JERKY SEASON

 

I don’t know what it’s like in other parts of the country but, here in my neck of the woods, when November 15 rolls around each year, life looks a little different for the next 15 days. That is the official start of firearms deer season here in Michigan.

It actually starts a little before that. Die-hard hunters take stock of their equipment and supplies. This usually ends in a trip, or two, or three or more to Cabella’s, Gander Mountain or other sporting goods stores. Even if they don’t actually need anything, the trip is necessary because there just may be something new out there that they just can’t live without.

Then there is the strategy. You know, you have to plan exactly where you will sit, know where everyone else is at, do some scouting to see where the deer are laying up, and countless other trivial…but important things that lead up to opening day.

Even before this, comes getting deer blinds and deer stands ready. Not only do they have to be placed strategically, but they have to be perfectly camouflaged. It takes days to make it look like you are not there when you really are there. They say that anticipation is half the fun. Well, it certainly must be to go to all this trouble for the hunt.

Of course, deer hunting season is special for us women too. Some actually join their male counterparts in the big hunt. For the rest of us, our job is to make sure that there are steaming pots of chili, hot coffee and a variety of snacks to keep the hunters nourished and happy. Outside of that, it is free reign for us. We have this free time that we can do anything we want. Yep, it is a special season for us too!

OK, speaking of food, choices here are important. I will never live down the time that I sent my hunters out with thermoses of hot chocolate and fresh doughnuts. After being in their deer stands for a couple of hours, they decided to have a snack. As soon as they laid their guns down, two fine bucks strolled by. You can bet that I still hear about that one!

So, this brings us to jerky. Deer season is jerky season around here. A baggie of it in your pocket and you can grab a piece, gnaw on it for a while without the risk of missing a shot with hot cocoa in one hand and a doughnut in another. I’m not talking store bought jerky, but rather the good old-fashioned homemade kind.

 

By definition, the term jerky refers to any lean trimmed meat that has been cut into strips and dried (dehydrated) to prevent spoilage. The word jerky comes from Quechian’s, the ancient Incan language, word Ch’arki, meaning “dried, salted meat.”

 

It was first made during the Incan empire or by Native American Indian tribes who used buffalo meat. The Indians in turn taught the first Europeans who came to America. It soon became one of the most important recipes for explorers and colonists who often had to go without fresh food on long journeys. It is an excellent way of storing and preserving meat.

Jerky is unlike most other meats in a number of ways. Chief among them is that fat must be avoided as much as possible since using fatty meats runs the risk of spoiling the jerky. Obviously, the best cuts of meat make the best jerky although any cut can be used.

Typically, round steaks are used in the process. These include eye of round which comes from the oval muscle in the rear leg and top round and sirloin tips are decent choices also. Bottom round, although the least tender of the rounds, produces the most flavorful jerky.

Beef and venison are king of the jerkies, but any meat can be used. There is turkey jerky, fish jerky and duck jerky, which is mild and slightly sweet. Then there are the more exotic choices such as alligator, alpaca, kangaroo and even rattlesnake jerky.

Although the defining feature of jerky is the meat, all vegetarians take heart because there are versions sans meat for you too. Eggplant does well as does portobella mushrooms and cauliflower. Something a little rarer to find, jackfruit is a good choice because it has a texture a lot like meat.

Jerky is a great source of protein. The USDA states that one piece is packed with a whopping 7 grams. The bad news is that it is also loaded with sodium and nitrates which are added for preservation. Keep in mind, too, that jerky bought at the store is not the healthiest version either.

Industrial-made jerky is treated to remove bones, connective tissue and then defatted by pressing the fat out or spinning the meat in a large centrifuge. Water, seasonings and salt are added next. Then the meat is cut into chunks and frozen or dipped in a curing solution or injected with it.

The meat is put in a tumbling device with tenderizer and extra quantities of curing solution. Then it is molded into blocks and cooled to later be sliced into strips which are heated and dried. This whole process squeezes out 20 percent of the meat’s moisture. This whole process sure makes the jerky sound appetizing, doesn’t it?

The healthier version is to just make it at home. It’s really pretty simple. After choosing your kind and cut of meat, trim all the fat and cut it into strips about a quarter of an inch wide. Keep in mind that if it is cut it with the grain of the meat, it is chewier, whereas if it is cut against the grain it is more tender.

Next, make a cure for it which includes any combination of spices that suits your personal taste. The marinade usually includes soy sauce, but this too is a matter of choice. Mix the meat with the marinade and let it do its magic in the refrigerator for the next six to twenty-four hours.

After this, drain the marinade and place the strips on a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet. Place on the oven rack, smoker rack or in a dehydrator and dry for a few hours until all moisture is out. Make sure to keep the temperature at 165* at the least to kill bacteria. Turn the strips a few times while baking. That’s it, you have jerky!

Tradition at our house is to make a couple batches at hunting season but it is always good any time of the year. Following is my favorite jerky marinade recipe. It comes from Danny Batterson, a friend who is an avid hunter and outdoorsman. We prefer it made from venison but beef is good too. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

 

 JERKY MARINADE

 

3 lbs. lean meat

1 T salt

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp hickory seasoning

½ tsp pepper

1/3 tsp Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup soy sauce

KEEPING THE MAGIC

 

 

Thanksgiving is like the child who is always left behind. Tucked away in the midst of Halloween and Christmas, it has always had to fight to get its due attention. If recent years weren’t bad enough, this year it will be even worse because of the pandemic.

They are telling us not to gather for the holiday, to only be with your immediate household. Once again it is being stomped down and pushed aside. This holiday just can’t win.

What a shame that is because Thanksgiving is perhaps the most important holiday of all. No, not because we stuff ourselves until we are miserable, but rather because, like its namesake, it is a time to give thanks and remember our blessings.

Think about it, this holiday requires hardly any preparation except for cooking the meal which, we cooks revel in anyway. Halloween is the second most decorated holiday, only surpassed by Christmas. Many of those decorations double as harvest décor so are left up for Thanksgiving. There is no frenzy shopping, wrapping, writing tons of Christmas cards or many other tasks that we are taught need to be done every year for Christmas. It is really the no-stress holiday.

 

When I was growing up, no one ever thought of doing anything for Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Now as Halloween decorations come down, Christmas goes up. I will admit that it makes sense since you already have everything out, the totes, ladders, tools, etc. But still, come on, at least don’t turn the lights on.

This year I have noticed a slightly different tone as holiday decorations are going up. Many people have made comments like “I just want something cheery and happy, something to look forward to.” Hence, the early decorations. Hallmark channel started running their Christmas movies even earlier this year  for this very reason.

Folks are already looking forward to New Year’s this year too, just to get 2020 behind them. But, can we at least pause and really consider Thanksgiving also? Yes, 2020 has been a bad year, but there is truth in the saying that “there is a little bad in the good and a little good in the bad.”

So, where is the good in this year? For starters, staying home this year has spurred creativity in many of us. Sometimes boredom can be a blessing. There is only so much television one can watch, so many video games one can play and (heaven forbid) only so much cooking and baking we can or should do.

So, this has been a time to discover other hidden interests. A friend has been posting creative painting videos on Facebook. I know of another one who has always wanted to try her hand at writing. Some bigger projects like learning to quilt also come to mind.

For guys that have never had the time to hunt or pursue things like woodworking, fly tying their own fishing lures, blacksmithing and a host of other projects that have been put on the back burner, this has been the time.

Many of these things have been put on the back burner because time has always been a limited commodity. These past few months have afforded us a window of opportunity to explore passions we have only dreamed about.

For many, this past year has been a glimpse of what retirement may look like. Yes, hopefully, we will be able to go and do things in a normal way again. The change associated with retirement is scary for many. I suppose in some twisted way, this can be a glimpse into the future. Some have found that they actually like being home and have also realized that life itself is too precious to put off retirement any longer. Still, others have found that they go stir crazy at home and are just not ready for this next chapter yet.

Also, in a twisted way, maybe we should be thankful this year for a new sense of family. We may not be able to physically gather, but this absence may just make us appreciate family even more. I am as guilty as anyone of spending time with family and going through the motions and really not “being” with them. We all have.

How many times has a family spent time “together” at a ballgame where each member is hanging out with others; a family is out to eat and every one of them is on their cell phones or a family has movie night where each one of them is watching a different one on their own devices.

Sad to say, lately with Zoom meetings and video chats, family is actually focusing on spending time together…sort of. It’s too bad that we can sometimes be closer to those we love when we are forced to be separated from them physically.

Perhaps this year, more so than any other year, Thanksgiving should hold an extra special place in our hearts. As a recent meme on social media reminds us, “There is always, always something to be thankful for.”

So, whatever our Thanksgiving looks like this year maybe it will help to focus on the blessings that we do have instead of what we don’t. Perhaps this year Thanksgiving will finally get its due and earn the respect that it deserves.

SO YOU WANT TO BE A GRAIN CART OPERATOR...OR NOT!

 

Change is inevitable. Some change is good, it all depends on your perspective. Either way, I got a big dose of it this year during harvest.

For the last few years, I have been helping Ron get the harvest in by pulling the wagons up to the bin and unloading. It got to be pretty much old hat, me and his 656 got along just fine. I never had an oops, well except when the bin got full and corn started spilling out. Of course, that wasn’t my fault because he did tell me to just keep unloading.

Well, this year my world changed in a big way…literally. He bought a 1000-bushel grain cart because it would make things easier…his words, not mine. In theory, he was right. There wouldn’t be as many trips up from the field and when you loaded a semi the driver wouldn’t have to wait to unload each wagon.

I have to admit that I was excited the day it arrived. I documented its coming to its new home with lots of pictures. Seeing it up close and personal was a real eye-opener. It was big. No, it was huge. No, that’s not right either. This new monster that came to live with us was GIGANTIC!

Ron reassured me though. “Don’t worry, you will never have to drive it.” Those were the most
reassuring words I have ever heard.

But then, it is harvest, that special time of year when all rules and normalcy doesn’t apply. I think Ron was a little intimidated by it at first too. That soon changed after he and his son Rodney got familiar with it while harvesting soybeans.

The next thing I heard was, “It would really help me if you could learn to drive it just so you could bring it to the field when Rodney can’t be here.”

Well, that didn’t sound so bad. After all, I just had to think of it as this over-sized wagon that would just follow the tractor and the tractor was automatic with all the bells and whistles. Seriously, how bad could it be?

I never should have gotten in the cab that first time. How did it go from just taking it down to the field to dumping on the go?? I think this had been the plan all along. I had been bushwhacked!

At the end of that first row, with tears in my eyes, I almost screamed, “What are you doing!”

His answer, “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine, I can talk you right through it.” Famous…last…words!

He had purchased walkie talkies to make things go smoother. So, this was in the plan all along! I guess if I had to do this, that was a good idea since hand signals didn’t quite get it in the past. There were only two that I had mastered very well, “stop!” and “get your head out of your ……!”

Unfortunately for me, Ron was a big fan of AgTalk and he had been reading about other farmers and their grain cart operators. It was the general consensus that whatever happened it was the grain cart driver’s fault. If the cart was too close, if it was too far away, if grain got spilled, if the cat got run over, if the barn burned down, it was pretty much the grain cart operator’s fault. This was going to be an uphill battle all the way.

It started out bad and then got worse. First of all, the radios didn’t work like they should. They picked up the engine noise and, with me not hearing out of one ear anyway, it made for a bad situation. I would only catch a word here or there, not enough to know what he wanted. So, I stopped the tractor, ran over to the combine…like in the old days….climbed up and asked what he wanted. “Just stay in the tractor!” That made it clear as mud what he wanted!

So, I tried holding the radio to my good ear while driving. Well, that didn’t work so well. I did catch two words that time…radio and down. What’s a girl to do!

“Listen,” he said, “it’s pretty simple, just stay on the third row of corn from me and drive at 3.1, that will match my speed.”

Well, that would make things easier…not. Even following those orders, it was, “Get over, you’re too close, now you’re too far. Well, speed up, slow down.” I give up…until the next round.

It was no piece of cake turning that monster around either. He warned me not to turn too short and to be careful of the tractor tongue since there was a lot of weight on. I would turn around to catch him, but where was he? He had changed his mind and instead of coming back where he had been, he was taking more end rows off. Of course, that was the grain cart operator’s fault too.

I watched how slowly and carefully he would pull the full load over the uneven ground on its way to the barn. This was something else that I was never going to have to do until the second day and he told me to head up. I just knew that I was going to be the next poor soul on AgTalk pictured with an overturned load.

The one thing that I never did do was unload in the semi. Even with cameras, it was a little tricky for him and Rodney and I guess he really wanted all the grain in the truck with no “oopses.” Good for me!

I guess why this was so hard for me goes back to me being a right-brainer like most women are. Still, some women manage just fine, and even make it look easy. Monica is her husband Mark’s grain cart operator and does it with no effort at all. Rene became her husband Bruce’s operator this year and done it all from dumping on the go to dumping in the semis. Linda drove truck for her husband Byron and hauled the grain into the elevator.

In a way, I feel sorry for Ron. I will never be a Monica, a Rene, a Linda or any of the many other women out there that master this art. It’s not my thing. Me and his 7240 tractor, we got along fine. It is  just the big red thing behind that gives me fits.

In all fairness, the grain cart did make life easier and better…for him. He didn’t have to wait on me to get back with the wagons when he was at the far side of the field and the truck drivers didn’t have to wait to be loaded while jockeying four wagons. After all, during harvest every minute counts.

It’s all said and done this year and we made it through with no oops. I am grateful for that. Looking back, it could have been a lot worse, but then it could have gone a little smoother too. Rodney was able to help him finish shelling corn so they finished on a good note.

Lessons learned from this year will make next year go better. However, I am not stressed at all about next year because…I am now officially a RETIRED grain cart operator!