Jerky for the DEHYDRATOR, Canned ground chuck, potatoes

Good morning everybody. How are you this morning? Welcome back to Coverin’ the Bases! C’mon in and sit a spell, if you’d like.

I think you guys will enjoy today’s column as we’ll be attempting to answer some of our friends questions they’ve offered up. This is what makes it so fun for Deb and I… the participation involved among us all! I personally would like to thank each and every one of you on a job…well done!

First off, I’d like to thank our own “Mississippi Queen,” this morning! What a great person she is, and also one who has become very involved in the column, and actually Dub and Deb’s lives! She’s very knowledgeable in a wide variety of topics, and in a throwback to yesteryear, is a fine example of a true “Southern Belle!” Do I get the cookbook, yet, I’m pourin’ it on pretty heavy this morning? LOL!!

She, Sandra, has been promising us a “world famous,” deer jerky recipe from her daughter, D’Lo, and yesterday, we received it. With their permission, we’d love to share this with you all.

I’d been picking at her, requesting the jerky recipe as soon as possible. The simple fact being, that as Deb and I are starting to get “up in years,” we’d like to go ahead and get it, while we still in fact have teeth in our head to chew it with!

Well, she delivered as promised, but not without having to hold her daughter’s “feet to the fire!” D’LO, fluoride toothpaste applied to the burned area, will soothe the pain!

We love you guys, and thanks so much for sharing this with us!

D’Lo’s “World Re-Nowned Deer (or Beef) Jerky:

Jerky for the DEHYDRATOR

Beef or venison

Quantity desired (pounds or bulk pieces of meat)

Meat (your choice)
Course Black Pepper
Montreal Steak Seasoning.
Dell Liquid Seasoning
Gallon bags

Slightly freeze meat for easy slicing and handling. Slice meat 1/4 inch thick.

Coat meat with black pepper and Montreal steak seasoning.

Using a meat pounder or a kitchen mallet, pound the meat as evenly as possible to

Approximately, 1/8inch. If your slices are wide cut them to the size for your racks and /or storage containers.

When you have completed this step, place the meat in gallon storage bags and add just enough Dell’s seasoningto moisten. Zip and place in refrigerator overnight.

Again refer to your dehydrator manual. Load the dehydrator and set the timer for your product. Half way through the process, check the strips and turn them over. Finish drying and store.

Thank you both again for sharing this recipe with us. I’m sure everyone else appreciates this too! You guys are great!

D’Lo your Momma seems to be a “sport model!” With that being said, I gotta’ ask you one question? How in the world do you put up with her? I have to imagine that’s just plain tough!

You guys do us a favor, and tell SUMO, that D&D say hi, and that if he makes it down here…Dub wants to wrestle him! LOL!!

Questions, Opinions, and Answers…maybe?

Alright, let’s see if we can’t do this, this morning?

Our first question, or questions come from Sandy. Sandy is another friend, who has become involved greatly in our column.

Sandy is one fine lady as well, and doesn’t hesitate for one second to ask, if she feels the need! To me, this is a great trait for someone to have, because I know my Dad told me over and over growing up, “Son, if you don’t understand…just ask!”

Taking a quick “jab,” at Dad this morning, he used the term, “Son,” if in reality I was doing pretty good, in any regard. Yet, if I “screwed up,” which looking back today, seems I did quite frequently, and I DID, he’d say, “Ruth, look what YOUR son just did!!” Just pickin’ at ya’, Dad!

But, I feel Sandy is exactly right by asking. So many people just move on, whether they understand the subject matter or not.

I tell you this though, just through what little correspondence Sandy has had with us, I can tell you…she’s a perfectionist! Keep it up, Sandy, you’re inspiring to Deb and I both.

Here’s what Sandy would like to know.

Questions for Bonnie the expert for sure:

  • Canned ground chuck? How much do you put in a jar and do you add any liquid, seasoning etc?
  • Potatoes……After you can them, how do you use them, mashed potatoes? Mine always seem to be mushy…….over cooking?
  • Could you explain “water-bathing” your tomatoes.
  • If you cooked a large amount of soup and want to keep the leftovers………do you just put it in jars and pressurize it long enough to seal it or would it be best to freeze it?

I sound as though I am going to have an industrious week but these questions just keep popping up.

Here’s our limited input Sandy, for what it’s worth. First you’re exactly right in directing almost anything in this regard to our friend, Bonnie! She is literally “the expert,” and I like referring to her as, “the Master!”

She’ll be in touch, I promise.

You will be in touch, right Bonnie? I mean, I just promised everybody you would be back in touch with us. Bonnie??

Canned ground chuck:

The way we do it, is to fry our hamburger, ground chuck, etc., browning well. Then drain off the grease after it’s cooked, and rinse the meat off using hot water from the tap, keeping the meat in a colander while so doing. This on account of trying to get as much grease as possible off it. Then lay the meat out to dry on paper towels, but mainly we do this so we can dab at the meat with the towels, to try and get even more grease off.

Have your seals and rings (lids), in a pot of hot, but not boiling water.

After drying or dabbing, we then put meat back into the skillet, just long enough to reheat it, NOT recook it.

We then put the meat into pint, Mason Jars, filling them to within an inch or two from the top, but be sure to leave a gap. We use small-mouth or wide-mouth jars, basically whatever we have unused at the time.

We put these onto a baking pan, and place into the oven on 350, for 15 minutes or so. Take out jars one at a time and put on your seals and rings (lids).

Listen for lids to seal. After cooling, be sure to check each lid by pressing down on the top with a finger. If no movement, the jar is sealed. If you press down and then hear a pop, or there is “give” in the top, the jar didn’t seal. Set this aside and go ahead and use it.

Bonnie, or anyone else for that matter may do this differently, and we’d welcome anyone else’s input for sure. Our way, is not the only way, I’m assuming, and I’m not saying ours is “the right way,” but it has worked for us in the past with no ill results. I’d love to hear from others!

Canned Potatoes:

Hey, Bonnie…HELP, or anyone else for that matter!

This is what Deb and I do, but we’ve not done many, so very limited in experience in this regard. Again, if anybody would like to “step up,” and give their advice, please feel free.

We just cut them up in about 2-1/2 chunks, and have a pot ready to put them in. We then put hot water, enough to cover them, in the pot with the potatoes in it. Add a little ascorbic acid, to keep potatoes from darkening. About 1 teaspoon per gallon of water.

Bring this to a boil. Then put the potatoes in Mason Jars, and pour in boiling water, leaving a 1″ gap from the top of the jar.

Here in Florida we process with 10 pounds of pressure. Pressure pints for 35 minutes, and quarts 40 minutes.

“Water-Bathing” Tomatoes:

This is not pressure cooking your tomatoes.

It simply is another process of cooking and sealing your tomatoes. I have not done this, but am positive it is just putting your tomatoes into your Mason Jars, with seals and rings (Lids) on them.

Take your pressure cooker pot, or another large pot, and put jars into it. Cover your jars up with hot water, about 2-3 inches above the jar tops and bring to a boil. (This is your “water bath.”) After water comes to a full boil, cook pints, 8-10 minutes, and quarts, 10-12 minutes. After taking out of pot, listen for jars to seal as they begin to cool. Check all tops again after cooling.

With that being “water-bathing,” check out Bonnie’s tomato canning procedure once more.

Bonnie : “I still water-bath my tomatoes, pints 8 to 10 minutes and quarts 10 to twelve minutes. I dice some of them and leave some in quarters after I slip the skins. I have never lost a jar of tomatoes.”

http://ridinouttherecession.com/?p=175

What to Do With “Cooked Soup:”

Your choice, but Deb and I usually Foodsaver extra soup, and freeze it. Thaw it, heat it, and tastes as if it’d just been cooked. That’s our preference.

If we were starting out to can soup, we’d just make up soup and can it as we went along.

In regards to canning precooked soup, I’d pour hot soup into Mason Jars, then pressure cook for 20 minutes, or so, to ensure a good seal.

Sandy, we hope this helps you out some. So, yes, you were exactly right in your assumption of pressuring just long enough to seal, but I would pressure for twenty minutes.

I say this because in regards to our canning soups…I gotta tell you guys…we’ve cheated in the past. Not always, but if we ran short from time to time, we used canned vegetables from the store.

Even though these are precooked, I’d still pressure cook them along with our chunked potatoes, beef, carrots, whatever, for the time needed for the meat or potatoes.

We do eat a lot of our canned soups, and honestly, to me, it hasn’t made the store bought veggies, soft or mushy. Now, that’s just my opinion, and take it for what it’s worth.

Crop Rotation:

We have another friend, Kunoichi, who told us not too long ago how to make your own butter, by using whipping cream.

Kunoichi, sent in some comments the other day pertaining to “crop rotation, along with its importance.

They’re as follows.

re: soil, have you considered using the three field system? Rotate the fields between having one section lie fallow, a second planted with legumes, and the third planted with everything else.

I haven’t had a chance to try it myself, but “lasagna gardening” is supposed to be a great way to build up healthy soil, and would be ideal for your raised beds. Kunoichi

Yes, we have considered crop rotation, and you are very right, it is important and I feel needs to be done. But, in the same breath, everyone is not working under the same circumstances.

In regards to our raised beds Kunoichi, I believe you may very well be onto something with this. I tell you what, we’ll discuss this another time (raised beds), but very soon. I feel this needs to be discussed further. Thanks for the heads up.

Using ourselves as an example, we just finished planting our larger garden. Larger meaning just that, compared to our raised bed garden our other garden is simply larger. It’s basically the older styled garden as well, out in the pasture, soil and grass tilled up, and planted in 100′ rows.

If we planted all the same types of vegetables in this garden, that we plant during our spring garden, and then during our fall, or late garden, planted these same vegetables all over again, we’d surely have to rotate our crops.

But what we do is this.

First off, corn is one vegetable that really leeches your soil of its nutrients…bad. You don’t want to plant corn in the same spot year after year, your production will suffer. It has to be moved around, and not planted in the same area.

Then you have the legumes, or peas, that build your soil, through introducing nitrogen. I’m still learning the finer points in this myself, so please, if I’m making any misrepresentations here, and not stating fact, just chime in. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t even come close to being able to answer all thrown my way!

But these are two crops that can be swapped, and makes sense to do so.

Here’s another of Bonnie’s statements; “ Corn robs the soil of nitrogen and field peas (we love green black-eyed peas with snaps) puts nitrogen into the soil, so those two crops change spots in our little garden every year.”

Now, back to what we do in our garden, that kinda’ solves this problem for us, yet provides us with the opportunity to grow what WE want, when WE want it.

As I said earlier, we just finished planting our garden. We planted corn, green beans, speckled butter beans, fordhook limas, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and eggplant. This makes up our spring garden.

For our fall, or late garden, we plant the whole garden area in peas, blackeyes, conch, zipper, whatever we can find. Again, the whole garden during this time of the year is ALL peas.

So by doing this, and I’m gonna let you in on something else, this wasn’t planned. Why? Because I wasn’t aware that by doing this, I’d allow nutrients to be sapped by one variety of crop, then nutrients replaced by another variety. I just “got lucky” in this regard. Found out after the fact.

We only did this because our spring garden supplied us with all we needed for our own consumption of these other vegetables. Then in the fall, we go all peas, because everyone in our family LOVES peas, so this is why our late garden consists of nothing but peas.

Then luckily, in regards to crop rotation, we were doing it exactly as we should be doing it. But once more, this was simply a stroke of good fortune, and I can’t tell you guys with a straight face, that I’d planned it that way, as much as I’d like too!

But yes, without a doubt, crop rotation has to be very important. Another thing we’re fortunate with is that our cows provide us with an endless supply of manure. We also use our garden spot to burn any brush piles we accumulate, and we hay the cows inside the garden area too, when in between crops. They don’t get all the hay picked up, so that’s tilled back into the ground, along with everything else.

But Kunoichi, once again, you have brought up a very valid point, and I promise you, we’ll discuss this in further depth coming up very shortly! Thanks once again for your input. It’s thought very highly of! Please, keep it coming!

Well, let me stop and take the time once more, to tell each and every one of you how much you guys mean to Deb and I. We hope we’re helping some of you out in regards to sharing knowledge. We’d like to believe you’re enjoying the recipes, and hope through our stories we’re bringing a smile to your faces!

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to stop and share with us some of your own knowledge, and expressed your opinions. These are received with heartfelt gratitude, and you have no idea how much we appreciate you doing so! You guys are simply…THE BEST!

God Bless you all! Until next time…keep your eyes open and your nose in the wind!

Dub and Deb…out!

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9 Responses to Jerky for the DEHYDRATOR, Canned ground chuck, potatoes

  1. Sandra says:

    Reading this it is very informative as I am an old gardner. I notice you do not mention a compost heap. Can’t live without one myself. Simple and easy to do, give great nutrients to plants and soil. Also, mulching. Heavy mulching is required in our deep south due to the high summer temps that leach to soil of moisture. Dub and Deb, for fertilizer, since you have cows, you might want to make cow tea. Cow tea is famous in the south. For large gardens it is not practicle. For trophy plants, vegetable (think Tomato) and ornamentals it is almost a must. Ferns really love it.
    1 huge container. (non toxic 55 gal. drum
    or (a big lug bucket plastic
    old panty hose (does any one wear those anymore
    dried cow pies ( our immigrant ancestors used them for fuel
    Water
    Methodology:
    Place the container for easy access. Fill container with water. Fill your panty hose with serveral dried cow pies and put it in the water. It is just like tea, when the water turns brown it’s ready to use. It does not burn, nutrient is about 1-1-1. As the water level lowers add more water. As the color of tea lightens add more cow pies. If you decide to refresh you cow tea and remove you panty hose to start again, hang your hose up to dry and then cut open and top off potted plants or trophy plants in the garden. To start over just fill more hose with some pies put in tub or barrel and fill with more water. Potted ferns submerged in this liquid overnight grow bigger and have to be watered less. If you are curious about the panty hose. It’s like this, your pie will melt in the water and make a big fat mess and who wants to fish around in melted cow poop. My other suggestion is put your lug container near roof edges to catch rain water. Free water. There will be times when deluges of rainfall will over flow your container, don’t worry all of the overflow will feed whatever it touches.
    Have a bucketful of cow tea it’s good for your garden!
    Next time I will tell you about planting soybeans in your garden.
    And the next I will tell you abou the Melons wearing panty hose.
    Sandra “Hi Sandy”

    • C says:

      This works very well with horse manure and the yields are amazing… ; )

      • Sandy Grant says:

        What about chicken manure? I have been told by several people that it will burn your plants up but if you use a tea, do you think it would work?

        • admin says:

          Sandy…listen up! I have been on the phone, on the computer researching, and mixing up batches of my own ,”chicken manure tea, ” and HAVE found out some vital info for you in regards to this! Pay attention, as there’s two very important rules in doing this! From what I’m hearing, this will work other ways, but NOT NEARLY AS GOOD if you’ll do it this way.

          First, when gathering up the chicken manure…you have to be barefooted! I don’t know why, but for some reason it’s a must.

          Secondly, you won’t be able to store it in pantyhose…you MUST fish around in it with un-gloved hands as well! These two things are a must, if you want to reap the full benefits of, “chicken manure tea.”

          Now, as far as burning the plants, I haven’t gotten that far along in the research to answer that question, but will be back in touch on that. Still it won’t hurt to be getting steps one and two completed! Get back with us after getting this done!

          Thanks Sandy!!

          D&D

      • admin says:

        Thank you Orion 777, and it sounds as if this has been working out really well for you! How often do you give your garden a drink of this? Like Sandra, I don’t believe there’s anyway this could be a problem from being too hot. Could you use it everytime your plants needed a drink?

        Also Sandy, asked the question of doing this with chicken manure? Would this be too hot?

        Give us a shout back, and thanks again!!

        D&D

    • admin says:

      Our very own “Mississippi”…a vast wealth of information ready to be shared by all!! Thanks so much for sharing this with us. I’m sure many will be trying this, including us! I see though, you suggest using pantyhose to keep the cow manure in. Have you priced those things lately? I really don’t see Deb’s “fishin around in melted cow poop,” as being any real problem from my standpoint, though Deb might just see it differently. I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it! LOL!

      Thank you again, and we look forward to hearing back from you!

      D&D

  2. Sandy Grant says:

    Forgot to say THANK YOU DEB AND DUB……….You were wonderful to answer my questions. gonna try the ground venison today.
    THANKS FOR EVERYONE’S INPUT……….(and I thought I was too old to learn).

    • admin says:

      You’re welcome Sandy, and I’m sure everyone else has been glad to help you out! The world is still full of GOOD people, it just seems today you have to look around a little to find them! Thank you for being so involved! We look forward to hearing from you every time! So once again, thanks everybody! We sure appreciate you guys!!

      D&D

  3. Jill Holbert says:

    Wow!! I found this website through the Canadian Free Press website on your canning butter article. What a great website, I can’t wait to sit down and go through the contents of it. I had done mostly freezer jam for “canning” but my husband and I moved to Washington state in an area where we are an hour from a grocery store. So I began buying meat in bulk and pressure canning it. Also have done stew. I was interested in your method of canning the ground chuck by putting it in the oven instead of the pressure canner. Interesting and always looking for new methods(well, new to me!)
    My question is this: for my liquid on the burger I used a beef broth reconstituted from a mix. It gives the beef a taste like Dinty Moore Stew(no slam against DM we have eaten a lot over our 50+years) but was trying more for a “fresh” beef taste. What do you use for the liquid on your hamburger? I can’t wait to try canning butter. Thanks for the great website.

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