Old School Beef Jerky

 My Father made the "best" beef jerky in town. I still have the copy of the original recipe from his mother he used for well the better part of my life. When we knew he was making a batch well all I can say is you better get there fast. With 5 siblings the desire was overwhelming. 

Needless to say this little girl was on the charm dad list! 

He had a dehydrator that was older then himself I did try to borrow it once but prior to it blowing up my home I returned it with a "Thank you dad it worked sell! (Not) So I get the dehydrator and the old tattered paper with Grama Lois's famous words. The dehydrator is in the garage on a chair it is BIG and I decide to be the good daughter and clean the screens and give his machine a face lift. So out come the trays and they smelt like old meat and were white in color. So I scrub them and scrub them and scrub them to no avail they still smell. My small mind is wandering knowing no one has ended up with food poisoning it has to be ok Right????


Now keep in kind it took me two days to get the dehydrator cleaned out and I actually had to freeze the marinated meat.  I decided to just put cheese cloth on the screens. So in I bring this hugh machine I hit a wall and dented it almost dropped it on my foot but finally found a counter big enough.  I called my dad to ask him how long it took to make the jerky he said very matter of fact
"3 days dear"  Holy Shit Moly . Alright I will just plug the machine in and see how it goes but I am not leaving this machine alone for three days it may burn down the house. I turn it on it sounded like a helicopter just landed in my hall. It was so loud.

I gave up called a tow truck and sent it back to Dad's. Took out my little dehydrator and continued with the Jerky so here is the recipe and good luck to you. It is delicious.

This is my Grammy Lois's recipe and so there were no dehydrators at that time so you note it says dry outside or in the oven... Ok I have put the original recipe direction to dry below. But I put mine in the dehydrator I have and let it dry until it was no longer damp. I then let it sit for an extra day to make sure it was dry. Once done I put it into quart mason jars.

Sun Dried Beef Jerky (But you can use a dehydrator) 

2 pounds of lean beef
2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

Cut beef in strips 1/2 inch wide by 1/4 inch thick
approximately 4 to 6 inches long.









Mix salt, onion and garlic powers, pepper, Worcestershire and soy sauce.

Marinate 24 hours, stirring once or twice gently. I put mine in a large container so I can flip it over and all sides get marinated.






Once soaked up really good. I take the strips and drain them in a colander then out and on to a clean towel (you can use paper towel it just seems like such a waste oh unless you compost) them I put the racks of my dehydrator.


Dry in the sun or gas oven until quite dry and brittle. Store in covered jar or sealed plastic bag.

To dry in the sun:

Place cheesecloth over oven or BBQ grids and arrange meat across grids, without overlapping. Place over open end of foil lined carton or BBQ Grill directly in the sun. (Foil reflects heat) Cover with a fine wire screen to keep out the insects. Secure screen in place with wire or card so it does not touch meat. Cover drier or place meat under shelter at night so meat does not absorb moisture from the air.

To dry in Oven:

Temperature from pilot flame will dry jerky in about 4 days.
Cover oven grids with cheese cloth and proceed as directed

Italian Meatloaf Muffins (Poipettone Con Riccota)

Our recipe for this day is Italian Meatloaf Muffins as we continue our recipe adventures I found the to be a great recipe for children to help with as well as eat. The process is fun for them to enjoy the mixing. Great way for your children to be involved in the process of making dinner. The size is great for single dinner portions or smaller as an appetizer for any party. 

I scour yard sales for old recipe books. On one of my adventures I found an old file folder with many recipes from newspapers of days gone by. This one caught my eye and with good reason. When I did a bit of investigating I could not find this exact recipe anywhere on the internet. So it is one that will really make you smile with the fact that it is an original. 

This one proves to be a challenge to my brain because I am use to pouring sauce on the top prior to cooking. Not these little devils. Plus you bake them in 3 inch muffin tins.

This recipe is in it's original form.

 It was printed in The Los Angeles Examiner Friday, May 24, 1957 

by Prudence Penny the Examiners Home Economics Editor.

 

Gather your ingredients. It is always easier to gather them prior to starting the cooking process. Nothing more irritating then starting and finding something is not available in your kitchen or not enough of one item.

Ingredients                             

1 pound of lean ground beef
1 cup soft bread crumbs
2 eggs
1/2 cup of grated Romano cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup of water
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon whole basil leaves, crumbled
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil or salad oil
2 tablespoons of fine dry bread crumbs

1/2 pound of ricotta cheese (small curd cottage cheese may be substituted)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon crumbled basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Let us get started ...

Mix meat with next nine ingredients shown in the recipe list.

 

Brush six 3- inch muffins cups with oil and sprinkle them with bread crumbs. 

I use Panko it is a lighter touch.

You can use any muffin tin you want. I liked this size larger because they are a dinner not an appetizer. Fill each cup with half the meat mixture.


Mix ricotta cheese with remaining egg, basil, and salt.

Spread over the meat. It looks like frosting right ? 

Top with remaining meat.

Brush tops with oil.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes.
Makes 6 - 3 inch meat loaves.

For loaf, use a 9 by 5 inch by 3 inch loaf pan follow same procedure.

Bake 1 hour in 350 degree oven.
If ground pork is used for part of the meat bake 15 minutes longer. 

Once they are cooked you can serve them with marinara sauce topped. They were a smash at the dinner party I had for Valentines day. Just enough for each guest with a salad and loaf of homemade crusty bread. 

Cooking Roast Beef 1938

Now I have made many a Roast Beef but hubby says that this one was the best I ever made.Who would have thought yet again the back in the day cook book , brought me back to basics.Sometimes we get so wrapped up in modern day stuff we forget to keep it simple stupid.

Thoughts for Food..A Menu Aid..1938

      I do not think about how much I over think some recipes. A great Roast beef is such a simple dish to cook. Use these simple steps to make the perfect Roast Beef for your holiday table.

Or any time!



This is a per-pound recipe so it will be by pound and temperature.

                 

Roast Beef

Season a rib roast with salt and paprika and dredge with flour. Place in a roasting pan, with an onion and carrot, fat side up, in a hot 500 degree oven from 20 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

My tool closet in the kitchen is a wonderland. Here is my Thermostat I use for making sure my meats are to the right temperature. So many recipes call out to cook your food to a precise temperature and this insures you have it to the T.

Get it to the T = temperature.








 Reduce heat to 300 degrees and continue cooking. (For rare meat allow 15 minutes per pound.)








For gravy , remove roast and all but about 4 tablespoons of the fat from the roaster. To this add 3 tablespoons of flour and brown. Gradually add 2 cups boiling water. Cook 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.








Beautiful I love my Roast red and juicy.


If you over cook a roast it can be quite tough.

Pot Roast

Pot Roast was the go to meal my Mama cooked on Sunday nights back in the day. This meal seems to always remind me of my mama. When we were young money was scarce and my mom would turn the cheapest meat into a meal for 7. 

Look at her now livin the life at my home looking at pictures of when she use to cook. Lucky Lady! But then lucky me to have her and her cooking memories

Ingredients

1 - 5 pound chuck or rump roast (it will shrink so when you buy it think shrink)
1 + tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves chopped
Enough beef stock to just cover the ingredients. I used about 8 cups
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 large onion chopped
30 little potatoes cut in half (We are potato heads)
4 to 6 carrots cut into 2 inch pieces


Optional stuff - These are thing I have found added to pot roast I think everyone has there own taste and idea's but keep them in mind. Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, cider vinegar, stewed tomato or tomato paste, red wine and the list goes on and I do not want to confuse you.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 to 375 degrees

Wash you roast and dry it completely.
Take a large pot. I used my cast iron dutch oven.

Put about a tablespoon of oil into the pot.
Season your pot roast completely with kosher salt and black pepper on all side. Heat up the pot you want to hear a sizzle when you drop the roast in. The little speckles you see on my roast are garlic granules. Nothing irritates me more than seeing an ingredients in a picture but not on the list.

 Brown your roast on all sides now set the roast aside on a plate for a few minutes and let us do the garlic and onions.



 For your onions it is good to have a roasted taste to the onions, so brown them in the same pot adding the garlic when the onions have browned. You use the same pot for everything do not rinse or wash between stuff. Ok once the onions and garlic are done place your roast back in the pot. Do not let all the onions and garlic stick on the bottom turn the roast and make sure the onions and garlic are all over the place.

 Now add your seasoning's half the parsley and broth until it just covers the roast. Put your roast into a 350 degree oven for at least 3 to 4 hours. When it has been in the oven for 2 hours and the roast is fork tender you can now add the potatoes and carrot for the last hour. Once everything is cooked place it into a platter garnish with the remaining parsley and serve. Oh yeah pour some of the ahhh juice on top and put the extra on the side.I always have a loaf of homemade bread to cut and soak up the juice on my plate.


 I use small potatoes from the garden you can slice them right in half no peeling and be done. But then who peels potatoes that is the best part! xoxo

I chop the carrot's so they are a little larger than bite size because I do not want them to fall apart and I love a little bit of firm in vegetable when cooking. I do not buy the little easy chemically cleaned carrot I think they are a conspiracy. Why?  To make people continue to be lazy and Ms. Independence showed me that to peel and cut your own they are so full of flavor.

Beef Stock

Beef Stock is yet another great freezer staple. But let us take it to the next level and do some Pressure Canning. With Pressure Canning you have it in the pantry and ready. It will stay good for up to one year and no defrosting.  More room in the freezer for other stuff.

The first thing we need to do it make it. This is an Easy Beef Stock recipe.

This is a Basic Recipe for Beef Stock you can use to Freeze or Pressure Can.



I buy marrow bones and save beef cuttings throughout the year. Once Fall hits I know it is time for cooking my Beef Stock. Throughout the year I have it on hand for gravies, soups, and BBQ marinades. I will also save scrapes of onion, carrot and vegetables for any stock.

Ingredients

Beef bones with marrow about 3 to 4 pounds
Beef scrapes fat included 1 plus pound
6 to 8 quarts of cold water make sure it is cold
1/4 cup of vinegar
1 tablespoon of peppercorns
2 bay leaf's
3 large carrot, onion and celery roughly chopped
Parsley I like this herb and have a lot in the garden

I prefer to brown my ingredients it give my stock a smoky taste and it really enhances the taste of food. You can skip this step.

You will regret it my friend.   BUT

You could just pop the ingredients in the oven while you prepare your kitchen for making the stock.


So with that I roast all my ingredients . The beef bones, beef, and all the vegetables

(Not the Celery to gets to mushy)

Use a cookie sheet. And sprinkle the ingredients with a bit of olive oil.

Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes at 375. Just until everything is browned.


Now that your ingredients are roasted you can prepare your stock pot. I use my Cast Iron Kettle. Put the cold water and 1 tsp of vinegar and bring to a simmer. Add the peppercorns, parsley, bay leaf and celery to the pot. Keep this warm once the roasting is done add everything to the pot.


You should de-glaze your cookie sheet and add the dripping to the stock pot.




Oh Yes Indeedy!

Let everything simmer for at least 2 hours. 

Once it is done simmering let it cool and get as much of the icky top layer of "stuff" off. I simply use a strainer to skim off the "stuff". Now you can place the pot into the refrigerator overnight this will bring all the unneeded fat to the top and make it simple to remove. Some fat is good in my opinion. Once you have scrapped the excessive fat off the top it is time to run your broth through a strainer. I use cheesecloth when I strain it this way all the nasty particles come out. You will have a beautiful clear beef broth. Please be kind to yourself sometimes we just can not get all the "stuff" out. It is ok !




Once you have cleaned your broth you are ready to store your broth.

To freeze your broth you want to leave head space at least one inch. The broth does have a tendency to expand. Do not cap with a lid until it has frozen.  I freeze in my canning jar's yes they are glass but so far no issue just be cautious. Here is a link to a site called Favorite Freezer Foods it has all the answer's.

Pressure Canning to the left you see the jars filled with broth leave at least one inch from the top. Wipe the rim clean place the lid and twist top. Twist your top taunt. Also, it is good to add a tablespoon of 5% vinegar to your pressure canner water to avoid hard water stains on your jar's.




Place all your jar's into the pressure canner. Never over pack your pressure canner look at the pictures I have provided. They are in but not touching. 






Alright for your quarts you want to get your pressure up to 11 pounds for 90 minutes . For your pints it is 11 pounds for 75 minutes.

Once they are done let your pressure canner complete lower to ZERO pressure then remove the steam cap. Let the Pressure canner still cool for an additional 10 minutes and then remove the top.

Let the jars sit for 15 minutes and then remove them to a counter where they can sit until cool.
This is a long process the Jars are HOT be careful.

Label and date your jar's and take off the twist top of the jar. You never want to store your jars with the twist portion of the top.

For more information on Preserving your own Food please visit our website at Canarella

Disclaimer: This is not an all inclusive recipe for making jam. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. Please consult your local Center for Home Preservation for additional information and available classes.

Beef Jerky

Recipes for Beef Jerky are a dime a dozen.

Here is my Beef Jerky Story and if this will bore you just scroll down for the recipe. My daddy makes the Best Beef Jerky. In my opinion. Everyone from us kids to his Grand Babies love the stuff. I have made Beef Jerky in the past but nothing quite like Dad's. So I finally asked for the recipe and along with that came his 500 pound dehydrator!



I get "Famous" dehydrator. So I get the Dehydrator that is heavier than my first born and the old tattered paper with the original recipe. Home I go all excited and ready to be Billy Junior. Noticing I should clean the machine it is old and it is dirty. I take out the 7 pound tray's and scrub and scrub. They still smell like a multitude of foods. Then my little mind realizes no one has ever died from any of daddy's beef jerky so we are safe. I move on

I call my daddy and ask him with using Grama Lois's recipe how many hours does it take to hydrate the beef. Oh honey 3 day's. No shit. Ok this is just getting better and better. The beef is marinated the Empire state building of dehydrators and is ready on the biggest counter we have. I get all the strips of meat on the racks all is good. I close the door plug in and the Dehydrator starts. Within 3 minutes the machine sounds like Untied States Marines Helicopter is landing. It was so loud one dog barked and one dog ran outside!



Well the tow truck came and delivered the dehydrator back to dear daddy and I used the little dehydrator I got at a garage sale for 5 bucks. All is well


Here is the original recipe. Thank you Grama Lois                      xoxo

2 pounds of lean thinly sliced beef
2/3 cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup of Soy Sauce ( I use Bragg Liquid Amino better for ya)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic power
1 teaspoon onion power







Cut beef strips 1/2 inch wide by 1/4 inch thick
Keeping them 4 to 6 inches long.




 Mix liquids and spices together mix well.

 There is my option for Soy Sauce it is natural and taste just the same. Try it.

Pour the liquid over your beef .
Marinate for 24 hours.  Stirring once or twice.
I use this container because I can just flip it over to coat a large zip lock bag will work.

 I let mine sit for two day's. I know that seems like a long time but you want them to soak up that juice. You can let it sit for as little as 24 hours no less than 12 please.







 Drain your beef and pat dry on a paper towel

 Prior to putting them in the dehydrator I put some fresh crushed black pepper. Personal thing. You can dry your jerky in the sun or oven or dehydrator. I will give you instructions for the sun and the oven. A dehydrator comes with it's own instructions.




To dry your jerky in the Sun I think you need to go to a better source then myself. I have never done the sun. BUT here is what I have read.

My $5.00 Bargain

                     Would love to hear from anyone
                   who has tried sun drying there jerky


sp;        Sun Dried Jerky

Place beef over open end of a foil lined carton in the sun. The foil reflects the heat of the sun. Cover your beef with a fine wire screen to keep out the insects. Secure the screen in place the wire or card so it does not touch the beef. This process takes about 4 day's. Check your beef each day and turn it. Also take the beef in or cover at night so the moisture does not rehydrate it.



Now in the oven your pilot light will do the job. If you do not have a pilot light go buy a dehydrator or use the good ole Sunshine.  Ok oven people you need to cover your beef with cheese cloth place it directly on to the oven rack. Let it sit in the oven until it is dry.