h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I made a really nice split-pea and ham soup a week ago, just bits and stuff found around the place, and a crock-pot/slow-cooker. Simply yummm and filly

At the moment, all I have to offer up fresh is a load (maybe 1.5 pounds) of beef jerky

Home-made beef jerky?

I'll pass on the enchiladas im afraid, but thankyou for the jerky

Ah NBB, you got the stuff I made 4 days ago ... The newest just went on, and should be ready in a day, day and a half. I think this
one will be better, nicer beef and cleaner cutting, and a few changes to the marinade that ought to go nicely.

Whats your marinade? For some reason, despite the fact that i like it, i rarely eat it

I go simple. Basically begin with common grocer's soya sauce, throw in a few dollops of any barbecue sauce that I have at hand that seem right, some fresh garlic and common cooking onion, black pepper, sometimes a few splashes of Worcestshire sauce, all really blended well. There may be other minor but common seasonings I run across at a time. The meat is sliced fairly thin, tumbled in the marinade and given a good time (6 to 12 hours or so), then the slips and strips go onto trays of a rather old but simple dehydrator from maybe 1992. No fans, no infra-red, just a simple heating element about equal to a 15-watt light bulb. Every hour or so, I move the lowest of 4 trays to the top. So that heat and effect is relatively equal to all bits of meats. Usually, 12 to 14 hours does a good enough job.

Since I slice the meat by hand, some will always be thinner, some thicker. So when I think it's about done, thin bits might be quite crackly while some may be a bit rubbery yet. Fully cooked, but not 'dry'. By accident, I discovered a simple process ... equalization by ozmosis. Chuck the load into a sealed plastic bag or dish for a dozen hours. Them that were still soft, they give up moisture to them that were over-dried. All come out firm, chewy and nice.

Y'know, the only problem with deciding to break with tradition and going out to a restaurant for Thanksgiving is that there weren't any leftovers. On the other hand, no chasing folks out of my kitchen all day (why, no, I don't accept help gracefully, how did you ever guess?) and no huge pile of dishes. Also, rare prime rib