"Brian Mailman" wrote in message
...
binarybill wrote:
I read an article somewhere on the net that said you can hang marinated
jerky from a rack in a gas oven, with a pan underneith to catch
drippings,
and that the pilot light was enough heat to dry it out in two to three
days.
Is it safe to dry jerky this way?

binarybill,

I'm not an expert on the food safety side of the equation so I would defer
you to pose the question to the folks at the UGA site
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/ that are better suited to answer that question,
although I can't fathom how meat held at slightly above room temperature for
a couple of days could be a *good* thing. I have however made a lot of jerky
in my time and when weather or other circumstances prevent my using the
smoker to finish the process...I have had great success just setting the
oven on it's lowest possible temperature and placing a spoon or other object
that will hold the door slightly open in order to allow the moisture to
escape. Depending on the size of the batch, it is generally ready within 4-6
hours.


I'm not one of the meat men on this group (so to speak), but it's my
understanding there shouldn't be "drippings." Jerky is made from
fat-free meat strips in order to keep it from going rancid.

B/

Brian,

You are correct in that one wants the leanest cuts of meat possible, but if
you choose to marinate the meat, you will have "drippings" from the marinade
as the meat slowly dries out.

HTH
KW