Jerky stuff

Well, today I had to resort to ordering both Morton's Tender Quick (meat curing salt) and liquid smoke online. Neither were to be found at H.E.B. Since I have meat that I need to use, I went ahead and tried one of the old flavor packets that I've had for a while. The "original" recipe packet (from Nesco) was no good--it was only a paper/foil packet that had let moisture in. However, the "cajun spice" and the "fajita" packets had an extra layer of plastic inside that kept them fresh, so I'm giving the cajun one a shot tonight. If it's edible, I'll use the fajita and possibly another cajun tomorrow to finish the rest of the meat. I'll start making my own recipes again once I get the ordered ingredients in. I'm going to try as hard as I can to get some of the habanero stuff made soon so I can mail it before Christmas. If you read this and you've received my habanero jerky before, you know who you are, so please be patient.

By the way, I also liked Nesco's teriyaki seasoning. Since it was powdered, it works well for ground beef. Liquid teriyaki sauce doesn't work so well unless it's "real" meat that you can marinate. I might order some from them. I also plan on ordering more trays for my dehydrator. A couple of my old trays somehow got a little broken and I have to lay the meat down around the broken spots, which is a minor hassle.

I'm also going to take a shot at marinating some venison for jerky. I remember I've done it once before when some friend of my wife's had some that she wanted me to jerkify for her. So I've done it once, but I don't recall any of the details, except that they liked it enough to pay me a little for the job.