# Venison Italian Cacciatore Jerky !!!



## tallbm (Apr 8, 2020)

Hi there and welcome! (Posting as someone asked about it)
I do an awesome Italian Cacciatore Jerky (stolen and modified from a cacciatore salami seasoning recipe). I do mine with ground meat but sliced meat would work as well.
For 5 pounds of ground meat here is the seasonings and measurements, just feel free to incorporate it with your recipe:

5lbs of venison or super lean beef
[Edit left this out on accident] - salt, pepper, and cure#1 for 5 pounds of meat (I often sub LEM's Original Snack stick mix here for 5 pounds)
-3 Tablespoons Paprika (any kind, I use smoked which gives a little smoke flavor since I use an oven to dehydrate)
-2 Tablespoons sugar
-2 t-spoons ground or whole Caraway Seed
-1.5 Tablespoons garlic powder
-1 Tablespoon ground Coriander Seed
-1 Tablespoon Red Pepper Flakes
-8 floz of a Shiraz/Sirah Red Wine (I use the cheapest $9-10 bottles I find at the store while shopping, plus they are good enough to drink the left over amount hehe)
I like the Shiraz for its well pronounced dark fruit flavors and usually a bit of peppery flavor, it's bold enough for such a recipe
-4 floz of water
(NOTE: you CAN go 12 floz of Wine and NO WATER, I may give that a try soon as I LOVE the tangy flavor the wine gives, it's the secret) - I do this

This makes a savory flavor with a wine tang that does not overtake but enhances the flavor and is amazing!

I hope this info helps :)


----------



## Brokenhandle (Apr 8, 2020)

It sounds wonderful! But as you know...no pics didn't happen.  We need something to drool over!

Ryan


----------



## tallbm (Apr 8, 2020)

Brokenhandle said:


> It sounds wonderful! But as you know...no pics didn't happen.  We need something to drool over!
> 
> Ryan



hahaha I thought I had some pictures from the batch I made a month ago but nope :(

Once we are seeing signs of improvement in the world and I can break into my freezer I'll make a 5 pound batch.  
Last time i used the technique of just flattening out the meat onto a silicon nonstick mat, "cutting" into sticks, and then flipping it onto a grate grill mat.
I smoke the sticks then at that point.  

I think this next time around I'm gonna do like a 70% maple and 30% cherry or maybe just 100% maple probably no more smoke than 3hrs or so.  I wonder if the flavor from 100% Alder would also work well with the tang of the wine... I'll also put that on the list too hahaha...ooooh I have some Pacific Pelle thtat is like 85% Alder and 15% mesquite that would be good too.   I need more ground venison hahahaha


----------



## chopsaw (Apr 8, 2020)

That sounds  great . Whole muscle , or ground venison makes the best jerky .



tallbm said:


> Your info always helps . Just figure all the people you helped with the PID stuff .



Crap ,, I've been home so long I'm turning into a nice guy .


----------



## tallbm (Apr 8, 2020)

chopsaw said:


> That sounds  great . Whole muscle , or ground venison makes the best jerky .
> 
> 
> 
> Crap ,, I've been home so long I'm turning into a nice guy .



Hahaha youve never been a bad guy but go outside and hell at the trees if it helps you feel better :D

I like this done as ground jerky best so far. 
I've had one batch of sliced jerky made with this (I didn't make it) and it was fine but the jerky itself could have been made better in general and that wasn't a fault of the recipe but more on the execution of the jerky smoking itself.

I'm a 110% ground jerky convert.  Heck you cant really find much sliced jerky in the stores these days its all ground jerky formed into flat sticks or chunks for the most part.
It's easier on the teeth and is easier to work when ground.

I wish my MES could handle more than 5 pounds of ground at a time.  That much ground just takes up some much rack space that it maxes out at 5 pounds.  If you use a jerky gun and use the stick nozzle you can probably fit about 7 pounds but the labor to do so is not worth it in my mind.  I would just rather do 2 batches of 5 pounds back to back to smoke 10 pounds of ground jerky (making like between 6-7 pounds of finished jerky).

UGH  I want this jerky now!! :D


----------



## xray (Apr 9, 2020)

Sounds like a good recipe, thanks for sharing.


----------



## Winterrider (Apr 9, 2020)

tallbm said:


> I wish my MES could handle more than 5 pounds of ground at a time. That much ground just takes up some much rack space that it maxes out at 5 pounds. If you use a jerky gun and use the stick nozzle you can probably fit about 7 pounds but the labor to do so is not worth it in my mind. I would just rather do 2 batches of 5 pounds back to back to smoke 10 pounds of ground jerky (making like between 6-7 pounds of finished jerky).


The first time I used my MES 40, I also tried to do an eight pound batch( whole). Couldn't lay all on racks so had to do skewers which was kind of a pain in the butt. It also has a tendency to roll a little while drying. Oh well, tastes the same.
Thanks for recipe will try.


----------



## tallbm (Apr 9, 2020)

xray said:


> Sounds like a good recipe, thanks for sharing.


Thanks I hope u get a chance to try it :)



Winterrider said:


> The first time I used my MES 40, I also tried to do an eight pound batch( whole). Couldn't lay all on racks so had to do skewers which was kind of a pain in the butt. It also has a tendency to roll a little while drying. Oh well, tastes the same.
> Thanks for recipe will try.



Yeah we get by and make it happen.  I think what I will start doing is putting it in at like 6am and I bet i can get two whole MES loads done by the end of the day for 10 pounds of ground meat turned to jerky in 1 day :)
That would be the plan at least lol.
Give it a try and let me know how u like it, start with only like 8oz of wine and then see if u want to scale up.


----------

