drying-foods-msg - 5/18/11
Drying foods in period and for use in the SCA.
NOTE: See also the files: pickled-foods-msg, campfood-msg, food-storage-msg, ham-msg, sausages-msg, salt-msg, vinegar-msg, herbs-cooking-msg, fruits-msg, vegetables-msg, sausage-makng-msg, no-fire-cook-msg.
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NOTICE -
This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.
This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org
I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.
The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.
Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).
Thank you,
Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
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Date: Mon, 14 Jul 1997 21:05:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: Uduido at aol.com
Subject: SC - Sun drying
<< Now I'm curious, how do you do the Mr. Golden Sun method with jerky
without getting spoilage? >>
The box described to dry the items in is designed to provide a very dry
atmosphere plus heat.
For actual sun drying the meat must be sliced VERY thin and hung on racks.
They must be removed to a dry place each evening before dew falls, etc. The
jerky mixture or salt provides the means to preserve from spoilage as has
been done for centuries.
A better Sun-drying method which would be safer and more effective but not
period, would be to construct any one of the solar dryers featured in several
past issues of Mother Earth News. These work wonderfully well if constructed
and used according to the instructions. Always remember, thin, thin, thin. A
greater degree of thinness can be accomplished if the meat is partially
frozen and sliced while still in that state.
Lord Ras
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 1997 20:26:55 -0400 (EDT)
From: Uduido at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - helpmehelpmehelpmehelpme
<< I was just given 15 pounds of ripe figs. I live alone. I don't even
have a chihuahua. Is there such a thing as fig jam? pickled figs?
Do figs freeze? >>
Figs are prime candidates for drying. If you have a gas stove, it's a simple
matter to lay them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and let the pilot light
do the work, :-)
Lord Ras
From: jen-guy at home.com (Jennifer Guy)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Beef Jerky (Was First Time Pennsic Tips)
Date: Sat, 27 Jun 1998 19:20:35 GMT
On 27 Jun 1998 14:43:32 GMT, Tracy Schulman <motherkt at frontiernet.net>
wrote:
>If you're using a food dehydrator do you need to cook the beef first? I've >never made Jerky but the idea sounds great.
> Aine
I've made jerky in the oven and in the dehydrator, and never cooked it
first. I might consider cooking turkey or something beforehand. I've
only done beef to date. We always cut really thin pieces, takes too
long to dry otherwise. One thing we do is spice, season and marinade.
Here's some ideas:
Garlic
Garlic/Pepper
Tabasco
Italian Dressing
Barbeque
Lemon Pepper
Soy Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce
There are jerk sauces and smoke flavorings available. Have fun!
From: wavdrmr at aol.com (Wavdrmr)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Beef Jerky (Was First Time Pennsic Tips)
Date: 27 Jun 1998 20:09:50 GMT
>We always cut really thin pieces, takes too
>long to dry otherwise. One thing we do is spice, season and marinade.
The butcher at your local supermarket can cut the meat for you. Just tell him
how thin you want it.
If you like your jerky nice and spicy (like I do) make sure you leave a lot of
the pepper (or sprinkle more) on the beef. Yum!
Jacquelinne
From: Eric & Lissa McCollum <ericmc at primenet.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Beef Jerky (Was First Time Pennsic Tips)
Date: 27 Jun 1998 15:58:00 -0700
Tracy Schulman wrote:
> If you're using a food dehydrator do you need to cook the beef first? I've
> never made Jerky but the idea sounds great.
> Aine
We don't. We usually buy a flank steak, and either have the butcher
cut it for us or half freeze it and cut it ourselves in strips
a quarter inch thick. Marinate overnight, and put on
the dehydrater. We spray the trays with Pam first, so the
finished product doesn't stick (especially important with the
fruit leather!). The dehydrator blows hot air over the food
until it drys out, and I suppose that cooks it slightly
in the process. The stuff lasts *months* if you dry it
enough.
The benefit of the dehydrators is that they are fairly
quick. We can make jerky in a day, and dried apple slices
only take about 8 hours. We have two of them now, and
gear up about a week ahead of a major event to make
enough food to feed an entire encampment on the run.
And believe me, making your own is *much* cheaper
than buying it!
Gwendolen Wold
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 1998 07:32:35 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Par Leijonhufvud <parlei at algonet.se>
Subject: Re: SC - Jerked Meat
On Sun, 12 Jul 1998, jeffrey stewart heilveil wrote:
> Does anyone have a smoke-preserved/dried-preserved meat recipe that is
> period? If not, if anyone has a dried-preserved that can be done in an
> oven, I would be deeply in their debt.
No period recipies, but try setting your oven to 40-60 C (105-140 F),
leaving the oven door slightly ajar (a wooden spoon helps here). Cut
_lean_ meat into strips "across the grain" and place on a rack, not
directly on a cookie sheet. This is what I do for veggies, and I've been
told that it works with meat as well.
/UlfR
- --
Par Leijonhufvud parlei(at)algonet.se
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 1998 01:15:27 -0500
From: a14h at zebra.net (William Seibert)
Subject: Re: SC - Jerked Meat
Beef can be oven dried if you put it on a rack, rather than in a
pan. However, there should be a pan under the rack in order to
catch drips before they splatter the oven. The oven should be
set at about 150 degrees F, and the meat tested about every
hour. When it cracks instead of bends, its done. Of course, the
thinner the stuff is sliced, the quicker it dries. One pound of
beef should result in about 4 ounces of dried beef. Marinade
recipes follow.
Wine Marinade
* cup red wine
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 fresh cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp minced onion
1 tbsp ground pepper
pinch of thyme
pinch of oregano
pinch of marjoram
Soak 2 lbs of thin sliced beef (cut against the grain) in salt
water for 30 minutes; drain and rinse. Marinate in the above
mixture for 48 hours in a sealed container (refridgerated).
Drain, rack and dry.
The above marinade may also be used for chicken, but the chicken
must first be boiled off the bone in the marinade, then boned,
drained and dried.
Hope this works out for you. The chicken looks like wood chips
when you're done with it, but makes an outstanding stew when
boiled for 5 minutes with chopped onion and green peppers, and a
little rice thrown in to thicken.
WAJDI
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 1998 02:12:31 -0500
From: allilyn at juno.com (LYN M PARKINSON)
Subject: Re: SC - Jerked Meat
Can you set your oven as low as 150*? I've done it at 250*, but that's
really too high. I've got a convection oven, but you should be able to
use a regular. Maybe prop the door open a little and turn on the fan,
draft obliquely across the door? The basic: 1/3 part Kikkoman soy sauce,
2/3 part water. Get as fancy as you like: a few drops of smoke flavor,
lemon juice, crumbled dried herbs, or float fresh leaves in the marinade
for a bit, mustard, pepper, ground cloves, etc. Make a few batches and
find what you like best. I used to do mine paper thin, but this year am
trying 1/4" slices. Hide a few sandwich bags of it, because once your
friends learn you make it....
This is not documented: just hot weather survival food! (That, and
raspberry ices...)
Allison
Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1998 00:14:37 PDT
From: "catherine allison" <cra4774 at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Jerked Meat
You might also want to try using Lapson Souchong tea in the marinade
which has a real nice smokey flavour. The tea can also be tossed on the
coals when grilling meats.
Alisyn of Greenbriar (Bjornsborg)
Cathy Allison
Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1998 16:31:29 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - Jerked Meat
> Firstly I would like to correct the subject line. Jerked meat is a Caribbean
> method of seasoning meat. Beef jerky is what is commonly known as marinaded
> and dried meat. I could be wrong on this but having been to the Caribbean
> a dozen or so times I think I have it right.
>
> Micaylah
The subject line is correct as it stands. The word jerky derives from the
American Spanish word charqui which is a corruption of the Quechua word
ch'arki. All of which refer to sun or smoke cured meat. The verb
describing the process is jerk. So jerked meat is proper.
For the Caribbean meat dishes, the word jerk is an adjective, for example,
jerk chicken (as opposed to jerked chicken). In this context, jerking is a
method of preparing and barbequing meat. The derivation of the word is the
same as for jerky.
Ah, the joys of having a trivia trap for a mind.
Bear
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 10:46:44 -0400
From: "Gedney, Jeff" <gedje01 at mail.cai.com>
Subject: RE: SC - Low sodium requirements
I think that a good low sodium jerky marinade would be a kind of
Teriakish that I have used for seasoning pork for stir fry.
Try the following:
2 tbs. honey,
2 tbs. cider vinegar (or possibly orange/pineapple juice),
2 tsp. low sodium Soy sauce
1 tsp. sake
2 tsp. fresh chopped ginger
1 tsp. finely minced onion
2 tsp. finely minced garlic
1/2 to 11/2 tsp. chopped Thai red pepper (depending on taste, how hot do
you want it?)
Whisk all together until the honey is dissolved
Slice the meat 1/4 inch thick, across the grain, and give it a good hard
stretch ( the "jerk" in jerky) to loosen the connective tissues.
Put the meat into a bowl, and cover with the marinade, and press down
into the marinade with a plate, and put in the fridge for 24 hours.
Every 8 hours or so remove the plate, and flip and stir up the meat.
After 24 hours prepare for drying:
Remove and Clean the top oven rack
Set the oven for 150-165 degrees (or "Warm" setting if analog oven)
Remove the meat from the marinade, and brush off any stuff clinging to
it. "Jerk" it again, gently this time, as the meat will be more fragile.
If desired, dredge the meat in cracked pepper at this point.
Skewer pieces of meat at one end, on bamboo skewers, and hang through
the cleaned rack.
Place a layer of foil on the bottom of the oven.
Place the loaded rack in the top most slot of the oven.
Put a chopsticks in the door, to ventilate the moisture, and dry the
meat.
Every hour or so, check the meat. when it cracks, it's ready!
I think that should be low enough sodium... at least to use as a treat.
Am I off base there? I don't want to kill anyone. If any of the
ingredients are high in sodium, let me know, as I am trying to cut back
a little, too.
Brandu
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 07:26:05 -0700
From: Susan Fox-Davis <selene at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: SC - Jerked Meat
Baron Frederick of Woodlyn used to do a really good jerky with
commercial teriyaki marinade, made in the microwave.
Microwave??!!
Yup. What happens to meat when you nuke it too long? It gets chewy and
hard. This is what you WANT when you make jerky.
I'm at work now, I'll go find the recipe at home and post it tonight.
Selene Colfox
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 11:14:33 -0700
From: kat <kat at kagan.com>
Subject: Sweet jerky recipe (was Re: SC - Low sodium requirements)
Korrin S. DaArdain writes:
> I remember as a kid having some jerky that was cured with sugar
> insted of salt.
The best, the absolute ultimate top-of-the-line BEST jerky I've ever had in my life was my dad's sweet venison jerky.
Recipe? Cut your venison thin. Shake in some black pepper and a couple handsful of dark brown sugar. Mix with your hands till the sugar starts pulling the juices from the meat.
You can dry this in your "li'l smoker" like my dad did; but even in a dehydrator it's excellent.
- k
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 17:27:33 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Re: Sweet jerky recipe
John Henschen wrote:
> Now, I don't know much about making jerky... but... I thought all the salt
> in jerky was to kill the wee-beasties in the meats, which was what preserved
> the. Now... adding sugar, and it seems _only_ sugar to this recipe would
> encourage bad things to happen. Wouldn't it? Drying it would help, I
> suppose, but having been sick too many times from eating bad food, I don't
> think you could pay me to eat it. Sure, it sounds tasty, but is it safe?
Jerkies are invariably cured with at least some sugar all over the Far
East. You can buy commercial versions of jerkies of beef, pork, chicken,
turtle, and, believe it or not, squid. And, oddly enough, it's good,
too.
Sugar works the same way as salt does in high concentrations. It causes
plasmolysis in microorganisms: they undergo massive osmosis of their
bodily plasma, effectively exploding. Also, it produces a more tender
product than salt used alone.
I refer unbelievers to sugar-cured ham and bacon, which are made with
mixtures of sugar and salt in their cures.
Adamantius
From: bronwynmgn at aol.com (Bronwynmgn)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Beef Jerky (Was First Time Pennsic Tips)
Date: 15 Jul 1998 12:07:03 GMT
stefan at texas.net (Stefan li Rous) writes:
>There was an accessory available where we bought our dehydrator which let
>you use lean hamburger. You put the hamburger in a tube similar to those
>used to decorate cakes. It has a rectangular opening. When you pull the
>trigger a ribbon of meat comes out the front. Very convenient and hamburger
>may be cheaper than the other meat choices.
Never tried hamburger. As the poster said, get the absolutely leanest
hamburger you can if you try this. For that matter, the absolute leanest meat
of anysort, and remove any chunks of fat before drying. The fat will go rancid
long before the jerky goes bad. And I've managed to keep jerky at least a year
with no ill effects. Keeping it in an airtight container is also important; if
moisture gets into it, it will tend to rehydrate, and then to spoil.
As a chirurgeon, I once used jerky to "coerce" an exhausted, hungry, overheated
fighter from going back into a woods battle for the last ten minutes. He was
laying on the ground, saying he would go back in to the battle in just a
minute, but he was sooo hungry... I threw him my pouch (I was busy treating
someone else at the time) and told him there was homemade jerky in it (normally
I don't tell anybody because I get mobbed) because I was sure that was what he
would pick (there were also nutragrain bars and trail mix in the pouch), and by
the time he finished gnawing through a piece of it, he'd have rested in the
shade for a while, gotten some salt into him, and probably followed it up with
a nice long drink of water...As it was, the battle finished before he finished
the jerky. And he didn't particularly mind missing those last few minutes
since he got some homemade jerky out of it.
Brangwayna
From: phoenix at thomson.net
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Beef Jerky (Was First Time Pennsic Tips)
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 15:11:46 GMT
bronwynmgn at aol.com (Bronwynmgn) wrote:
> stefan at texas.net (Stefan li Rous) writes:
>
> >There was an accessory available where we bought our dehydrator which let
> >you use lean hamburger. You put the hamburger in a tube similar to those
> >used to decorate cakes. It has a rectangular opening. When you pull the
> >trigger a ribbon of meat comes out the front. Very convenient and hamburger
> >may be cheaper than the other meat choices.
>
> Never tried hamburger. As the poster said, get the absolutely leanest
> hamburger you can if you try this. For that matter, the absolute leanest meat
> of anysort, and remove any chunks of fat before drying. The fat will go
> rancid long before the jerky goes bad.
snippedabit
> Brangwayna
I have made jerky from venison and from beef from the grocery store, but as
far as getting the most "bang for the buck", I prefer to use fish. 1-2 pound
bass (or similarly shaped fish) filets are perfect. They have virtually no
fat, do not require slicing into strips, and are easy (relatively) to chew.
Be forewarned, though, it does have a different taste than beef, but if you
put enough seasoning in it, it covers up a lot of the "fish flavor".
Kinda makes me feels like an Eskimo.....
Munchin' and grinnin'...
James
Subject: more drying info
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 01:17:25 -0500
From: a14h at zebra.net (William Seibert)
To: stefan at texas.net
M'lord,
As you evidenced interest in drying meat, you might be interested
in the following info I have on drying veggies. Read:
Veggie---Pretreatment---what they supposed to turn out like---how
much fresh equal how much dried.
Beets---Peel, slice thin---Curled and leathery---one pound=three
quarters cup
Butternut Squash---Cut, cook, peel, and puree---Dry, like
filigree---one medium squash=one half cup
Cabbage---Slice thin---Wispy---one small head=one cup
Carrots---Slice lengthwise or julienne, or grate, then chop fine
for carrot flakes---Leathery, still orange, somewhat curled---six
carrots=one cup
Celery---Slice---Very dry and shrunken---one bunch=one cup
Corn---Cook in boiling water for two minutes, cut kernels off
ears---hard, pebbly, slightly darker---corn from six ears=one cup
Eggplant---Peel, slice thin---Pale and leathery, very light---one
medium eggplant=one cup
Green Beans---Cook in boiling water ten minutes---Shrunken and
leathery but not brown---one pound=one cup
Kohlrabi---Peel, slice thin---Curled and leathery---one
pound=three quarters cup
Leeks---Wash well, slice well up into the green part---Like
parchment, not brittle---one medium leek=one cup
Mushrooms---Wash well, slice thin---Crinkled, but not too
shrunken---one pound=one and three quarters cup
Parsley---Chop---Dry, almost powdery---one pound=three quarters
cup
Parsnips---Peel, slice lengthwise or juienne---Dry and
leathery---one pound=three quarters cup
Peas---Cooking in boiling water ten minutes---Hard as
pebbles---one package frozen peas=two thirds cup
Potatoes---Slice and soak for no more than ten minutes in lemon
juice---Will almost crack in two---one pound=three quarters cup
Tomatoes---Slice through center and coat with olive
oil---Leathery and still red---three quarters pound=one cup
Turnips---Peel, slice thin---Curled, dry and leathery---three
quarters pound=one cup
Yellow summer squash---Slice across or lengthwise---Curled edges,
leather, not brown---one pound=three quarters cup
Zucchini---Slice across or lengthwise---Curled edges, leathery,
not brown---one medium squash=one half cup
On drying fruits: the following list can be dried by peeling (if
necessary), slicing (if necessary) and drying on rack. Apples,
figs, berries and cherries, pineapples, lemon and orange peel.
The following need to be dipped in a solution of one quarter cup
of lemon juice and one quart lukewarm water: apricots, peaches
and pears.
A honey dip made by dissolving one cup of sugar in three cups hot
water, allowing solution to cool, then stirring in one cup of
honey is good for the following: rhubarb, bananas, apricots,
pineapple and strawberries.
I realize all the above was unsolicited, but hoped that you might
find it interesting. Pass it along if you think anyone else
might want to try it. I morally hate to lug an ice chest along
with me.
WAJDI
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 20:32:24 -0400
From: dy018 at freenet.carleton.ca (Micaylah)
Subject: Re: SC - Jerked Meat
I just used sherry to make jerky last week. It did call for honey tho' as
well and turned out really good. If I may make a suggestion...skip the olive
oil. I also made a batch with and without the olive oil and found that the
stuff with the oil was a little greasy. And this was after I dried it for
about 15 hours and blotted on anything absorbant that I could find in my
kitchen!
Micaylah
From: "Keith E. Brandt, M.D." <wd9get at amsat.org>
To: herbalist at Ansteorra.ORG
Subject: SC - - Hot drinks
Date: Sat, 14 Nov 1998 10:17:34 -0600
To dry citrus peel: With vegetable peeler remove colored part of peel from
2 large oranges and 4 lemons. Place in single layer on plate; cover with
paper towel and let stand at room temperature one day or until dried. Snip
in small pieces with kitchen shears or chop coarse with knife.
Galen
Friar Galen of Ockham
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 10:19:52 EST
From: LrdRas at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - Drying chicken meat
stefan at texas.net writes:
<< how would you use the food dehydrator to dry chicken for this? Just
like what you do to make beef strips into beef jerky, without the
seasoning? Do you shred or thin slice the chicken?
Does it re-hydrate well in the soup? Or do they end up being tough, >>
When is was supervising the Mission Harvest program at St. Anthony's, we used
per-cooked chicken for this process. It was sliced or diced and then laid on
the trays which went into the dehydrators. It rehydrated pretty well and made
a nice addition of needed protien in the mission field. For the purpose of
soup making, pre-cooked meat was always our choice for drying. The recipients
of the packaged goods always had good words for this particular product. Beef,
pork, chicken and ground beef were a few of the meats we processed this way.
Using pre-cooked meat significantly reduced any potential bacterial
infection concerns and the drying and rehydration time is drastically reduced.
Ras
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 09:30:43 -0600
From: a14h at zebra.net (William Seibert)
Subject: Re: SC - Drying chicken meat
Stefan li Rous wrote:
> Wajdi said:
> > But, using a dehydrator, I can come up with a pretty mean
> > chicken stem {stew]
> > just by boiling the dried ingredients. Chicken, rice, carrots, onion,
> > beans, etc.
>
> Sounds like a good idea.
>
> But how would you use the food dehydrator to dry chicken for this? Just
> like what you do to make beef strips into beef jerky, without the
> seasoning? Do you shred or thin slice the chicken?
>
> Does it re-hydrate well in the soup? Or do they end up being tough,
> chewy pieces that sort of taste like chicken but feel like leather?
>
> I would probably first just try canned chicken, but if drying chicken
> meat does work this opens up some possiblities.
The trick I use to make dried chicken palatable is to completely
boil it off the bone first. As far as drying with a
convection oven, thats how I got started, with the motivation
that I did a lot of backpacking and really hated the thought of
paying commercial prices for dried food. The thing to check,
make sure of, etc, is that the lowest setting on your oven is
actually right around 100 to 120 degrees F. Idealy, it should be
right at 110. The lowest setting on my oven (determined with a
handy-dandy thermometer) is right at 150, so I have to cheat and
leave a wooden spoon wedged into the door to keep it open a tad.
Runs up the gas bill, but natural gas is cheap. Thats another
reason I went to a dehydrator. Which I got at a re-sale place,
for about 1/5 of the price new. My Lady and I now have three of
the things. For chicken, skin the pieces and boil. Boil the
living hell out of it, until the meat has fallen from the bones.
Go through the meat and make sure that all the cartilidge and
bone chips have been removed (I never said it was easy). Press
dry, and place on drying rack. For a convection oven, I used the
little bread cooling racks they sell in specialty stores. It is
vital that air and heat be able to get to all surfaces of the
meat. If the chicken is in those long, stringy chunks, you might
want to cut or pull it into more managable chunks. Dry in oven
at lowest setting until it has the appearance and consistancy of
wood chips. I normally use leg and thigh quarters, but thats
because I can get them at 29 cents per pound, and we end up doing
between 50 and 100 lbs at a time. I don't season the chicken
because I end up cooking the stuff for a group of people with
tastes ranging from "thermo-nuclear ain't hot enough" to "dahlin,
I don't even _salt_ my food". Carrots are peeled and chopped
into little round pieces about 1/4 inch thick. You then dump the
carrots into boiling water for one minute, drain, and arrange on
the drying rack. When you put the rack into the oven, put a
catch pan underneath the rack because there is a lot of
shrinkage, and the little dried carrots will fall through the
rack.
Onion, celery and green peppers are chopped, then placed
on a drying screen and dried normally, usually until they are
unrecognizable. They come out looking like dried up spit-wads,
the kind you find laying around on the floor three days after the
paper-wad fight. Note that I said drying screen rather than
rack. These things shrink unbelievably, and will dissappear from
the oven if you're not careful. By the way, while they are
drying the house will smell simply wonderful.
All dried ingredients should be put in doubled plastic Ziplocks, and
can be stored indefinitely. For in-camp cooking, start with a pot
full of water and throw in sufficient amounts of each ingredient, not
forgetting to hold back the minute rice. Let sit in unheated
water for a couple of hours. Bring the pot to a boil, and let
boil for about a half of hour. Throw in a handfull of minute
rice or so per person to be served. Let cook for another 15 or
20 minutes. If you want to get fancy, sling in a couple of
pinches of sage and/or other favored herbs about 5 minutes before
serving. Serve with bread, salt & pepper on the side. I think
my original posting failed to mention the minute rice, but it
certainly makes the chicken stew a bit thicker; rather than being
a chicken soup, which is what I originally started with, but
changed because I thought the soup wasn't filling enough.
wajdi
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 06:08:12 PDT
From: Bonne of Traquair <oftraquair at hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: SC - Soft fruit glut.
>How do you make fruit leathers?
Mash or blend the fruit, strain out the seeds if you want. Spread out to
dry per the instructions on the dehydrator. If you don't have an electric
dehydrator, line jelly roll pans with parchment, spread the fruit goo
thinly, put them in your oven on the lowest setting, with the door propped
slightly open. Move the trays around once in a while so they dry evenly.
The pilot light will be warm enough, I think, if you have that sort of gas
oven. I've seen instructions for making a dehydrator with plywood and using
a lightbulb as the heat source--search the internet, it's probably out there
somewhere!
If you live in a dry climate, you can put them outside in the sun, covered
with mosquito netting and somehow protected from ants. Bring them all in at
night.
The Fettiplace receipt book has recipes for preserving fresh fruits. Jams
since it is from 1604, but also suckets and other candies that involve less
sugar.
Bonne
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 11:23:25 -0700 (PDT)
From: Laura C Minnick <lainie at gladstone.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: SC - Soft fruit glut.
On Tue, 22 Jun 1999, Oughton, Karin (GEIS, Tirlan) wrote:
> Lainie,
> How do you make fruit leathers?
> This is one of the methods I was looking for in the florilegium but failed
> to find. I'm hoping that if I can make them successfully I can wean my child
> minder off commercial candy, and onto these instead : )
I dear. I hate it when this happens.
I haven't used the original recipe in years, and after several
moves, I don't know where it is anymore. I usually wash the fruit and cut
away any stems, etc, then run it through the blender until it makes a nice
slurry. I add a teeny bit of sugar only if the fruit is very tart- sugar
makes the juice run and changes the consistency considerably. Sometimes it
add cinnamon of nutmeg. Then I spread the glop out on a cookie sheet that
is either well-buttered or has a wax-paper lining, and set them in the
oven at at 200 degrees or so. Overnight will do if they are thin, sometimes
it takes a day or two. Then I roll them up in waxed paper. I don't know
how long they last because they never do!
I have wanted one of those food dehydrators for years, but never
managed to have the money and the desire at the same time. It would free
up my oven for more important things, like brownies!
'Lainie
- -
Laura C. Minnick
Date: Sun, 4 Jul 1999 07:51:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: H B <nn3_shay at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: SC - salmon recipe?
- --- Stefan li Rous <stefan at texas.net> wrote:
> Jean Luc said:
> > My wife and I usually soak our meat and yes salmon in Teriaki Sauce
> over
> > night after slicing thin. Then we cheat a little and put it into a
> > dehydrator after about 24 hours you have dried meat and fish.
> Teriaki
> > style.
>
> Thank you for this recipe. This sounds interesting and well-timed. My
> local HEB has fresh, maybe previously frozen, salmon fillets on for
> $3.49 per pound. I've not cooked salmon before, but I ought to buy
> some at this price and try your recipe in our dehydrator.
>
> Do you slice across the fish? Do you do this with refrigerated fish
> or need to chill, but not freeze it, some it some first?
>
> With the Teriaki sauce it won't be period, but it is a start.
Jean Luc: Thank you for the suggestion; actually, in my one attempt
thus far, that is exactly what I did -- sliced a hunk of salmon ~1/4"
thick across the grain, and marinated it in teriaki for almost 24
hours, then dried on a cooling rack set in a cookie sheet in the oven
for about 12 hours. It was okay, but I thought it was too salty for my
taste, and would marinate it less time next time (like a few hours, or,
say, overnight :-) ) though it went over well enough with a bunch of
guys at a picnic who first first said "salmon WHAT?" and then "hey --
you know, that's not bad" and then "got any more?".
Stefan, I sliced the salmon on a meat slicer while it was mostly
frozen. This was a tip I got from the National Food Safety Database
pages on drying and jerky, which gives a LOT of explanation of drying
and tells you how to do it in the oven if you don't have a dehydrator
(though I must admit, it is a pain to try to keep your oven at around
140 degrees F and stick a fan across the cracked-open door -- where do
I get a cheap dehydrator??). The web address is
http://www.foodsafety.org/dryingfd.htm
- -- Harriet
Date: Sun, 4 Jul 1999 13:11:45 -0400
From: "Alderton, Philippa" <phlip at morganco.net>
Subject: Re: SC - salmon recipe?
When you're drying meats or fishes for jerky type foods, you can soak or not
soak them in about any non-oil fluid you prefer. Try lemon juice or vinegar,
if you want a slightly acid taste, or plain water or wine if you don't. Most
commercial preparations are heavily salted- it's the nature of our culture's
tastes. The only purpose the fluid serves is to help transport the added
flavors into the meat you're using. For a change, use a dry rub of your
favorite spices- that works well too.
As far as the actual drying, again, any heat source will work. If you leave
your oven open a crack, you don't need a fan blowing at it since the natural
convection of the hot vs cool air will exchange the wet air for the dry air
well enough on any day with reasonable humidity- today's 85% is not a day
I'd try to dry foods ;-) I've used electric and gas ovens, my food
dehydrator, and my gas/charcoal grill in both modes for drying foods- I've
also used my microwave for quick drying herbs like peppermint.
It's not very difficult to do- just use a bit of thought, and don't worry
too much. Primitive peoples didn't do it for thousands of years because they
wanted a new cooking challenge, they did it because it was an easy way to
preserve foods.
Phlip
Philippa Farrour
Caer Frig
Southeastern Ohio
Date: Sun, 04 Jul 1999 10:20:14 -0800
From: Anne of Bradford <rdwlist at micronet.net>
Subject: Re: SC - salmon recipe?
Greetings to all with extra fish!
It's very common here in Oertha (Alaska) to end up with way too much
salmon. We generally cut up our extra, non-fatty salmon (reds, pinks,
silvers) and soak them in brine overnight (see below). As for King
salmon, Kylson and I usually cut into steaks and put on the grill. It
tends to have a high fat content, and that causes smoked anything to
turn rancid quickly. We've got a couple of small portable smokers that
we use to smoke the fish for about 10-12 hours, or until the flesh is
firm and shiny. I'd imagine that for jerky, you'd want to leave it in
the smokers for a bit longer though. We add new wood chips to the
burners every two to three hours, and change the order of the racks
every four to six hours. It stores for a couple months in ziplocs in
the fridge.
Brine #1: 1/2 c salt, 1/2 c brown sugar per quart of water. Season w/
pepper, garlic powder, maple flavoring
Brine #1: 2 c salt, 1 c brown sugar, 2 Tbsp white pepper, 1 Tbsp each
crushed bay leaf, allspice, cloves and mace. (I've used this on
halibut. yum!) (Source: Cooking Alaskan, ed Editors and Friends of
Alaska Magazine)
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 07:04:45 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - jerky documentation?
Serian wrote:
> Yes, I've made jerky and pemmican (SP) before. It also
> seems to me that other nomadic groups might have dried meat
> for preservation. Certainly it has Society value in that
> it is easy to transport and feed to people.
Now, if you'll bear with me a second here, and realize I'm not messing
with you, but rather exercising my own belief that just about every
question that can be asked, should be asked, does it have any special
Society value beyond convenience? Any more so, than, say, a bag of
chips? The thing is, I love jerky, and have occasionally made it and
brought it to events... would you not say many people have this view of
it as being the food of the Medieval Tough Guy Traveller/Soldier, even
when there may not be any real evidence for that interpretation? At
least, in the mainstream European literature and recipe sources? This in
a period where food writers were prepared to discuss, at length,
dragging sides of beef in perforated barrels behind ships in salt water,
and various other preservation methods of dubious effectiveness, but
seem never to have mentioned something like jerky? I think that a lot of
period Europe lacked the kind of sun and dry breezes needed to make what
we think of as jerky, and this may be why it doesn't seem to have been
manufactured and used in Europe on any scale we know about.
So what do we know Europeans _did_ eat under jerky-ish circumstances?
Flatbreads, either carried in a wallet or made in camp on a bakestone.
The kind of flaked dried cod (klippfisk, I think?) favored by Viking
explorers. Possibly dried softer fruits, or fresh hard fruits such as
apples. Hard cheeses, maybe dry sausages or bacon.
But it's true, I tend to get strange looks when I whip out a handful of
shreds of dried cod at events. In fact, the facial expressions of those
around me probably carry more inherent relish than the cod itself does,
but then I don't think Eric the red was eating it for the flavor of it.
Unless by comparison to the _rest_ of what he was eating...? ; ) (I
never said that, you can't prove nuthin'!)
> I recently made a lemon and ginger flavored beef jerky that
> went over quite well. Curiosity then overcame me as I was
> working on documentation for my kingdom A&S food and music
> entries.
I've become fond of a painfully simple recipe for chipotle jerky; I'm
almost embarrassed when I tell people how I make it. But then, I live in
a kingdom that has no official A&S event, per se.
Adamantius
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 00:12:36 -0400
From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>
Subject: Re: SC - jerky documentation?
And it came to pass on 15 Sep 00,, that Wajdi wrote:
> Pure speculation on my part, but has any consideration been given
> to the idea that dried meat products may be found in early
> Spanish or Arab writings? Seems to me as if those areas would
> have had sufficient sun to dry meat.
Dunno. I've seen recipes that use air-dried fish: hake and conger eel.
There's a 1553 Spanish treatise on the benefits of physical exercise that
mentions "tasajos", which the Royal Spanish dictionary says is meat
that has been preserved by drying and salting it, or in oil.
http://www.uida.es/mendez/portada.html
So I searched for "tasajos" at google.com, and found a link to a page
about food in Don Quixote. (Okay, so I'm obsessive. Everyone needs a
hobby.) http://www.jimena.com/cocina/apartados/quijote.htm
It gives a quote from the novel, in which some goatherds are boiling
tasajos of goat meat in a cauldron. The explanatory note says that
tasajos are:
"Carne adobada durante cuatro dÌas y dejada despuÈs a secar. Es
como la cecina del cabrero. Se puede hacer con vaca, ternera, venado,
jabalÌ..."
"Meat marinated for four days and then left to dry. It is the cecina [a
type of hung dried beef] of the goatherd. It can be made with beef, veal,
venison, wild boar..."
I found another online source -- a 16th century commentary on sailing
and life at sea -- and it had some scathing things to say about the
rations for passengers on a galley-ship. Tasajos of goat were
mentioned, along with such delights as rancid bacon.
There was also a quote from a 17th century comedy by Tirso de Molina.
Two laborers are complaining that their employers don't pay well. One
of them says that his rations are badly-seasoned tasajos and coarse
bran bread.
I get the feeling that tasajos were often used as a food for travellers and
the poor.
Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 12:46:01 -0700
From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>
Subject: SC - Period Islamic Dried Meat
From _Social Life Under the Abbasids_ by M. M. Ahsan, p. 113
- ---
The Abbasids inherited the art of food preservation from the ancient
east and the classical civilizations. The drying process was widely
used and the least expensive. Even the Arabs of the remote past were
fond of dried meat called qadid. ... The common people of the time
used this method extensively. Like meat, fish was also dried in the
sun and used throughout the year.
In one process for food preservation, antiseptic agents, especially
salt and vinegar, were used. The meat thus preserved was known as
namaksud, a Persian compound word indicative of the Persian origin of
the method. To make namaksud, the meat was cut into slices, seasoned
with salt, and left in the sun on a plank to dry. When required, the
slices were moistened with water and cooked.
- ---
I should add that Ahsan is not entirely reliable--he repeatedly
describes murri as "brine," for example, and makes frequent errors of
arithmetic in doing currency conversions. The book has a tone of
"paste together all the references you can find to subject X in the
literature without really digesting or evaluating them." But I expect
that on a simple point like this he is accurate. He cites a variety
of sources, of which the most accessible is probably the Encyclopedia
of Islam; I haven't yet checked it.
- --
David/Cariadoc
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 15:34:20 GMT
From: "Olwen the Odd" <olwentheodd at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Jerkies
>Is there any way to make jerky without the use of a dehydrator (i.e., in a
>conventional oven or microwave)? If so, does anyone have any recepies for
>mild flavors of beef or poultry jerky?
>
>Gwendolen
It is perfectly easy to make jerky without an electric dehydrator, if you
have an oven or not. If you do, simply lay the meat on a splatter screen or
rack, not on a solid surface like a cookie sheet and place in oven with
either a warm setting or low setting. Turn it over once or twice till dry.
For solar, you can suspend the pieces over a sheet of tinfoil on a rack.
You must keep the flies and bugs off it though. If you have a 10 gallon or
larger fish tank with one of those screen tops it is very easy. Just
suspend the meat hanging from the screen. Make sure you cover most of the
screen to hold the heat in.
As for non-period flavors, you can soak your thinly sliced meat in just
about anything you like. Vinegars, BBQ sauce, soy, hotsauce, Zesty Italian
or other flavor salad dressing, beer, the list is just about as endless as
your imagination. How long you marinate is equal to how much flavor is
infused.
Olwen
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 12:44:12 -0400
From: "Nicholas Sasso" <NJSasso at msplaw.com>
Subject: SC - re: Jerkies
<<<<<<<... SNIP...As for non-period flavors, you can soak your thinly sliced meat in just
about anything you like. Vinegars, BBQ sauce, soy, hotsauce, Zesty Italian
or other flavor salad dressing, beer, the list is just about as endless as
your imagination. How long you marinate is equal to how much flavor is
infused.>>>>>>>>>>>
For those technologically enhanced, a vacuum sealer will speed up your flavor
infusing process by as much as 5 times or more. Simply put meat in a container/bag with marinade and put under vacuum. the flavors are forced right
into the meat rather than simple osmotic pressures. The flavors are real intense after short durations.
niccolo difrancesco
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 18:00:08 -0700
From: "James F. Johnson" <seumas at mind.net>
Subject: SC - Adaptation from Apicius for jerking meat
Seumas commented:
> I tried a preservative solution from Apicius with vinegar, salt,
> mustard, and honey, but proportions are not included, so I have been
> experimenting.
Stefan li Rous replied
> Interesting. Apicius recipe please? Would this be dried/ground mustard
> seed since you already have liquid with the vinegar and the honey? Or
> would this be a mustard sauce?
>From the 1936 Vehling translation of Apicius, Book I, Chapter VII
[Vehling 11]:
"To keep cooked sides of pork or beef or tenderloins place them in a
pickle of mustard, vinegar, salt and honey, covering meat entirely. And
when ready to use, you'll be surprised."
If I recall correctly (Mmm...notes have disappeared) I started with
750ml of red wine vinegar, 250ml of honey, 4 Tablespoons each of ground
mustard and sea salt. This itself tasted mostly of vinegar naturally, so
I doubled the amount of mustard and honey. I might have added more sea
salt, but this used up the last in the kitchen at that time. The sliced
meat marinated in the fridge for a full day, then 24+ hours in a 150 F
oven. Came out very dry (brittle) and slightly tangy of the vinegar. I
would prefer it more spicy/savoury, so later attempts will increase the
mustard and salt again. I might go so far as to make a very thin paste
of mustard and salt using the vinegar and honey. I'm also considering
grinding up the salt with the mustard for an additional dredge of the
meat before packing and marinating. Personally, I would like to try some
with black pepper, perhaps ginger. I like more pungent flavours.
Seumas
Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2001 16:02:13 -0800
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: SC - Moroccan Dried Meat
Long ago we discussed dried meat, and the lack of "period" recipes. I
have discovered a recipe for Moroccan dried meat. I suspect that some
variation of this goes back thousand years or more. However, it
doesn't seem to me to be the sort of thing that would have made it
into a cookbook for the wealthy or noble, so other than anecdotal
references in literature, which i have seen, we'll probably never
really know.
This recipe is from "Taste of Morocco" by Robert Carrier, Boxtree
Ltd., London: 1987/1996. ISBN 0-7522-1039-4
I haven't tried it myself.
Khlii
Sun-dried preserved meat
The author, a Brit, refers to it as "an age old method". We here on
this list know that could mean that it goes back to someone's
grandmother 40 years ago.
He goes on to say: "Khlii is used, much as we use bacon or petit salÈ
(lightly salted pork fat), to flavour tagines of fresh or dried
vegetables, or a winter couscous or soup."
- -----
2.25 kg / 5 lb beef
50 g / 2 oz coarse salt
450 g / 1 lb lamb (or beef) fat
1.2 litres / 2 pints water
250 ml / 8 fl oz groundnut/peanut oil
150 ml / 1/4 pint olive oil
Spice and Garlic Paste
75 g / 3 oz (6 Tb) coriander seeds, ground
50 g / 2 oz garlic, peeled and crushed
2 Tb vinegar
50 ml / 2 fl oz olive oil
50 g / 2 oz coarse salt
1. To prepare spice and garlic paste, combine all the ingredients
together in a bowl, mix well, and leave to rest for 24 hours.
2. In the meantime, cut the meat into long thin strips. Rub the
strips well with the coarse salt. Cover with a piece of muslin /
cheesecloth to protect from insects, and leave to absorb the flavours
for 24 hours.
3. Then take each strip of salted meat and cover it with a layer of
spice and garlic paste, rubbing it in well with your fingers. Cover
with muslin / cheesecloth and leave to absorb flavours for a further
24 hours.
4. On the following day, take each piece of meat and hang it over a
washing line or, with needle and thread, take thread through the end
of each strip and tie thread into a loop. Insert a broomstick through
each loop and hang the pole horizontally in the sun, covering the
meat with a strip of muslin / cheesecloth as above. Make sure that
each strip is well covered with spice and garlic paste, and pat on a
little where needed. Repeat this process over 3 or 4 more days, or
until meat is thoroughly dried. Absolutely no moisture must come out
when meat is pressed with your finger. Make sure you bring meat
indoors at sunset, to keep it away from any possible mist or moisture
in the night air.
5. When meat is dried, remove it from the line or pole. Cut it into
even sized pieces and simmer it with its aromatics in melted fat,
water, and the oils, until all the water has been absorbed. The
richly flavoured fat will be left in the pan. Stir often to ensure
that meat does not stick to the bottom of pan or scorch.
6. When the meat is tender, remove it from casserole or stock pot and
allow to cool completely in a large shallow container. Strain fats
through a muslin / cheesecloth -lined sieve into a container. Allow
to cool completely. It must still be liquid.
7. Fill sterilized Kilner / Mason jars loosely with meat, then pour
over strained fat. Leave jars open for 2 hours, then seal.
8. Reserve the remaining bits or crumbs of meat and spice and garlic
paste in a jar to use in savoury beghrir or rghaif
- -----
MY NOTE: beghrir and rghaif are fried pancakey-breads - i'm not
giving a real accurate description, but it will do for now. I ate
both kinds, as well as several others, while i was in Morocco, but i
don't think i had any khlii.
Both pan cooked (such as beghrir and rghaif) and baked yeasted breads
(khobz) are often made with semolina flour so they are faintly golden
and have a very different flavor from white or whole wheat flour in
the US - which was to my mind really delicious. When given the choice
between white and pain complet (which in France is a modified whole
wheat) bread loaves, i chose the complet, which was the golden kind.
Anyone on the list have experience making bread with semolina flour?
I imagine it behaves differently from the usual white...
NOTE 2: The author gives no information on how to store khlii or on
how long it keeps.
Anahita
From: "Hrolf Douglasson" <Hrolf at btinternet.com>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Sca-cooks digest, Vol 1 #541 - 20 msgs
Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2001 22:17:32 +0100
> Is drying fruits period? We have two apple trees and
> a pear tree in our yard, and would love to save some
> of the fruits for use throughout the year.
From the York Archeological dig. There is striong evidence to show that the
Vikings dried apples for winter use
vara
Date: Wed, 05 Sep 2001 22:53:22 -0400
From: johnna holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Sca-cooks digest, Vol 1 #541 - 20 msgs
> Is drying fruits period? We have two apple trees and
> a pear tree in our yard, and would love to save some
> of the fruits for use throughout the year. In the
> past I have canned and frozen, but I know those
> definately aren't period.
According to Pickled, Potted, and Canned by Sue Shephard
(which is a new neat book on food preservation) the Romans
were drying fruits in large quantities. And dates and raisins
have been dried for centuries in areas in which they were
grown. England had trouble with the process of drying
fruits due to the damp climate which made it difficult
to sun dry. When drying moves inside there are fuel costs
associated with oven drying, so a lot of fruit spoiled due
to there not being cheap fuel. In other areas, it was well
established with Slovakia and Moravia and Bosnia drying fruits,
especially plums, in specially constructed buildings.
Johnnae llyn Lewis
From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 18:22:32 -0400
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] fruit leather (was pesto)
On 6 Sep 2001, at 10:08, Jennifer Thompson wrote:
> Speaking of summer oversized harvests, has anyone had any luck making
> peach fruit leather? Puree fruit, add 1/4th as much sugar, let dry in
> slow oven, yes?
Granado's recipe for peach leather (Carne de Duraznos) calls for
one pound of sugar to two and a half pounds of peaches (two
pounds of peaches if they're not fully ripe.)
Comment at recent baronial meeting when I placed "peach flesh"
on the refreshment table: "Cool! Period rollups!"
Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 21:15:52 -0500
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Dried meat in period?
Also sprach david friedman:
>>While I tend to agree with Brangwayna, have you
>>considered dried meat, like jerky?
>
>>Phlip
>
>To bring this back to questions of historical cookery ... .
>
>What information do we have on the use of dried meat in period?
>Stockfish was certainly common. Anything closer?
The Magyars are thought to have used a form of dried meat, beef or
even horsemeat, and it is rumored (let's just say I don't have access
to a primary source) that the original gulyas was a sort of pocket
soup, more or less a meat stew cooked until the liquid was almost
completely dried, and the meat mostly dried, too. It was then
finished by drying under the sun and in the wind. Presumably it could
be reconstituted for eating, but I suspect it could be chewed on
without further moistening or cooking.
And I could swear there was an Islamic dried beef recipe referred to
on this list...
And then, of course, we have the old standbys of dryish hams being
eaten without further cooking, and sausages, including the
smoke-dried Polonian sausages (English kielbasa) mentioned by Hugh
Plat.
Adamantius
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 20:57:22 -0800
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Dried meat in period?
From: david friedman <ddfr at daviddfriedman.com>
>What information do we have on the use of dried meat in period?
>Stockfish was certainly common. Anything closer?
I haven't seen any European references, but, then, i haven't looked.
Anahita isn't European.
However, i've seen references to dried spiced meat in the Middle
Eastern corpus - not eaten as jerky though; it's carried around
dried, but it eat it, it's cooked in liquid. There's a recipe or two
for making it and another few recipes for using it lurking in
"Medieval Arab Cookery". I'll have to look and see what it's called
and which of the several translated books it's in...
Anahita
Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2002 11:19:53 -0600 (CST)
From: "Pixel, Goddess and Queen" <pixel at hundred-acre-wood.com>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Dried meat in period?
On Thu, 28 Feb 2002 XvLoverCrimvX at aol.com wrote:
> So with the talk of jerky (which is making me hungry for the dried meat) in
> the air, who has a good jerky recipe with instructions on how to make jerky.
> Mmm, if i'm not busy, I make some myself if I can find a recipe.
>
> Misha
Here's our recipe. Contains only ingredients that can in theory be
documented to England in the 13th century. We're obsessive that way.
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp honey
1 tsp garlic bits
1 tsp dried onion
1 tsp dried mustard
1/2 tsp or thereabouts black pepper
Marinate sliced meat overnight or longer, dehydrate. Yum. The other half
stores his in his fridge, but this has lasted all through Pennsic while
living in a linen bag. I prefer more pepper and mustard, myself.
Margaret
From: "AnnaMarie" <wolfsong at ida.net>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Date: Sun, 19 May 2002 11:12:30 -0600
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Update on Lamb Jerky
Well, it's not beef, that's for sure..... lamb jerky takes about 1/3 of
time longer than beef and even when it's dried to the consistency I dry my
beef it still tastes a bit greasy to me. I trimmed as much fat as I could
and when it was finished drying I trimmed some more fat off (dogs were happy
with those leavings). I marinated it in red wine vinegar, pepper and a bit
of sugar so the flavor is nice, it's just greasier than beef and definitely
tastes like lamb.
All in all, I think I'll stick to the beef jerky and save the lamb for stews
and kabobs.
Kristianne
Wolf Song Day Spa & Herb Shop
Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2003 07:55:08 +0200
From: UlfR <parlei at algonet.se>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Smoked fish and meat--questions
To: SCA-Cooks SCA-Cooks maillist <SCA-Cooks at ansteorra.org>
Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com> [2003.09.21] wrote:
> As Phlip mentioned, you can make your own dried meats. These could be
> done a slices for jerky or done in small chips in which case they could
> then be rehydrated and used or tossed into a soup or stew. The smaller
> chunks would dry quicker and have less chance for spoilage. One of the
> commercial dehydrators would come in handy for this or an oven set on
One thing that I have done for backpacking trips is dried hamburger.
This is totally non-period (AFAIK), but works well for a purely food
standpoint. Rather simple procedure; fry hamburger until barely done
adding finelly chopped onions, garlic, spices as desired), and rinse
with boiling water (to remove excess fats which would tend to get
rancid). Spread in dryer and dry. Reconstitues in a few minutes when
boiled. Mostly useful for "meat sauce" type dishes.
But this is not period, so I would personally hesititate to use it in an
SCA context.
/UlfR
--
UlfR Ketilson ulfr at hunter-gatherer.org
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 21:20:37 -0700
From: "Dan Brewer" <danqualman at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] preserving fruits without sugar
To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
For drying fruit you will want to wash the fruit to remove any residues.
Cut in two and remove the pit. Dip in mixture of ascorbic acid ( vitamin c)
and place of the dryer shelf. Your dryer can be home made or store bought.
If home made make the drying racks out of nylon mesh they will be easer to
keep clean. The box holding the shelves needs to have an area to collect
solar radiation. And vents to carry away the excess moisture.
You will need to experiment a little to see how your dryer works. The
pattern of the fruit drying will vary with every load
Here are some references to look at.
http://www.pathtofreedom.com/pathproject/offthegrid/solarfooddryer.shtml
http://www.extension.uiuc.edu/~vista/html_pubs/DRYING/dryfood.html
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/environment/alternative-energy/energy-re
sources/homepower-magazine/archives/29/29p62.txt
http://www.manytracks.com/Homesteading/SolarFoodDryer.htm
http://www.ca.uky.edu/fcs/FACTSHTS/mgt-sbb-003.pdf
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/canning-pantry/drying-fruit-leathers.pdf
This link probably has the most useful information
http://www.canningpantry.com/dehydration-of-food.html
Dan in Auburn
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:23:53 -0500
From: "Saint Phlip" <phlip at 99main.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Beef Jerky (not too OT)
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
silverr0se at aol.com writes:
<<Does anyone have a recipe for GOOD beef jerky that can be done in an oven rather than a BBQ or smoker? Yesterday's earthquake drill got me thinking about non-perishable food and I remember my late brother-in-law used to make this great beef jerky, which even those you hate the commerical stuff (like me) would
eat.>>
Really, it's a matter of what you like. You can pretty well spice it
with anything. You take your meat, and cut it thinly across the grain
(partial freezing is the easiest way to get thin slices) and drop the
pieces in a chilled brine solution, if you like it salty. You can also
throw in some of your favorite smoke seasonings or Worchestershire
sauce, if you like them.
When you're ready to dry the meat, take the pieces out one at a time,
and shake them in a baggy of your favorite spice blend. I like some of
the variants of Mrs Dash, and usually add some garlic powder and /or
pepper, depending on what I'm in the mood for.
Lay the pieces of meat out flat on a cookie sheet or three, and put in
the oven. A gas oven's pilot light will dry things sufficiently, if
you have a gas oven, but very low in an electric oven will work, too.
Just leave stuff there, until it's very dry, and place in sealed
plastic bags, and it'll keep pretty near forever.
--
Saint Phlip
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:39:41 -0500
From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius1 at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Beef Jerky (not too OT)
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
On Nov 14, 2008, at 8:23 PM, Saint Phlip wrote:
<<< Lay the pieces of meat out flat on a cookie sheet or three, and put in
the oven. A gas oven's pilot light will dry things sufficiently, if
you have a gas oven, but very low in an electric oven will work, too.
Just leave stuiff there, until it's very dry, and place in sealed
plastic bags, and it'll keep pretty near forever. >>>
A slightly messier, but somewhat more effective trick I've been using,
is to thread the ends of the strips onto bamboo skewers, and hang them
straight down through the bars of the oven rack, with a pan underneath
to catch drips.
It seems to cut down on the drying time somewhat, and I think you can
pack more strips into a smaller space without crowding to the point
where they don't dry properly.
Adamantius
Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2008 05:14:22 -0600
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at att.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] need to draw on your experience
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
<<< What is a "Pension"? In the US it is a retirement plan which most
companies are trying to wiggle out of.
Stefan >>>
Pension refers to a boardinghouse. In many places in Europe, homeowners
plump up the household budget by renting rooms, often with breakfast
included. It's a less expensive alternative to getting a room in a hotel.
In the U.S., we've gentrified the experience by creating the "Bed and
Breakfast" and raising the price tag.
Bear
Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 09:35:54 -0700
From: Susan Fox <selene at earthlink.net>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] dehydrators and grain mill question - OOP
I use this one. No moving parts except for the sun and wind!
http://www.amazon.com/Food-Pantry-Hanging-Dehydrator-Dryer/dp/B001T426TE
Selene
Kathleen A Roberts wrote:
<<< Does any one have any recommendations on dehydrators/food dryers? I am in the market for an economical yet reliable one.
Cailte >>>
Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 11:47:55 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Pixel, Goddess and Queen" <pixel at hundred-acre-wood.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] dehydrators and grain mill question - OOP
The non-powered variety of dehydrator only works well in a climate that
isn't humid. Not Minnesota, in other words. ;-) [Note: Selene lives in southern California - Stefan]
The Consort has a Nesco American Harvest of unremembered model that
you can add trays to beyond the original set that it came with, and it
works quite well.
/Margaret FitzWilliam
On Thu, 12 Aug 2010, Susan Fox wrote:
<<< I use this one. No moving parts except for the sun and wind!
http://www.amazon.com/Food-Pantry-Hanging-Dehydrator-Dryer/dp/B001T426TE
Selene >>>
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:42:13 -0700
From: Carina ZLawson-Williams <aurorasouthern at hotmail.com>
To: <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Sca-cooks Smoked and Pickled: Sources and
Recipes
Sun dried Jerky
Cut fresh meat into long thin strips, one inch wide. Rub strips with garlic or salt if desired. Dry in sun as quickly as possible by hanging over a line. DO NOT LET THE STRIPS TOUCH. Store in a dry place in clean jars or sacks
Cold brined Jerky
Cut muscle meat lengthwise of the grsain into strips an inch thick , about one and a half inches wide and as long as you can make them.Put strips in a wooden barrel or non- metallic container and cover with a sweet pickle or corning solution for three days. Hang the meat over a cord line or string to drip for 24hrs and continue to hang it in a room or other dry place. Keep the strips from touching each other and protect from dirt and insect with a light cloth covering if necessary. The jerky will continue to dry as long as it is exposed to air- therefore it should be taken down and put swasy in an air tight container as soon as it is dried to your liking. A light smoke will add to the flavour and help preserve the meat
Hot brined jerky
Is made similar to cold brined except the meat is cut much smaller- like shoe string potatoes- the hot solution is made by adding salt to boiling water until no more salt can be dissolved. Dip strips into the hot brine until they turn white (about 5 min) - then string them up to dry and handle the same way as cold brined
You may wish to marinade the meats before using any of these methods
sources- Dene and Inuvialuit elders
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:10:41 -0700
From: David Friedman <ddfr at daviddfriedman.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Smoked and Pickled: Sources and Recipes?
Expensive but sounds good. A little googling finds a claim of
literary evidence back to the 15th c.
<<< perhaps something like the Italian Bresaola. Recipes can be found
on line, basically beef (or horse) marinated in a brine with herbs &
wine then air dried. I made some using a modern recipe and it seems
like it would keep a long time even without refrigeration. Haven't
looked for period recipes though it is one of those things one would
suspect has a long history.
Simon Sinneghe
Briaroak, Summits, An Tir >>>
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:20:58 -0400
From: Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Bresaola was Smoked and Pickled: Sources and
Recipes?
There's a recipe in Scappi for how to cook them.
page 157 in the Scully translation.
45. To make bresaola of lean veal, fried or grilled
Page 556 recipe 46 To prepare braised veal Bresaola
Anyway Bresaola is mentioned 15 times in the text. You can use Google
books to locate the mentions.
Johnnae
On Aug 30, 2010, at 7:10 PM, David Friedman wrote:
<<< Expensive but sounds good. A little googling finds a claim of
literary evidence back to the 15th c. >>>
perhaps something like the Italian Bresaola. Recipes can be found
on line, basically beef (or horse) marinated in a brine with herbs
& wine then air dried. I made some using a modern recipe and it
seems like it would keep a long time even without refrigeration.
Haven't looked for period recipes though it is one of those things
one would suspect has a long history.
Simon Sinneghe
Briaroak, Summits, An Tir
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:32:22 -0700
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Smoked and Pickled: Sources and Recipes?
Adamantius wrote:
<<< It would seem highly plausible that the Turkish version of basturma,
which is dry-rubbed and air-dried, as I understand it, is probably
quite old, and also commercially available. Of course, modern
versions generally include paprika in the rub, but the basic concept
very likely stems from a much older, Old World friendly, concept...>>>
The only time that the Ottoman Sultan's palace purchased beef in the
15th and 16th centuries was for the making of basturma, once a year.
Unfortunately, i know of no recipe for it nor any description of how
it was made. Clearly in the 15th c. no paprika was involved, and i
suspect not in the 16th either.
--
Urtatim [that's err-tah-TEEM]
the persona formerly known as Anahita
<the end>