Portable Salty Protein

[jesse_the_k]

I need a lot of salt and protein in my diet. Several years of experimentation yields this recipe. I switch between tofu and turkey cutlets as my protein. Turkey cutlets are quarter inch slices cut from a turkey breast. They're available at my grocery in 500 g packages, sliced and ready to cook. Tofu needs to have its moisture pressed out (details after recipe)

Tools

1.5qt (1.5l) rectangular non-reactive vessel with tightly sealed lid
full-size baking sheet/roasting pan with footed oven-safe rack (mine is 15"*21")
parchment paper

Marinade

1 Tbs (15ml) maple syrup
1 Tbs (15ml) dried shallots (or onions or garlic)
1 Tbs (15ml) dried ginger
1 Tbs (15ml) salt
1 tsp (5ml) cumin powder
7oz (200ml) hot water to dissolve
5oz (150m) tamari
5oz (150m) apple juice
7oz (200ml) apple cider vinegar

let sit for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, to rehydrate dried spices and make thorough solution

Protein

turkey cutlets or pressed tofu slices

Assembly

Layer slices in marinade, making sure liquid touches all six sides of each piece, then cover tightly. Marinate in fridge for at least 24 hours. (I marinated four days by accident and it was fine.) At least once, open and rotate slices top to bottom.

Set rack in pan, lay parchment paper on rack, tucking in the ends to hold it in place

Pull one slice at a time from marinade, hold above container until it’s no longer dripping

Lay flat on rack and repeat until rack is full. Crucial to maintain free space around each slice.

Cook at 170°F/75°C for 90 minutes.

Flip all pieces and rotate pan back to front

Return to oven for 90 minutes more.

Test one slice by cutting open: is it dry? Continue cooking at 15 minute intervals until no moisture remains. When achieved, raise oven temp to 250°F/120°C and cook for 10 more minutes to kill any bacteria.

[ETA 18 March: In my oven, it's 3 hours + 10 minutes for tofu and 4.5 hours + 10 minutes for meat.]

Remove from oven and let cool. Store in tightly sealed container. Will last at least a month.

Pressing Tofu

Begin with tofu in water, not aseptic packaging.

1. Slice the tofu into chunks of equal height (I quarter the block longitudinally, ending up with four "sticks of butter" format)
2. Get at least four dish towels, two waterproof trays with a lip, and something dense and heavy, like a gallon jug of liquid or a standing knife block.
3. On tray one, lay down one dish towel full length
4. On top of this lay two dishtowels crosswise like a plus sign.
5. Place sliced tofu on the intersection, then bring up sides and fold over the top.
6. One more dish towel folded so it's just a little larger than your wrapped stack of tofu, placed on top.
7. Place your other waterproof tray on top.
8. Add your heavy.
9. Let it sit for eight hours.
10. Unwrap tofu and cut into 1/4 inch (12mm) slices. I slice across the sticks, ending up with large pats of pressed tofu.
11. Marinate as above

Notes

Cleaning the baked-on marinade from the pan and the rack is a real pain in the butt, so it's worth the cost of parchment paper.

Costs: Turkey $6.50; Tofu $2.50. Finished product loses half its weight, so in the end this doesn’t save money compared to purchasing commercial jerky. It does however make jerky that’s safe for me to eat and exactly to my taste.

Flavor variation: Eliminate shallots and cumin, replace with 1 Tbs Penzey’s garam masala; substituting water for the tamari. If you like spicy, feel free to add ancho, cayenne, or smoked paprika.

Protein variation: Pork, chicken, and beef haven’t worked because they’re not lean enough. The fat gets distastefully rancid. (probably why commercial jerky has so many preservatives). Someday I’m going to try tempeh and fish.

Comments

Other proteins to try

[ng_moonmoth]

Bison is very lean, and might work well. Also, if you know someone who participates in your state's (guessing from your "local sf con" in your profile) unofficial official fall outdoor activity and eats what they shoot, you might be able to get hold of some venison.

Re: Other proteins to try

[jesse_the_k]

Good suggestions. Bison appears at the farmer's market regularly. I don't know any hunters, but I bet I can track down some venison.

[wohali]

I have a big dehydrator for jerky and need to make some shortly, i'll give this a try (without the added juice or sugar sources). Sounds good!

if you eliminate the sweet

[jesse_the_k]

You might want to cut back on the salt, because there's a lot of it!

Have you been making jerky for a while? I whip these out these every week, so I've been contemplated getting a dehydrator. But then there's counterspace--can you describe the difference in end results?

Re: if you eliminate the sweet

[wohali]

I need lots of salt in my diet too, including potassium salt, so I'll probably increase the total salts! ;) The salt also helps preserve it.

I don't make it every week, but I've been making it for a long time. The Alton Brown approach with a new furnace filter and big box fan works, but you have to buy a new filter often enough that I found getting a used dehydrator was a better option. It's a Magic Aire II. It's now called L'Equip 528 Food Dehydrator. I keep mine in the basement when I'm not using it. I modified it with a switch so I can turn on or off the heating option.

In terms of difference in results, mostly I have confidence that the item is fully dried out and won't go mouldy in a sealed plastic bag when i carry it around in my backpack. It finishes relatively quickly, but that depends on how thickly I slice my product, plus I tend to use beef a lot that I find takes longer to dry out than turkey/tofu. It's also a lot less heat producing than the oven, which is a blessing in my (un-airconditioned) summers. It takes about 6-10 hours in total, so I tend to run it overnight.

Re: if you eliminate the sweet

[jesse_the_k]

Thank you for that Alton Brown video--I'd heard his name, but never seen him do his shtick. A lot of fun, and an intriguing approach. I think I'll give it a whirl before I try an actual dehydrator.

BASEMENTS! Oh yes--that part of the house I never visit anymore :,)

Re: if you eliminate the sweet

[wohali]

I am trying the recipe today! I still used some (birch) syrup, but not the apple juice. I also added some powdered lemongrass I had on hand, and had to use whole cumin that I mortared/pestled myself. I replaced the apple juice with apple cider vinegar, and added a little sesame oil.

Will let you know how it turns out in ~48 hours!

Re: if you eliminate the sweet

[jesse_the_k]

If there can be maple syrup, then ofc birch syrup is possible as well. Is this a home-made delicacy?

Thanks for the update, and I bet that lemongrass will round out the taste nicely.

Re: if you eliminate the sweet

[wohali]

http://wildfoods.ca/syrups/pure-birch-syrup/ is the stuff I use, here's a good article about it as an ingredient: http://www.canadiangrocer.com/blog/birch-syrup-the-other-great-canadian-syrup-13546

More soon!

Re: if you eliminate the sweet

[jesse_the_k]

Mmmm, that sounds delicious. I'll keep poking around my local establishments in search of it.

[vass]

This looks good. *saves* Thank you.

[jesse_the_k]

Glad to share!

[mlravenwrites]

!!! I'm going to try this with tofu, it looks fucking delicious and perfect :)

Glad it intrigues

[jesse_the_k]

...let me know how it turns out.