 for 25g of $5 for 50g. if you bulk buy he takes care of you too..


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## Katherine (21/1/09)

danbeer said:


> Has anyone tried the 'pork floss' in the asian supermarkets?



Ive tried the pork jerky in Asian Supermarkets not sure if that is what you mean.... I like it... But Merc looks a lot better! 

I go through fazes of being addicted to jerky... my partner had a little dable in making it... but if I do eat I usually go Road Kill or Bull Bar! I don't like Nobbies either similar to Jack Linx.


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## brettprevans (10/2/09)

After having a hankering for some Jerky the other day at supermarket I saw some kosher biltong. done. but at $65per kg (a pack is only $5) i thought bugger that im making my own (i still bought and ate it though)

so put down my first effort last night.

1.2kg corned silverside (all fat and sinew trimmed)
4tbs Ketchup Manis (sweet indonesian soy)
1tbs regular soy sauce
5 tbs whistshire sauce
1 tbs tomato sauce
1tbs honey
1-2 tsp ground cumin
1-2 tsp powdered garlic
1-2 tsp ginger powder
1-2 tsp dried ground chilli
1 tsp cayanne pepper
1 tsp middle eastern spice mix
1 splash of white vinager from a jar of pickled onions.

A few too many flavours i think. Oh well. Its still marinating and will cook it tonight once im home. post pics tomorrow.

Edit: Im thinking an quasi Aussie Jerky for my next batch. Rosemary, BBQ sauce, some native pepper (Tasmannia lanceolata) or native pepperberry and some lemon myrtle.


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## Cracka (10/2/09)

citymorgue2 said:


> After having a hankering for some Jerky the other day at supermarket I saw some kosher biltong. done. but at $65per kg (a pack is only $5) i thought bugger that im making my own (i still bought and ate it though)
> 
> so put down my first effort last night.
> 
> ...





More honey.

The last couple of batchs I've done I've been adding more & more honey. Loves the flavour that it leaves :icon_drool2:


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## brettprevans (12/2/09)

well after 48hrs marinating (I couldnt get it on the night before), my first batch is done. Half got extra chilli flakes on them and the other half plain.



my oven doesnt have any temp measurement under 150C so it was a bit hit and miss. 4 hours in the oven. I recon the oven was too hot as some bits are a bit dried out but dried out too fast i think.

good flavours. lovely deep chilli flavour (not heat) from the cayenne pepper. I gave some to my 2yr old (non chilli flakes) and she loved it. So a success.

as you can see though a standard portion of corned silverside/beef doesnt make a lot of jerky, but its a lot cheaper and tastes better.

more honey huh cracka? i'll give it a bang and i dont think this lot will last long.


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## Fermented (12/2/09)

Katie said:


> Ive tried the pork jerky in Asian Supermarkets not sure if that is what you mean.... I like it... But Merc looks a lot better!



One eats pork floss just like any other snack. It's not bad, but slightly messier to eat than jerky.

Sorry to be so slow to post back on trying Merc's recipe... I tried the pork recipe and it's a bit dull.

My first couple of outings was with pickled pork, both bone in and deboned. About $3.99 a kilo at the moment.

There are legs of roasting pork around at the moment to be had for about $4.99 per kilo, so tried that. Boning them out is a skill that I've just about lost, so there was a reasonable amount of meat lost (350g?) to my crap knife work but that ended up in stir fries as it was too small to sit on the oven racks. Kept the skin for making giant crackling. 

Here's what I adapted Merc's recipe into:
* 1.5 cups light soy 
* 4 tablespoons Sambal Oelek
* 2 tablespoons Sambal Rujak
* 1 tablespoon peanut butter
* 4 teaspoons Indian chilli powder
* 2 teaspoons Chinese Five Spice Powder
* 2 cloves very finely chopped fresh garlic

80C in the oven for 4 - 5 hours, fan forced mode, door closed.

End result was an initial sweetish taste, followed by slight chilli flavour (sambal oelek), rounding up to a warmer building chilli taste (Indian chilli powder) and slight salt finish.

The tamari was ditched as the saltiness of it, combined with pickled or corned meats, became overly salty in my opinion and reduced the flavour of the other ingredients. YMMV, etc. The peanut butter was also cut back as the flavour was too pronounced unless the product was aged > 3 days. The Five Spice Powder is a very typical addition to a lot of southern Chinese pork dishes as it adds some more harmony to the flavours. 

Sambal Rujak is pretty much a thick, sweet, fruity paste. It's usually used in Indonesian cuisine for dipping fruit, among other things. It has a nice complex flavour, balances the chilli and gives some fruitiness for less than a mango. About $2.50 at your local Asian supermarket.

If you want to 'oriental it up' a touch more, cut the soy sauce back to 1 cup and add half a cup of Chinese cooking wine (Shao Xing) and a broken star anise (aniseed taste - don't overdo it) to the marinade. It would need a day at least to get into the meat a bit. You could also try adding a few centimetres of cinammon stick, broken. Don't overdo the cinammon in this combination or it will taste blech.

For an added dimension, you could try adding Chinese cooking spirit (Mizhiu / Mijiu, around 40%ABV) as about half a cup. If you're buying this one, the prices range from about $2 to $15 or more. The cheapest ones are heavily salted to prevent it being taxed as alcohol or drunk as alcohol instead of cooking. I recommend the more expensive unsalted one (clear bottle, red and white label with black text, clear contents) as it comes closer in taste and fragrance to Moutai (Chinese 50%++ firewater, $85 per bottle) but more slightly 'floral' (if fermented distilled rice spirit can be floral) and cheaper.

When it comes to garlic, fresh is best. Powder is a very poor substitue, as is garlic through a garlic press. Relegate that thing to the bin and do it with a knife - it's not hard - and the stinky fingers will remind you and everyone else that you can cook. 

Cheers - Fermented.


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## Mercs Own (14/2/09)

citymorgue2 said:


> After having a hankering for some Jerky the other day at supermarket I saw some kosher biltong. done. but at $65per kg (a pack is only $5) i thought bugger that im making my own (i still bought and ate it though)
> 
> so put down my first effort last night.
> 
> ...



The native pepperberry is great, slightly sweet - you can buy it freeze dried or air dried and one is hotter than the other but at the moment I cant remember which - actually : the freeze dried pepper berries are fruitier and have much less heat than the air dried pepper berries. Also you could use Mountain Pepperleaf powder as that has a nice heat to it as well as fragrance etc - check out: http://www.herbies.com.au/ it has every herb/spice under the sun and they deliver.

Fermented sorry to hear you thought my recipe dull - each to their own and my wife loves it so it works for me.

I agree about the saltiness so maybe I will cut back on that (or soak the meat in water for 20 minutes) and at first I thought the peanut butter was a bit much but as the jerky is kinda based on the whole satay thing I reckon it works. I am looking forward to getting my hands on some sambal rujak as that sounds real interesting! Thanks for the feed back as all of it is a work in progress. Onward and upward.

Oh Citymorgue buy an oven or BBq temp gauge - less than $10 bucks and they do the job.

Cheers


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## Fermented (14/2/09)

I didn't know you were heading in the satay direction... 

If anything, peanut butter overload in satay is an Aussie / Western thing. To get it tasting more 'authentic' (for what it's worth), you could consider tamarind paste (sourness) with the sambal oelek and some belachan... have you speaking Bahasa Melayu in no time, mate.  Merc's Satay Shop Sdn Bhd? Sound OK for you? 

I didn't mean to be impolite by saying 'dull'. I'm just more accustomed to Indo / Malay / Southern Chinese flavours so the original pork recipe didn't have that _kick_ to which I am accustomed. That said, a percentage of that batch was sprinkled with a combo of roasted dried chillies which were ground with Szechuan pepper... kick accomplished... two kinds of fragrant hotness. 

Nonetheless, a work in progress.

Have a good one.

Cheers - Fermented. 


PS... Anyone want some drinking snack recipes from the deep south of China? Some ingredients include stuff most Aussies wouldn't eat, such as chicken giblets and some other unmentionables. Sounds not so good, tastes divine. Let me know so I don't put anyone off their food.  F.


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## Mercs Own (14/2/09)

Fermented said:


> I didn't know you were heading in the satay direction...
> 
> If anything, peanut butter overload in satay is an Aussie / Western thing. To get it tasting more 'authentic' (for what it's worth), you could consider tamarind paste (sourness) with the sambal oelek and some belachan... have you speaking Bahasa Melayu in no time, mate.  Merc's Satay Shop Sdn Bhd? Sound OK for you?
> 
> ...



Fermented - you were not being impolite you were giving feed back. Yeah I was going the satay kinda route and whilst I liked the first batch i would like to up the heat a bit more although as I said the wife loved it. It is all relative I imagine Tony trying a dish and saying that there was no chilli heat in it while the bloke next to him is sweating liike a .... 

Sad to say my experience of satay is Aussie - sweet peanut etc had it in Bali and Singapore and it was similar - I remember travelling around China and eating the local cuisine and it is nothing like Western Chinese. Great shame as real chinese is fantastic. I will have to look into doing a sichuan jerky - a real sichaun experince something even Tony might enjoy.


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## Steve (16/2/09)

So. Its just a matter of getting some corned silverside, cut as thin as the butcher can do it, marinade it for a couple of days and then dry it out in the oven? Might have to give it a shot with some of my chilli sauce.
Cheers
Steve


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## SDJ (17/2/09)

Or you could do it like this 


in a converted 44 gallon drum.


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## Fermented (20/2/09)

Steve said:


> So. Its just a matter of getting some corned silverside, cut as thin as the butcher can do it, marinade it for a couple of days and then dry it out in the oven? Might have to give it a shot with some of my chilli sauce.
> Cheers
> Steve


Yep, that's about the extent of it. Seems all magical and complicated until you do it.  

Only thing to point out is that it needs two hours at 80C+ (say 80 - 90C) to kill off most of the bad bugs. I just set 80C at the beginning and leave it there until it's done. 

Cheers - Fermented.


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## Ducatiboy stu (20/2/09)

Steve said:


> So. Its just a matter of getting some corned silverside, cut as thin as the butcher can do it, marinade it for a couple of days and then dry it out in the oven? Might have to give it a shot with some of my chilli sauce.
> Cheers
> Steve




Yep


http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=16630

Steve.. i have been slack and havent sent you any yet in return for the sauce you send...more will be made very soon, and your sauce goes very nicely on it


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## brettprevans (23/2/09)

homemade Jerk is terrible - in a good way 

not only is it terribly addictive, my 2yr old downs it like there's no tomorrow. incl the one thats coated in chilli flakes! I can see that im almost going to have to make a batch every 2 weeks to keep up. on the upside lots of opportunity to try recipes. just need for this crappy heat to be over so i dont mind having the oven on for 5 hrs!

might give Merc's a bang this week. maybe instead of pork, use veal? hmmmm veal.

Stu - give cayenne pepper a go. I found it left a deep flavourful heat in mine. now an up front burning heat like the dried chilli, a nice clow heat. so if you bang up the dosage and then add some more chilli flakes etc you might get the heat your after



Fermented said:


> If you want to 'oriental it up' a touch more, cut the soy sauce back to 1 cup and add half a cup of Chinese cooking wine (Shao Xing) and a broken star anise (aniseed taste - don't overdo it) to the marinade. It would need a day at least to get into the meat a bit. You could also try adding a few centimetres of cinammon stick, broken. Don't overdo the cinammon in this combination or it will taste blech.
> Cheers - Fermented.


funny you should mention this. I made pork spare ribs and pork rashers last night with these flavours. marinated for 24hrs.
4 tblsp rice win vinegar
4 tblsp soy
2tsp sesame oil
4 tblsp honey
2 cinnamon stick, crumbled
4 star anise
lots of frsh ginger - cut into sticks
8 spring onion roughly chopped 
4 long fat chillies (deseeded for my wife's palate)
2 large packs of pork rashers and 1 large pack of ribs

- Combine everything in a bag and moosh it all into the ribs. marinate.
- Preheat the oven to 200C.
- Place the ribs on a baking tray. Cover tightly with foil and bake in the oven for an hour.
- uncover, raise the heat to 230C
- add a few more honey and 2 tsp Chinese Five Spice.
- Cook for 30 minutes, basting every so often. If it starts to dry out/burn, add some boiling water.
- Serve with a big pile of serviettes and beer.

OMG this was good. i figured on 2 nights worth given there 2kg of pork. nup almost all gone. my 11 month old ate 3.5 rashers. little piggy


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## Steve (24/2/09)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Steve.. i have been slack and havent sent you any yet in return for the sauce you send...more will be made very soon, and your sauce goes very nicely on it



Not a drama - she's right.
Cheers
Steve


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## brettprevans (27/2/09)

well not enough time to put a lot of thought into a batch and the missus cooked dinner with the veal i had out for the jerky. not that im complaining it was magnificent veal.

Anyway quick bashup recipe below'

1.4kg rump (all fat and sinew trimmed)
5tbs Ketchup Manis (sweet indonesian soy)
4 tbs whistshire sauce
4-5 tbs honey
1 tblsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp fresh minced garlic
3 tbsp fresh minced ginger
1 tbsp cayanne pepper
2 tbsp Chinese Five Spice
2tbp white vinager from a jar of pickled onions.
2 teasp sesame oil 
4 big sprigs of dried rosemary from the garden.

going into the oven tonight.


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## browndog (27/2/09)

citymorgue2 said:


> well not enough time to put a lot of thought into a batch and the missus cooked dinner with the veal i had out for the jerky. not that im complaining it was magnificent veal.
> 
> Anyway quick bashup recipe below'
> 
> ...



Sounds tasty indeed.

cheers

Browndog


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## Fermented (12/3/09)

Hey CityMorgue2

How did that turn out? There are a couple of ingredients in combination there that make me a little nervous to try without your review.

I have a slab of silverside awaiting being recreated as jerky goodness and the recipe looks rather excellent.... rather keen to try your style.

Your choice of Kecap Manis is probably a master stroke - excellent balance of flavours for anything that is cooked just to that critical point just before burning / caramelisation. 

Cheers - Fermented.

EDIT: Fixed speeling error.


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## Fermented (13/3/09)

citymorgue2 said:


> might give Merc's a bang this week. maybe instead of pork, use veal? hmmmm veal.


Give the pork a go. If you take Merc's recipe and tweak it to your tastebuds, it certainly rocks. Even with the lighter taste of Aussie pork, it's a really interesting diversion compared to the commercial beef product. The veal may be a touch too tender to take the hours of drying. That said, love to hear how it goes. 



citymorgue2 said:


> funny you should mention this. I made pork spare ribs and pork rashers last night with these flavours. marinated for 24hrs.


lol... that recipe is a classical Cantonese combination of ingredients dating back about 300 -400 years and still in common use today! If you reached that recipe on your own, you're a natural. Neil Perry - stand aside! How did the sesame oil go? Usually it's used in a different manner, but am well curious to know what result it gave you. 

Cheers - Fermented. 

PS - Sorry all - shouldn't post twice in a row in the same thread, but am catching up on a month's absence from the hallowed halls of AHB.


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## brettprevans (13/3/09)

the recipe posted in #262 was an absolute success. I made it for a poker night. all gone. most of them liked it better than my original recipe. go figure. even guys who dont like jerky liked it. I might go the other way and do the most basic recipe then slowly add things to see what items (if any) are superfluous.

Havent gotten around to making the pork jerky yet. must do. im all out. will do so in the next week.


re ribs/rashers
OMG they were good. so tasty. the faaty bits on the rashers went a little rubbery on the 2nd night (but pork fat/skin does that). it was still bloody good. The ribs were excellent. Not really sure what impact the seaseme oil had. overall it was a sticky caramalised chewy tender magnificent mess.


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## MVZOOM (21/6/09)

MVZOOM said:


> Yep... phruck, it's nice and hot. Tastes good too, nice and neutral (ie.. not too salty or sweet).
> 
> Chers - Mike
> 
> PS - excuse the horrific state of my BBQ, it's due for a rather heavy clean this weekend..




Oh goddam yum... The cooking Gods blessed our house this arvo. Mashed up another batch of Incider's Chilli sauce - it's bloody fantastic, awesome flavour. Also popped on a few kgs of lamb and sorted out Tony's Lamb Curry recipe - it's simmering away as we speak. 

The Domestic Goddess has prepared me a strawberry cocktail (we found some late season strawberrys today) too. It's all good in the hood...

Cheers - MIke

:icon_chickcheers:


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## Steve (17/10/09)

Gotta make some jerky, gotta make some jerky!

Just went to the local butchers for some lamb, treated myself to some chilli jerky.... Yum! My youngest piped up. He's only 2. Can I have some turkeeeeee. I thought yeah buckleys he'll not eat it. Fark! Hes eating it like it was a bag of chips and its covered in chilli seeds! Kids never fail to surprise me. Can you tell im a proud father!

Cheers
Steve


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## Ducatiboy stu (17/10/09)

Both my boys 4 &2.5 dont ,mind spicy jerkey....suprised me too


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## Steve (30/10/09)

Making some Jerkey on Sunday. So you reckon corned topside is the go? Sliced about 3-4mms thick by 3-4cms wide?
Cheers
Steve


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## Ducatiboy stu (30/10/09)

dont slice it into strips untill you have pulled it from the oven. Make the paices 3-4mm thick and cure them whole. If you slice them into strips before you dry it, they will shribk to the point that they will be like peices of string


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## Steve (30/10/09)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> dont slice it into strips untill you have pulled it from the oven. Make the paices 3-4mm thick and cure them whole. If you slice them into strips before you dry it, they will shribk to the point that they will be like peices of string



Oh rightyo!
Cheers
Steve


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## Ducatiboy stu (30/10/09)

MMMM...cat tyope need beer h34r:

Dont forget to keep your oven below 80-90*...you want to dry it, not cook it


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## Steve (30/10/09)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> MMMM...cat tyope need beer h34r:
> 
> Dont forget to keep your oven below 80-90*...you want to dry it, not cook it



Will do

Edit....and a kilo of Corned Silverside Beef is the way to go?


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## Ducatiboy stu (30/10/09)

It will take at least 6hrs 

Make sure you put a tray under it to catch the drips, or SWMBO will offer you a permanent room outside


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## Mercs Own (31/10/09)

Steve said:


> Making some Jerkey on Sunday. So you reckon corned topside is the go? Sliced about 3-4mms thick by 3-4cms wide?
> Cheers
> Steve



I slice 3 - 4mm thick by about 2cm - 3cm wide then marinate for 1 - 3 days and then put them in a slow oven until dried to the level I am after. I will keep an eye on them and turn them occassionally and also move them around the rack if some are drying more rapidly than others. I will also take the ones that are ready out and continue to dry the others.

Corned silverside is good - corned pork is good too. Leave the oven door ajar so that you have a nice airflow going on also.

As Ducatiboy Stu says 6 - 8 hours and you got jerky!!


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## Steve (31/10/09)

Mercs Own said:


> I slice 3 - 4mm thick by about 2cm - 3cm wide then marinate for 1 - 3 days and then put them in a slow oven until dried to the level I am after. I will keep an eye on them and turn them occassionally and also move them around the rack if some are drying more rapidly than others. I will also take the ones that are ready out and continue to dry the others.
> 
> Corned silverside is good - corned pork is good too. Leave the oven door ajar so that you have a nice airflow going on also.
> 
> As Ducatiboy Stu says 6 - 8 hours and you got jerky!!




Thanks Mercs

My little babies are now marinading. Went to the butchers this morning for a kilo of corned silverside. I was on a mission. There was heaps all packaged up in plastic, all weighed and priced. I chose the one I wanted and asked the butcher if he'd slice it for me into 3-4mm slices. He looked at me as if I was a simpleton. He said, its not cooked you cant eat it if I slice it for you. The look on his face was quite insulting. I asked again politely if he could slice it for me. He walked off with a big sigh! I was expecting him to stick it in the big ham slicing slicer thing. Nope he just got his knife out and did it manually.....and a lot thicker than I asked for. I brought it home and sliced his slices in half and cleaned it up. Next step I laid down paper towels and basically laid the meat down and squashed the crap out of them. The liquid that came out was amazing. Next up was the marinade. After reading this whole thread (included the cheese distraction) I got an idea of what to do plus my love for chilli sauces and indian food. I ended up with this:

The dregs of a jar of tomato chilli sauce which I added 4 tbspns of white vinegar, shook it up really well
1tspn Chilli Powder
1tspn Garam Masala
1tspn Mango Powder
1tspn Coriander Powder
1tspn Crushed Garlic
1tspn Crushed lemon grass
1tbspm Tamarind pulp

Mixed everything together and poured on top and mixed well. Once they're on the racks I will sprinkle with home made dried chillie flakes and dry at 80-90 for 6-7 hrs tomorrow

Will let you know how they go!
Cheers
Steve


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## Fermented (31/10/09)

6 hours? Wow - that's so long... chances are it will become very, very tough!

If you have a digital thermometer, please check your oven temp and get it stable before you start. A mate tried to do it without and had some rather lovely bovine charcoal at the end of his effort. Oh well. 

At 70 - 75C, four hours to five hours will yield a good quality with a little residual moisture in the meat. If you can get it to 80C and hold for an hour or so then there is some positive antimicrobial outcome from that - but dont' forget to wind back to 70C-ish for the remainder of the process. 

Have a squiz over here: http://yeastygoodness.blogspot.com/2009/03...sian-style.html - I documented one of the earlier batches.

I used Merc's recipe as the basis for that batch. However, I've found that long marination is not necessary. If anything, it only enhances the uptake of the salt in the soy / kecap manis / etc. Yes, salting firms and tenderises but without a washing stage it just makes meat too salty. 

In developing a faster turnaround coating (because it sure isn't a marinade!), I went for kecap manis, chilli powder, fresh garlic very finely minced (to suit personal taste), peanut butter (not too much else it tastes too strongly of peanuts for a couple of days until it matures), 2 - 3 tbsp tamarind paste, your preferred kind of chilli paste (sambal oelek or lao gan ma chilli oil), dried chilli flakes, Szechuan pepper pounded with salt / pepper... Choose the flavour that best suits your palate.

Lotsa luck!

Cheers - Fermented.


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## Steve (2/11/09)

In the oven drying:





...and ready to eat:




Simple!
Cheers
Steve


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## Steve (14/11/09)

Seeing as the last lot only lasted 3 days im making some more today.

1.7kg Corned Silverside marinaded over night in:

4tbspns Soy Sauce
2tbspns Tamarind Sauce
1tbspn Chilli oil
6tbspns Malt vinegar
4tbspns Worcester Sauce
4tbspns Chilli/Garlic Sauce
1tbspn Ginger
2tspns Mango Powder
2tspns Garam Masala powder
2tspns Coriander powder
1tspn Hot chilli powder
1tspns Cinnamon powder
Chilli flakes sprinkled liberally on top.

Cheers
Steve


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## Mercs Own (14/11/09)

Steve said:


> In the oven drying:
> 
> View attachment 32552
> 
> ...



Looks bloody good!!!! How long did you have them in the oven? longer in the oven than out!?


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## Steve (15/11/09)

Mercs Own said:


> Looks bloody good!!!! How long did you have them in the oven? longer in the oven than out!?


About 7 hrs.


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## Steve (15/11/09)

The batch I made yesterday has a slight metallic taste. Could it be from the racks in the oven?


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## Newbee(r) (3/10/11)

bump

At the recent sydney food and wine show, I had some biltong which gave me the inspiration for this recipe. Putting in the dehydrator this morning. With the cost of the mangoes it comes out at around $18kg at the moment - I checked online and the shop sells it for $40 per 500g. Granted this is more jerky given it is cut into strips, marinated in a ziplock overnight and then dehydrator rather than air dried in one piece, but fingers crossed will give good results. 

Mango and Chilli Jerky

1.2 kg skirt steak
1 tbs ground coriander 
1 1/2 large mangoes pulped
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried chilli
fresh thyme - about 3 tsp
2 tbs brown sugar
1 heaped tbs salt


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## Mercs Own (5/10/11)

Newbee(r) said:


> bump
> 
> At the recent sydney food and wine show, I had some biltong which gave me the inspiration for this recipe. Putting in the dehydrator this morning. With the cost of the mangoes it comes out at around $18kg at the moment - I checked online and the shop sells it for $40 per 500g. Granted this is more jerky given it is cut into strips, marinated in a ziplock overnight and then dehydrator rather than air dried in one piece, but fingers crossed will give good results.
> 
> ...



let us know how it turns out and show us some pics. I would be interested in making this recipe with pickled pork instead of the steak. The only thing I would add to this recipe would be garlic powder but that is because I cant seem to cook anything with out garlic!!! Roast garlic icecream anyone??


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## Wolfy (7/12/12)

Making beef jerky in the UDS this time:
2kg Topside roast:






Cut up into steaks:





Part-frozen ...




... so it's easier to slice thinly:





(Adapted from *Screwtop*'s recipe earlier in thread)
1/2 cup Soy
3 spoons Worcester
1 heaped spoon of dark brown sugar
1tsp Garlic & Onion powder
1/2tsp Pepper
sprinkle of salt










(A wetter version of what *QldKev* posted earlier)
3 spoons each Apple Cider Vinegar, Soy & Worcestershire
2tsp Garlic powder
1tsp Coriander seeds
1/2tsp Pepper
1tsp Garam masala
3x Jalapeno & 6 Birdseye chili (dried, home grown, crushed)










In to smoke:





And was done in a few hours:


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## Ducatiboy stu (21/12/12)

Make your jerky from corned meat/silverside it is the best.

Put the silver side in the freezer so it becomes firm, then slice 1/4" thick. ( freezing it makes it easier to get constistant slices )

Then marinade overnight, rub, then put into oven on racks with a tray underneath at set oven to about 80-90*c. will take 6-8hrs to dry.

I allways cut into strips after it is dry, if you do it before and cut them to thin when it dries it will turn into string


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## Sprungmonkey (21/12/12)

gees i love jerky - looks good hmmmm xmas beers and jerky -- done!!


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## hbnath (25/1/13)

I couldn't just read this and not have a go! Found some venison which I thought was for stewing so defrosted it....turned out to be good steaks! Oops. So just sliced one big one up and made a simple marinade of soy, worcestershire, honey, garlic, chilli flakes and paprika for a trial batch.

Drying off...



In the oven...



Just keeping an eye on the temp....can't wait to try it...smells yummo!


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## stux (25/1/13)

petesbrew said:


> I heard of one chili sauce available over in USA where you had to sign a waiver before you bought it. Apparently a toothpick dipped in this small jar would give a bowl of salsa a decent kick!
> 
> Shot Duck, you're a mad man. A bag of chillis?
> 
> While we're on food, does anyone have any good bbq beer-marinade recipes? I have yet to try my homebrew in one.


Maddog 357

http://www.maddog357.com/

And yes. It is that hot. 

As far as I know, it's the hottet chili sauce which isn't an extract/essence


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## stux (25/1/13)

AndrewQLD said:


> Jupiter, sounds great, let us know how the jerky tastes.
> 
> InCider I can't wait to tuck into those Rellenos, I am dipping into some Habanero Salsa at the moment, nice and hot  .
> 
> ...


Old post, I know. 

But that Stilton looksd amazing!


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## capretta (25/1/13)

Stux said:


> Maddog 357
> 
> http://www.maddog357.com/
> 
> ...


damn, yes that sauce is pretty hot, but that is definately an extract sauce or i am handing in my chilli head card.

from their website.. "

357 Mad Dog Hot Sauce 357,000 Scoville

Our “not for the faint of heart” 357 Mad Dog Hot Sauce with it’s
blend of 160,000 scoville super hot cayenne peppers, fiery hot red
habanero peppers and finally a whopping 3,000,000 scoville pepper
extract...."


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## sp0rk (25/1/13)

As far as I know, the Chilli Factory's Scorpion strike should be the world's hottest natural grown chilli sauce
http://thechillifactory.com/chilli-chili-chile-product-sauces-Scorpion%20Strike,%20The%20world's%20Hottest%20CHILLI!!
Butch T peppers are rated at 1,463,700 scovilles and that sauce is 58% Butch T peppers
therefore it should be around 850,000 scovilles


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## sponge (25/1/13)

capretta said:


> damn, yes that sauce is pretty hot, but that is definately an extract sauce or i am handing in my chilli head card.


Do you like chilli, Cam?

Well I never...


h34r:


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## capretta (25/1/13)

just you wait sponge, i have some chilli salt for the meet up.


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## bradsbrew (25/1/13)

How would one of those convection ovens work with making jerky?



Cheers


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## bonj (25/1/13)

bradsbrew said:


> How would one of those convection ovens work with making jerky?


I'd imagine you still need to keep the door open to let the moisture escape somewhere... Effectively, you're using the oven as a dehydrator.


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## Ducatiboy stu (25/1/13)

Yes, it does help to leave the oven door slightly open. You would be suprised who much moister is produced


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## bradsbrew (25/1/13)

Bonj said:


> I'd imagine you still need to keep the door open to let the moisture escape somewhere... Effectively, you're using the oven as a dehydrator.





Ducatiboy stu said:


> Yes, it does help to leave the oven door slightly open. You would be suprised who much moister is produced


Alrighty, will just use the oven with a wooden spoon in the door. Just making the marinade up now for an early morning kick off. Brewing beer and making jerky pretty good plan for a wet australi day.


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## Ducatiboy stu (25/1/13)

Wooden spoon would be perfect

Dont forget to keep the temp UNDER 90*c and ABOVE 70*c....you want to dry it, not cook it and that temp range will kill any nasties as well


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## bradsbrew (25/1/13)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Wooden spoon would be perfect
> 
> Dont forget to keep the temp UNDER 90*c and ABOVE 70*c....you want to dry it, not cook it and that temp range will kill any nasties as well


Thanks Stu, just doing a bit of a test with the oven now to see how well I can keep it around 80. Fan on or off? Was going to use Steves recipe but as per usual I suck at sticking to a recipe, went with this

4 tbsn Soy sauce
6 tbsn Vinegar
4 tbsn Worcester sauce
1 tbsn brandy
3/4 tbsn ginger
2 tspn garam masala
2 tspn fresh ground coriander seed
1 tspn Cinnamon powder
1/2 tspn sage powder
1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
3/4 tspn smoked paprika
1 tspn crushed chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper

Will sprinkle with chilli flakes before hitting the oven.

Cheers


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## bradsbrew (26/1/13)

How good is this. Should have made this years ago.


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## hbnath (26/1/13)

bradsbrew said:


> How good is this. Should have made this years ago.


I second that....took my little trial batch to work for a snack and ate the whole lot before lunch it was so good. Such a simple idea but yummy results. Gonna get more one on my next days off


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## Kai (29/1/13)

I just read back through this entire thread, what a way to kill half an hour before bed.




pint of lager said:


> Hands up who has tried Dave's Insanity Sauce, or the Megadeath sauce?


Someone brought a sampler pack of Blairs hot sauce into work recently. Serendipity provided my with cold pizza, so I elected to use that as a base to taste the range. 

When I opened the bottle of After Death, I shook a few drops onto my slice of pizza and thought the viscosity of the sauce looked a little odd. It was approximately as I took a bite of the slice that one of my coworkers said "Hey, I think you need to shake that bottle up. All the chilli oil is floating on the surface.".

I did all the cliches. Split seconds of pure panic as I wondered how high the rising heat would go. Corresponding rising redness of the face. I drank all the milk meant for coffee. I cried, I danced, I saw through time. Then, thank the beer gods, I threw the rest of the slice in the bin otherwise I would have done it again.


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## capretta (29/1/13)

haha the chiliheads trajectory starts with halepeno pizzas, then hot curries etc till the culmination in ruinous amounts of extract sauce with the resulting abdominal agony moving you to pure chili sauces using superhot chilis. extract is imo rarely too much fun unless someone else is eating it! :icon_drool2:


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## brettprevans (2/2/13)

Usual corned silverside jerky 

Boston Style
For 2.3kg of meat (pre drying)
1 cup soy
1/3cup worcestersire 
1.5 tsp black pepper
1 finely chopped onion
5 cloves crushed garlic
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger.

Marinate for at least 14 hrs then dry howwverr u like. Im oven drying at 60C for about 10hrs. 
Will then rub half with chilli and leave half plain.


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## AntonW (2/2/13)

Convection box anyone? Makes it easy to dry whole steaks and uses a fraction of the power.

I read bits of this thread but it's a long one so I apologise if you've heard all this before.

Anyway, convection boxes are cheap and easy to make if you can cut reasonably straight, and they work really well. Easier to explain with a picture so let me know if you want me to draw one. It's a box with holes in the bottom and the top. A heat source in the bottom draws dry air into the box, and the air travels up past the meat on its way out. The hot air rises and creates a convection current.

There are some really interesting recipes here. My favourite is:
1. don't use crap meat. I use nice long topside steaks. My convection box can take 6 or 7.
1. pack the meat in rock salt for 1 hour exactly
2. scrape the salt off with the back of a knife
3. dip the meat in apple cider vinegar, you can soak it if you want
4. coated with 3:1 mixture of cracked coriander seeds and cracked pepper
5. hang to dry in a convection box with an 80watt incandescent bulb for 51/2 days for dry biltong that's just a little red in the middle if you like it that way. (lower wattage for longer is better otherwise.)
6. don't eat all the fat even though you want to

Edit: the convection box isn't quite the same as a dry wind on the veld and the apple cider vinegar isn't quite the same as saltpetre but this recipe makes good biltong.
in case you're interested, the difference between biltong and jerky, as far as i can tell, is that biltong is good. Also, biltong is cured with vinegar while jerky is cured with salt.

Let me know if you know what the difference between the two is. I'm sure there is one.


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## brettprevans (2/2/13)

There is almost a treatise on diff between biltong and jerky on here. And yes peopke use convection boxes. Theres even plans on here. Horses for courses. 

Ps fat should ve removed. It goes rancid almost regardless of how u cure and dry. 

Very few peopke use saltpeter anymore for obvious reasons. Uf they want to use a cure then there are safeer alternatives I persobally dont use addidative cures as theres no need and I prefer it. Horses for courses again. 

Actually ive pretty much just rehashed my previous posts.


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## punkin (3/2/13)

> in case you're interested, the difference between biltong and jerky, as far as i can tell, is that biltong is good.
> 
> Let me know if you know what the difference between the two is. I'm sure there is one.




I'll be running 15kg of meat through the smoker for Jerky next week.

Send me a PM for my address, send me a satchel with your name and address and i will send you jerky for free.

On the proviso that you report back to this thread and confirm or deny your statement above.  :super:


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## brettprevans (4/2/13)

citymorgue2 said:


> Usual corned silverside jerky
> Boston Style
> For 2.3kg of meat (pre drying)
> 1 cup soy
> ...


This stuff isnt even finished drying yet and its delicious. Half dried half koist slightly too moist to be biltong but its great. A great flavou r profile. Highly recommend. Might even do a few roasts and steaks marinated in this. 

Wont last long. The 6yr old and 19mth old are already stealing it. The 4yr old wont try it thank god otherwise id have none


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## AntonW (4/2/13)

punkin said:


> I'll be running 15kg of meat through the smoker for Jerky next week.
> 
> Send me a PM for my address, send me a satchel with your name and address and i will send you jerky for free.
> 
> On the proviso that you report back to this thread and confirm or deny your statement above.  :super:


Punkin, that's an offer I'll have to take up. I'm a man of honour when it comes to dried meat products and I'm yet to find a jerky i dig.




citymorgue2 said:


> There is almost a treatise on diff between biltong and jerky on here. And yes peopke use convection boxes. Theres even plans on here. Horses for courses.
> 
> Ps fat should ve removed. It goes rancid almost regardless of how u cure and dry.
> 
> ...


citymorgue2, thanks for that. I'll dig a little deeper. I don't use additives either. Just crapping on.


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## winkle (10/2/13)

bradsbrew said:


> How good is this. Should have made this years ago.


You have my permission to bring that to the next swap


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## Ducatiboy stu (11/2/13)

Ps fat should ve removed. It goes rancid almost regardless of how u cure and dry.


Yes, remove as much fat as possible. I always look for corned meat that has no fat veins inside the meat. Then just trim off the excess fat from the outer side


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## punkin (17/2/13)

Pushed 24 kilo of topside through my cold smoker this week for jerky.

Still haven't got that satchel Anton h34r:


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## QldKev (17/2/13)

AntonW said:


> Convection box anyone? Makes it easy to dry whole steaks and uses a fraction of the power.
> 
> <<snip>>
> 
> Let me know if you know what the difference between the two is. I'm sure there is one.


Have a read many pages back, I run an air drying box without heat. I just run a pc fan on a 12v power supply to draw the air through the box. A lot less power than an 80w globe.
80w X 24hr day x 5 1/2 days = 10560w or 10.5kwh. at 25c kwh is about $4. (in my head I pictured that being a bit more)
A pc fan is about 500mA. So power would be a cents.


My understanding of Biltong Vs Jerky is Jerky has been heat treat to ensure it's safer for consumption. So Jerky ends up dryer, whilst Biltong is softer and still meaty red in the middle.


QldKev


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## matho (16/3/13)

this popped up on FB so I thought I would share it here, looks really nice


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## MashPaddler (4/5/13)

Mercs Own said:


> let us know how it turns out and show us some pics. I would be interested in making this recipe with pickled pork instead of the steak. The only thing I would add to this recipe would be garlic powder but that is because I cant seem to cook anything with out garlic!!! Roast garlic icecream anyone??



Probably the longest response time to a question - I just stumbled across your response when reading through the thread again. I was previously on here as Newbee(r) and after a long break decided I needed to return with a new slightly less dicky name. The flavouring in the mango chilli jerky recipe was bang on, but the texture from the mango pulp was fibrous and took the edge off it. No pics sorry but I intend to do the recipe again with mango juice not fresh mango, to avoid the fibre issue. Also needed a bit more brown sugar and more chilli, to my liking it should have been a bit more in your face flavour bursting at the seems than it was. Would suggest marinating for 48 not 24 hours.


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## bradsbrew (19/7/13)

Using the new dehydrater. Had the meat marinating 48hrs.


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## AndrewQLD (19/7/13)

bradsbrew said:


> Using the new dehydrater. Had the meat marinating 48hrs.


Did you upload that photo from your phone Brad?


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## bradsbrew (19/7/13)

AndrewQLD said:


> Did you upload that photo from your phone Brad?


Its an ipad, I have to rotate and save then open that pic and rotate back to original and save. Surely there is an easier way.


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## Florian (19/7/13)

bradsbrew said:


> Using the new dehydrater. Had the meat marinating 48hrs.


How's your fast ferment test going, Brad?


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## bradsbrew (19/7/13)

Fast ferment, that's been sitting there a few weeks probably more. Well long enough that she has stopped whinging about it :lol:


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## Mercs Own (20/7/13)

MashPaddler said:


> Probably the longest response time to a question - I just stumbled across your response when reading through the thread again. I was previously on here as Newbee(r) and after a long break decided I needed to return with a new slightly less dicky name. The flavouring in the mango chilli jerky recipe was bang on, but the texture from the mango pulp was fibrous and took the edge off it. No pics sorry but I intend to do the recipe again with mango juice not fresh mango, to avoid the fibre issue. Also needed a bit more brown sugar and more chilli, to my liking it should have been a bit more in your face flavour bursting at the seems than it was. Would suggest marinating for 48 not 24 hours.


Hey almost two year wait time on response! Nice work. Re the fibrous thing - the fact that you pat the meat dry prior to putting it in the oven would remove most if not all of any fibrous type material. I have never really noticed anything like that - perhaps you need to use a riper mango? I always like more chilli but the wife doesn't. Look forward to hearing about how the up'ed version works - in about 2015!


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## Ducatiboy stu (20/7/13)

Depends on the variety of mango. Some are very fiberous others have none. 

Up herr during mango season you can tell which trees on the streets are fiberous because no one takes them.


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## Mercs Own (20/7/13)

Yeah wondered about that?! Mangoes I use are well ripe and all lovely pulp - more flavour than using juice especially as juice will be about 40% mango and the rest will be sugars and water.


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## Ducatiboy stu (20/7/13)

I am a bit lucky up here. Heaps of mango, avacado and pecan trees.....and macadamia trees

I cant remember which mango varieties are stringy and which arny


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## bradsbrew (21/9/13)

Anyone used the high mountain jerky cure and seasoning?


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## mwd (21/9/13)

Manju's Vegetable Samosas from Recipe to Riches on Channel 10 and Woolies. Very nice and not bland got a bit of a spicy hit.
I would buy again. Come in a pack of 8 but they are fairly small. Ideal snack in front of the tellie with your favourite beer go nicely with Hop Hog.


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## browndog (30/9/13)

bradsbrew said:


> Anyone used the high mountain jerky cure and seasoning?


I use a mixture of Jalapeno mix and Pepper and Garlic mix left overnight to cure then into the dehydrator. Delicious.


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## Cervantes (17/1/17)

Just been reading through this old thread and wondered if anyone making Jerky in the decade since the first post had been poisoned by it yet?

Lots of doubters in the early posts. I'm glad I started making my own before reading those early posts. I may have been put off of a good thing.


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## QldKev (17/1/17)

I've been doing it for many years and nearly always a batch on hand, no food poisoning.

I have had to throw a couple of batches away. Back when I was using some of the commercial sauces and the non-heat dryer I got mold on 2 the batches. I'm guessing a combination of the sauces having a higher level of sugar, non heat, and high humidity levels in Qld allowing them to take too long to dry. It was white mold on both batches so most likely would had been safe to eat. I also cure meats in the same carport, where we welcome the white mold, so it could had just been a cross inoculation from them.


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## madpierre06 (3/6/17)

I love having a bit of cheese with other consumables with a beer, and lately been finding some nice ones at Aldi. Mind you, one of the french ones I got had me thinking that I was gonna have to fumigate/disinfect the fridge. Talk about de Ranke!


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## Bruer (2/5/18)

Deep-fried pigs ears are delicious. I also find that dried squid is also yum. Also peanuts and ikan bilis are good too.


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