Venison Jerky

My husband received jerky seasoning for Christmas last yr but our deer was already in the freezer so we held off in making our own jerky. I almost forgot about it as we were butchering our last deer on the 11th but remembered as I was slicing up the yummy meat. I made strips out of the tender rump, about 5 lbs is all I could get myself to cut up. (It's time consuming and I butchered my deer 5 days earlier and wanted it just to be done)

 

 

I was truly blessed when my neighbor/friend let me borrow her food dehydrator. I followed the directions on the seasoning packet.. "Hi-Country Jerky Seasoning" It said it could be cooked in the oven or dehydrator..

 

First, you let it marinade in the spices overnight in the fridge (well I forgot it was in there and found it two days later and quickly prepared it. No worries. Just an extra day marinading)

 

I got conflicting information regarding whether you can put raw meat directly in the food dehydrator so to error on the safe side, I pre-cooked it at 350 degrees for 20 minutes then set it out on the dehydrator.

 

I then set a timer for 5-6 hours later. I was able to start pulling the thinner pieces out at 5 hours and by 6 hours they were all done and so delicious!

 

 

I'm now kicking myself for not having more patience in cutting up more meat because this will NOT last for long in our house.

 

I do have a recipe to make ground venison jerky since I have some spice still left but will need to get the jerky gun at the store to make it a reality.. Maybe a Christmas gift?? Will see....