Re-Inventing the Wheel

[Rick]

I conducted a little experiment this year. One I'm sure any of my ancestors would have been able to answer; hence the title.

In April I dehydrated 1lb of turkey, 1 lb of hamburger, turned one flank steak into jerky and made a batch of hard tac. The meats were dehydrated in the oven on low with the door slightly ajar. I made the jerky using the recipe I've posted a time or two and processed it in the oven as well.

All were tossed in the cupboard and left. Today I pulled them all out. After 6 months on the shelf, none of the food had any indication that it had any problems. No mold. No off color and no odor.

I rehydrated the turkey and hamburger and both came through it just fine. The turkey tasted just like turkey and the hamburger didn't really have any flavor. The jerky tasted like jerky. The hard tac was....well......hard.

I have no idea what the shelf life of dehydrated food is but I now know it will last 6 months in a Ziploc bag on a shelf. I suppose if I used something like a vacuum sealer it would extended the life quite a bit.

In any case, I thought you might be interested.

[crashdive123]

Good to know, but the thing that really puzzles me is how the jerky lasted for six months without being consumed.

[Ken]

I conducted a little experiment this year. One I'm sure any of my ancestors would have been able to answer; hence the title.

In April I dehydrated 1lb of turkey, 1 lb of hamburger, turned one flank steak into jerky and made a batch of hard tac. The meats were dehydrated in the oven on low with the door slightly ajar. I made the jerky using the recipe I've posted a time or two and processed it in the oven as well.

All were tossed in the cupboard and left. Today I pulled them all out. After 6 months on the shelf, none of the food had any indication that it had any problems. No mold. No off color and no odor.

I rehydrated the turkey and hamburger and both came through it just fine. The turkey tasted just like turkey and the hamburger didn't really have any flavor. The jerky tasted like jerky. The hard tac was....well......hard.

I have no idea what the shelf life of dehydrated food is but I now know it will last 6 months in a Ziploc bag on a shelf. I suppose if I used something like a vacuum sealer it would extended the life quite a bit.

In any case, I thought you might be interested.

You neglected to mention that you've sent samples to the Quality Control Department, didn't you?

[Winnie]

Rick, the turkey you dehydrated, how did you process it prior to dehydrating? ie was it minced, thinly sliced, cubed?

And what's hard tac?

[crashdive123]

Winnie - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardtack

I had a piece that I made about a year ago the other day. I had it with some split pea soup - I soaked it in the soup for 20 about minutes before trying to eat it. Tasted great, but impossible to eat without soaking first.

[Winnie]

Ahhh ships biscuits! now I know!
Haven't tried them, think I'll save that one for dire emergencies. Seem to recall uncle Bill mentioning ships biscuits when he was in the merchant navy in the '30's and it wasn't in a good way!

[Hillmann]

The longest I have ever had jurkey last is about 22 months. We found a cakepan full of it on the top shelf of our pantery when we moved the shelves. It was made without a cure, just salt and whatever spices I felt like throwing in. I dried it to a bone dry crisp and before using I soak it in water then pat it dry when it is the consisinsety I am after.

[Rick]

Good question, Winnie. It was ground turkey.

I actually like hard tac a lot. I much prefer processed white flour over wheat flour. For some reason the taste of wheat flour made into hard tac isn't very good.

[nell67]

Winnie,you should try ship's bicuits/hard tack at least ONCE before you may need it,just so you know what to expect.

Only stockpile things you will actually use if TSHTF,cuz if you won't eat it,it won't do you any good to store it,unless you are going to use it as bait for animals.....

[nell67]

Great post Rick,good to know the Minister of Science is on the job.

[smhg]

Rick, I did a search on here for 'jerkey' but could not find your recipe for oven jerkey. can you either post the link to the thread or message me the recipe? thanks!

[Winnie]

Winnie,you should try ship's bicuits/hard tack at least ONCE before you may need it,just so you know what to expect.

Only stockpile things you will actually use if TSHTF,cuz if you won't eat it,it won't do you any good to store it,unless you are going to use it as bait for animals.....

Think I'll stick with eggless pancakes.... I know I like them!

[Winnie]

Sorry Rick, another question. Was the minced meat cooked before dehydrating or processed raw?

[2dumb2kwit]

Rick, I did a search on here for 'jerkey' but could not find your recipe for oven jerkey. can you either post the link to the thread or message me the recipe? thanks!

Here you go.
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...t=jerky+recipe

[Rick]

Winnie, I cooked the meat (turkey and beef) until the red is gone. Drain and spread on a cookie sheet. Place in oven and set on lowest setting. Leave oven door ajar so air will circulate. The ground beef will look a lot like coffee grounds. The turkey will be much larger, more coarse than the beef.

Some folks flash off the beef. That is, once the beef has been cooked and drained they add about a 1/2 cup (approximately 1/4 liter) water and bring to a boil. Then drain off all liquids. All they are doing is removing the fat from the meat. I use a lean beef and I've never flashed off. I just cook, drain and dehydrate.

[Rick]

Here's my recipe for Hard Tac. This is an old army recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour (perferably whole wheat) (I prefer processed white flour to whole wheat)
• 4 teaspoons salt
• Water (about 2 cups)
• Pre-heat oven to 375° F
• Makes about 10 pieces

Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Add just enough water (less than two cups) so that the mixture will stick together, producing a dough that won’t stick to hands, rolling pin or pan. Mix the dough by hand. Roll the dough out, shaping it roughly into a rectangle. Cut into the dough into squares about 3 x 3 inches and ½ inch thick.

After cutting the squares, press a pattern of four rows of four holes into each square, using a nail or other such object. Do not punch through the dough. The appearance you want is similar to that of a modern saltine cracker. Turn each square over and do the same thing to the other side.

Place the squares on an ungreased cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Turn each piece over and bake for another 30 minutes. The crackers should be slightly brown on both sides.

The fresh crackers are easily broken but as they dry, they harden and assume the consistency of fired brick.

[Winnie]

Thanks for the clarification and instructions, very good post. Storing meats is the only thing I'm having a problem with (you can only eat so much Spam!) as I can't get my hands on a pressure canner over here, this would be a good solution for me.

And I've learned something else! I know what a saltine cracker is now! (we call them cream crackers)

[Rick]

The jerky is another easy way to store meat. You certainly don't have to use a flank steak to make jerky that's just what I prefer. You can use just about any cut of meat you want. Just make certain to trim as much fat away as possible before processing into jerky.

2Dumb posted the link to my recipe above.

[smhg]

Thank you Rick!

[catfish10101]

I wonder if adding garlic powder will hurt it.