>Rendering ten pounds of suet was no easy task--very messy and took all
>day and into the night. I didn't care much for the aroma either.
The trick I've found to this is to just leave it alone. Last time I
did this I cut up about 10 lbs of suet, put it into a stock pot, set
it on the lowest setting my stove has, and then left it for 24 hours.
I then ladled out the liquid into mason jars and discarded the rest.
I didn't try to squeeze more liquid from it; it's incredibly messy to
work with. Also, I figure suet is cheap (free last time I got it),
and even this wasteful technique produces more than I can possibly
use.
It does have a strong beef fat smell; I don't know anything you
can do about that.
>Grinding jerky into a powder is impossible with my food processor and
>only a little better with my blender. What I got was shreds, and could
>only do it in very small batches. The end product was a rather
>greasy-tasting, cococut cluster-textured, unchewable sort of thing.
I had that experience the first time I made it, too. I also
found the product kinda bland, like eating greasy gravel.
Here's a few tips:
() others on this list may disagree, but I find pemmican tastes
much
better when heavily spiced and lightly salted. Salt the jerky,
not the raw meat, else you risk oversalting. On the other hand,
I season the raw meat, for concentrated flavors. So far, the best
spice combination I've come up with is chili powder, dried lime,
cumin and oregano -- classic chili flavors. The dried lime makes
all the difference; you can buy dried lime at Indian grocery
stores.
I've also tried curry spices (a few variations: tandoori, masala,
thai curry), teriyaki (wheat-free tamari -- it isn't paleo but
I eat it anyways), worchestshire sauce (homemade, only non-paleo
ingredient is tamari) & burgundy wine (a classic jerky recipe),
moroccan bbq dry rub, and ray's bbq sauce.
() the key to getting an edible texture is to blend it a lot --
until
it's completely powdered. I start with ground beef, which is
easier
to blend (also easier to mix spices into). I press it into thin
patties on the dehydrator, and then put them through the blender
on
high one at a time. This gets me to about the shredded coconut
stage.
Then I put all the chipped jerky back into the blender and blend
on low to medium speed while using a plunger to push the mixture
back into the blades. This process will often overheat my
blender,
and has to be done in stages. It's worth the extra work though;
making it smooth makes it edible (IMHO).
(BTW, I'm using a VitaMix for this).
() if you're using suet, be sparing with it. It has a waxy taste
that's not very appealing. On the other hand, if you're using
regular beef fat, you can add more of it to get a smooth creamy
texture. I've been using suet lately, since I finally found some,
but I actually prefer the texture of beef fat. Both types of fat
seem
to keep just fine.
A good final product will still taste greasy, and dry (at least to
me).
You need to hold it in your mouth for a while to soften it.
-Bruce
|