This is how you can make jerky without any special equipment.
A humane kill as quickly as possible is the best start, andthen keep your game as clean as possible. Try to avoid letting any of thestomach, bladder, or intestine contents come in contact with the meat. Wash off any dirt as soon as possible andchill the carcass as fast as you can.
Remove all the fat you can during the butchering process orwhen you take the meat from the freezer for making it into jerky. When the venison is semi-frozen slice it asthin as you can with a knife or about an eighth of an inch thick on a slicer.
Dump the slices into a Tupper-ware type container and coverit with soy sauce, garlic salt, black pepper and enough hot sauce to get it tothe point of spiciness that you want. Just guess at what will taste good for thefirst batch. This is so easy that youwill make it again and adjust the recipe to perfection. Let it soak at least an hour but preferablyover night in the fridge.
Then spread it on wire racks (ideally) or just lay it oncookie sheets if you don't have wire racks. If you have wire racks put a baking sheet under them to catch thedrips. I invested $30 in the Cabela'sbrand jerky making trays that consist of 3 wire racks on legs that stack over acookie sheet like tray but you don't need that. You can lay teh jerky straight onto the cookie sheet (use one with a rim to catch teh water that bakes out). If you don't have a baking sheet you can getby with aluminum foil but it is harder to work with. Trust me though - it is worth making every effort to keepyour wife's oven clean! Put the sliceson the racks or sheets so that they do not touch each other and put it on thecenter oven rack.
Set the oven to 250F for 30 minutes.
If you cook water out of the venison you can pour it off thecookie sheet or just let it bake off (but that makes the pan harder to clean).
After 30 minutes, turn the oven down to 'warm' (about 200F) andlet it cool with the jerky in the oven until it is as chewy or brittle as youdesire. I usually take out the thinpieces and put the thick ones back in to dry a little longer.
THAT'S IT! You willhave jerky in an hour or so. Nomulti-day drying sessions. Try itwarm. Let it cool and try it cool. If it isn't hot enough add spices to theuncooked portion. If too spicy or toosalty just rinse the slices before drying the next batch. Within a couple of tries you will have jerkythat your friends and family beg you to make!
