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Why buy your favorite beef stick or jerky when you can make your own! This is a family favorite and can be adjusted to your taste. This little recipe will make your contribution to parties the best in taste! PLEASE - read the entire recipe before making!
2 pounds plus a handful of ground chuck (70/30)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons Tender Quick Salt for Meat (no substitutions - do not use picking or kosher salt)
1 1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke (usually found in the BBQ sauce isle)
1/4 cup cold water
Waxed paper
FOR THE BRAVE: tablespoon crushed red pepper.
WELL MIX all ingredients together.
For Sausage Rolls: Shape into long rolls about 2" thick. Wrap tightly in wax paper and refrigerate for 24 hours.
PREHEAT oven to 300 degrees. Remove sausage from waxed paper.
Bake rolls on rack (we use cooling racks placed onto cookie sheet) or use broiler pan. Roll or turn the beef every 20 minutes for 1 hour.
Remove from oven, cool slightly and using paper towels, roll to get the excess fat off. Wrap in plastic wrap for storage.
For Ground Beef Jerky:
Flatten out a large handful with rolling pin between 2 pieces waxed paper to less than 1/4 inch, then roll in the waxed paper for easy storage overnight in refrigerator.
PREHEAT oven to 300 degrees. Unroll the flattened beef, carefully remove one side of the waxed paper and place directly onto rack or broiler pan .
Bake about 10 minutes on one side, then carefully flip over and bake another 5 to10 minutes. Adjust the cooking time on the thickness of the meat. It will become "leathery", don't let it dry out.
Once you make this recipe, you can experiment with other flavors and adjust the heat! We add about 1 tablespoon (yes! 1 tablespoon) fresh minced habarnero pepper and/or other hot pepper for truly WOW experience. We have also added more garlic powder, used a 6 pepper blend dried spice, fennel, anise and/or caraway seed, etc. - don't be afraid to taste as you make it and experiment with other dried spices, start with a little (1/2 teaspoon), taste, then add more.
We make about 30 to 50 pounds of this to suit everyone's taste, don't forget to label!
Just a couple things you may notice that may be of concern for you:
Yes, it is normal for the meat to change color, it is the salt and liquid smoke.
Yes, it turns reddish as it cooks.
We store this in the fridge, even though the meat is cured.
Enjoy! Let us know how you like it and pass it on!! If you have any questions, just ask.
The Aroma Of The Holiday Season
We are cooking and baking up a storm for the holiday season. Thursday was shopping day. Who would have thought we would be up and out of the house by 4 AM to go grocery shopping. How many of us remember the blue laws?
Homemade gifts, especially the goodies, are always a holiday tradition for us. We bake and cook for ourselves and others who don't have time. Now we could list our recipes, but you can find anything on the Internet. There are such an array of recipe websites. We will share a local favorite which is a hit at all our gatherings, especially among the men! Homemade items have always seemed to be the center of our families. Here are a couple ideas for a little holiday cheer.
Just about all cookie dough is freezable. We individually freeze cookies on sheets and package in boxes or containers. Fresh baked cookies are then just minutes away. Don't forget the other sweets - homemade candies such as peanut brittle are always a hit at holiday time or any other special occasion.
From your favorite macaroni and cheese dish to goulash and any type of goodie you can imagine, just about everything is freezable! If your budget can afford it and if space allows for the recipient, a great gift for the busy ones would be a compact freezer complete with your homemade TV dinners. Dollar stores have great prices on toss-out aluminum pans and plastic ware.
Getting together with your friends is always a great way to prepare for your holidays. The aroma of pies and cookies fill us with memories of growing up. This year, our little group is putting together a cookbook of our favorite recipes and cherished memories to give with each hand crafted gift. Enjoy your holiday!
Homemade gifts, especially the goodies, are always a holiday tradition for us. We bake and cook for ourselves and others who don't have time. Now we could list our recipes, but you can find anything on the Internet. There are such an array of recipe websites. We will share a local favorite which is a hit at all our gatherings, especially among the men! Homemade items have always seemed to be the center of our families. Here are a couple ideas for a little holiday cheer.
Just about all cookie dough is freezable. We individually freeze cookies on sheets and package in boxes or containers. Fresh baked cookies are then just minutes away. Don't forget the other sweets - homemade candies such as peanut brittle are always a hit at holiday time or any other special occasion.
From your favorite macaroni and cheese dish to goulash and any type of goodie you can imagine, just about everything is freezable! If your budget can afford it and if space allows for the recipient, a great gift for the busy ones would be a compact freezer complete with your homemade TV dinners. Dollar stores have great prices on toss-out aluminum pans and plastic ware.
Getting together with your friends is always a great way to prepare for your holidays. The aroma of pies and cookies fill us with memories of growing up. This year, our little group is putting together a cookbook of our favorite recipes and cherished memories to give with each hand crafted gift. Enjoy your holiday!
Old Fashioned Holidays
Remembering the days gone by used to be reserved the 1930s and 1940s for some, the tough times, or traditions that may have gone on the wayside throughout the years. I guess our little group is truly getting "old", all to often we hear; "when I was young....".Rose, who is among the oldest of our motley crew, will often find something that "rots her socks off". Recently, the tantrum of an 8 - 10 year old at Walmart, swearing up and down to her mom that she had been good, was demanding that Santa bring her some overpriced toy whose value would diminish by the New Year, left Rose's feet bare. How sad, Rose wondered if this little one would ever understand - Christmas and the Giving of one's self.
Out her bag of wisdom and things, Rose pulled out a stack of Madeira and Swiss-made linen hankies, as well as some hand made by a great-aunt or close friend of the family and given to her, her mother or grandmother years ago. Tucked among these treasures was one that Rose had embroidered "sometime during the Depression", for her father at Christmas. The family dog, a Retriever named McGregor, meticulously embroidered by an 8 - 10 year old Rose, each stitch containing love and a treasure of memories. Each hanky in the stack had a story, the tea and coffee pot was filled at least twice as we listened. The younger of our friends was searching for the perfect vintage hanky to make a bonnet for a friend's baby shower, a tradition of our group for many years. It was Rose's task to teach today, and she did, much more than the folds and carefully placed stitches, bows and ribbons. At the end of this day, as with many others, we will always treasure our "daily dose of Rose".
Over the years, our little shoppe ladies have made many bonnets for treasured hankies brought in by customers or by hankies found at estate sales. We have started listing our collection of hankies at our online store. Take trip over, and even if you don't buy one, hopefully you will catch a glimpse of one that may remind you of one that was carried by a loved one long ago.
Choosing a hanky for Mom or Great-Aunt Lou, is something anyone over the age of 50, perhaps even younger, can remember. In fact, somewhere, tucked away in a drawer, you will eventually find one of these pieces of cloth, and when you do . . . will you know the story behind it?
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