a new project? homemade jerky!

lately, my man has been very into snacking on jerky, but i get totally grossed out when i read the ingredients of the supermarket packages he stocks up on. i have yet to find a regular brand that doesn't contain corn syrup, lots of random soy products, and, worst of all, MSG. i would love to snack on jerky, but please, can't they hold the chemicals?

but guess what? i found this amazing site-- a compendium of jerky recipes! isn't the internet great? and we're not just talking beef, there are recipes for all sorts of meat jerkies (is that a word?)-- buffalo, fish, rabbit, alligator, even tofu!

it looks incredibly easy (most of them are just dried in a regular oven) and very tasty... might have to try it soon!

i know it is not seasonally appropriate, but this recipe looks simple and satisfying--

Cranberry (Thanksgiving) Turkey Jerky

2 pounds of turkey (or any meat type)
fresh cranberries
brown sugar or regular sugar
an orange
water
salt & pepper (optional)
Directions:
1.Before you touch your ingredients, go ahead and cut your meat into slices about 1/4″ thick.
2.Next, you can either chop up your cranberries in a blender or food processor to make more juice or line the bottom of a cake pan with the cranberries and smash them with a fork adding just a little water.
3.After you have done that, lay your strips on top of the cranberry juice and salt and pepper both sides, if you like, you do not have to season at all if you’d like to maintain more of the sweet taste.
4.Sprinkle on your sugar (but not too much if you don’t have much of a sweet tooth) and squeeze that orange to zest your meat strips with a light orange flavor.

5.Let marinate in the fridge for as long as you’d like, flipping the meat strips ever so often to soak in that juicy cranberry flavor.
6.Once you have let it sit to your preference, set your oven on the lowest temperature and transfer that cake pan from the fridge to the oven, leaving the door propped open for ventilation. Dehydration takes anywhere from 3-9 hours in an oven but check periodically. Take out if you like it more chewy or leave in longer if you like it more crispy!

check back, i'm sure i'll be trying it soon.

this week's cut:

lamb!

(image source: http://www.osovo.com/diagram/)

and since i'm still rather ill, i'll share my recipe for simple lamb soup.
and i'll put a disclaimer here. i don't usually post recipes for a couple of reasons-- one being that i'm not great at following them and the other that i've had to modify my eats so much because of my dietary restrictions i'm afraid my recipes will be incredibly dull and limited to others. so if you are inclined to try a recipe, please just look at it as a springboard and cater it to your own culinary needs!



1lb lamb shoulder
1/4 cup rice flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lemon, washed and halfed, peel on
1 onion, quartered
3-4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 cup white wine
1 cup brown rice
6 cups water
handful of good, fresh tomatoes, cut into big chunks or wedges
several sprigs of fresh oregano
salt and pepper to taste



make the stock-
dredge lamb in rice flour and lightly brown in olive oil. then, add white wine, lemon, onion, and garlic and simmer for a few minutes. add 6 cups of water and simmer for at least 3 hours (but it will be better the longer you wait!). add more water if needed.



then the soup-
strain your stock, discarding the onion, garlic, and lemon. keep the lamb pieces and shread them into the stock. add brown rice and oregano and cook until rice is done (about 40 minutes). toss in the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.



super simple but flavorful. and gluten-and dairy-free, for anyone who cares.