One trait I inherited from my dad is that I LOVE to eat. I know my svelte figure might make you think otherwise, but I really do. When I am out hunting, I enjoy a snack that is high in protein, tastes great, isn’t going to melt, and doesn’t need refrigeration. One of the best options is jerky. Even better is some homemade elk jerky seasoned with Hi-Country Jerky Seasonings. Through the North American Hunting Club, I was given the opportunity to review some of the original blend jerky seasoning from Hi-Country Wild Game Jerky Seasonings.
Hi-Country Seasoning’s number one selling Original Recipe jerky kit will prove how easy it is to make jerky at home. This kit will season 15 pounds of either ground or sliced meat. Simply use any meat, our kit with step by step instructions included and in just a few hours you will have delicious jerky. No special equipment is needed; you can cook your jerky in a smoker, oven, on the grill or in a dehydrator. Hi-Country jerky kits have nearly twice the seasoning as any other kits on the market and have been formulated from 36 years of meat science experience. Making your own jerky at home is economical, simple and fun!
The box states the kit will season up to 16 pounds of meat. Sounded great to me! Once I had a chance to read the instructions, I noticed they mention that they have videos online. I didn’t feel I needed videos and could just follow the directions as they are quite simple. The directions in the kit are very good, but one key item that was left out was using a dehydrator. They mention an oven, but no dehydrator. I would recommend that they add that to their kit.
After thawing out roughly 12 pounds of elk meat, I trimmed each piece to get rid of any silverskin. It took me nearly an hour, but once I had a bowl full of high-quality protein, I covered it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for an hour. This allows more of the fluids to drain out before adding the seasoning. After the hour, I drained out the remainder of most of the fluid and then added the seasoning. Many will say to dry each piece of meat, but I don’t normally take the time to do that. The packets of seasoning and cure will season up to 16 pounds of wild game. I like my jerky on the spicy/peppery side, so I had no problem adding the entire packet to my 12 pounds of meat. After mixing the seasoning and meat thoroughly, I rewrapped the bowl and let the meat sit in the fridge for four hours to allow time for the spices to permeate the meat.
I prepped the dehydrator trays, lay the meat on them and began the process of drying it all out. Eight hours later I had a couple pounds of beautiful elk jerky. I took it off the trays and put it all in a gallon zipper bag to sit overnight. That would allow the meat to balance (the driest meat getting a bit of moisture from the others).
The next morning was the true test. How did it taste? Honestly, it was delicious! I had to have a couple pieces, you know, for quality control. I shared some with two of my friends (both hunters) and they both said it was great. It is just slightly on the salty side because I used more seasoning for the amount of meat I had, but I found it to be excellent.
Overall, I give the Hi-Country Wild Game Jerky Seasoning two thumbs up! The directions are easy to follow and the spice mix is top notch and full of flavor and kick. I liked it so much I am going to give some other Hi-Country Jerky Seasonings a try. At $8.29 a kit you can’t go wrong. You don’t need to be a psychic to see that there will be plenty of tasty homemade jerky in my future.
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