Dried/Smoked Beef (Venison)

Dried/Smoked Beef (Venison)
Makes 5 lbs

4 to 5 lbs boneless beef or venison round, trimmed
1 tsp curing salt (pink)
3 Tbs salt
2 Tbs garlic granules
2 Tbs dextrose
1 tsp white pepper
2 quarts ice cold water

Combine all ingredients (except meat) in a non-metallic brining vessel; mix well. Pump meat to 10% of its own weight and submerge in brine solution.

Refrigerate submerged meat for 7 days stirring and turning meat every other day or so. Skim mold from surface of brine if necessary.

After 7 days remove the cured meat from the brine solution and pat dry. Do not rinse!

OVEN: Place cured meat on rack in oven, crack open oven door, turn oven to 150 F. degrees or lowest setting for one hour or until the outside of the meat is nearly dry. Close oven door, increase oven temp. to 175 F. degrees and hold until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 152 F. degrees (fully cooked). Remove and cool.

SMOKER: Place cured meat on rack in smoker, open damper wide open, set smoker temperature at 130-40 degrees F, for one hour or until the outside of the meat is nearly dry. Close damper. Add smoke chips, smoke according to individual tastes, increase the smoker temperature to 175 F degrees and hold until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 152 F. degrees (fully cooked). Remove and cool.

OPTIONAL: You can take up to 48 hours or longer if you want truly old-fashioned dried beef. Simply start at a 125 degrees and hold for 12 hours, drop the temp to about 115 F degrees, smoke up to 10 hours and hold for a couple of days, without smoke, until the meat is dry. Expect about 40% shrink if you dry it all the way.

NOTE: Dried beef or venison is excellent chipped (sliced thin) and served with white gravy and potatoes.