Are you running out of ideas for what to do with your venison? Is your freezer getting overloaded because your kids are tired of the same old roast or ground? It may be time to try something new.


It used to be one of my pre-season rituals to go through the freezer and make sure that there wasn’t any venison left over from the previous season. But not anymore. Now it’s all gone long before the upcoming hunting season.






Most people continue to use the same old recipes every year. They make the same old roast. They make the same chili with their ground. This is not a bad idea, I have a couple of recipes that I use every year, but you need to change it up a bit. Try taking your same old recipe, but changing the spices slightly, or give it an Italian twist. Or, how about our favorite. Start making venison jerky.


Venison jerky, or any jerky for that matter, is very expensive to buy at the store. However, it is very inexpensive and even fun to make at home. It is great to take with you to the field or on fishing trips. It is an excellent source of protein. The kids love to take it to school in their lunch as a snack.


Making jerky is not as difficult as some would think, and you don’t need any expensive equipment. When I first started making venison jerky, all I used was some spices, toothpicks and an oven.


Finding a recipe to use is very easy. There are books loaded with jerky recipes. I make a couple different kinds every year and will sometime switch off on different years depending on what I feel like making at the time. The batch that I made for the holidays turned out excellent using the following recipe:


Take about 4 lbs of venison.(I like to use the toughest part) Slice the meat about 1/4″ thick. Take a bowl and mix together 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp red pepper, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp liquid smoke, 1 cup soy sauce, 1 cup worchestershire sauce, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion salt, 4 T. ketchup. After you’ve mixed the ingredients together, put your sliced venison in and put it in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours to marinade. After 12 hours, remove your meat and pat down to remove any excess liquid and dehydrate.


Dehydrating your meat into jerky is very easy as well. As I mentioned, I started by using my oven. This method works great for beginners making smaller batches. I just took some toothpicks and pierced the meat, then I hung them on the racks and turned the oven on at the lowest possible setting. Check the meat frequently so that you son’t over dry it in the oven.


Eventually you will want to move up to a dehydrator. Using a dehydrator will make the process a little slower, but there will be less of a chance of over drying.


Once you are finished, your will need to store your jerky. When you are starting out, you may not need any more than just some baggies. People will eat it up so fast that you will not need to think about long term storage. If you make it on a larger scale such as I do, or if you want to make it last longer throughout the year, there are different methods of storing.


First of all, I take some and just put it into some baggies and let it stay on the counter. It will last for several days this way without refrigeration. However, it will surely get eaten long before that. Then I take some and put it in the refrigerator. This batch is for a more extended period of up to a month or so. Then I always take some and seal it for the freezer by using a vacuum food sealer and putting it in the upstairs freezer to keep for fishing and hunting trips. Your venison jerky will last for well over a year if you seal it and freeze it.


When you are making your jerky, have fun with it. Try different recipes, or adjust current recipes. You will find out that every year you will need to set aside a little more venison than the year before just for making your jerky. Not only is it great for snacks and trips to the field, but it also makes great gifts. You’ll even find your neighbors stopping by more often after deer season asking if you’ve made your jerky yet.

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