Ingredients
- 5 kg (10 lb) moose, deer, bear or elk meat
- 50 ml (1/5 c) coarse salt
- 250 ml (1 c) brown sugar
- 500 ml (2 c) water
- 60 ml (4 tbsp) ground pepper (optional)
Preparation
Slice the meat as thin as possible, then pound with a mallet. In a large bowl, mix together the salt, sugar and water. Add the pieces of meat and stir with your fingers until all the meat is well covered with the mix. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
Smoking Method
Prepare the Bradley Smoker with 4 to 8 hours of Mesquite flavour bisquettes. Place meat slices on racks and load in the Bradley Smoker. Bring temperature to between 55°C to 75°C (140°F to 160°F) and leave the damper wide open. Leave in the Bradley Smoker until meat is completely dried out.
Note: Do not add water to the drip bowl when making jerky.
To Serve
Historically, jerking meat was the primary means of preservation before refrigeration. True jerking is drying meat, that was previously brined in a heavy salt solution. In fact the word ‘jerk’ comes from the old Spanish word ‘charqui’ which means dried meat.
