Technique for Cutting Meat for Drying

Remove heavy sinew bundles and long sections before and while slicing; stew them or save for projects. For indoor drying some of my stripps aim to be long and thin. The best way to cut meat however, is to aim for big and broad as this drasticaly reduces the time it takes to hang the meat. Being able to cut sheets and broad slices is essential for outdoor hanging as this reduces scavenging and is again far faster and efficent.

Cut a bit of the main meat to hold and begin the slice section. If the source meat is the 0 degrees, your knife is 45 and the cut slice heald at 90-120 or more. In this way, you are almost cutting into the source meat as opposed to allong it; doing so prevents the spread of bacteria from the surface of your knife. The knife also wont catch the meat and move it around or the meat wont make it hard to slide your knife.

You should make your jerky as large sheets as possible and thick (3/4 cm) - if you have good air circulation. Don't make it too thick. It must also support its weight when hung. 

De fat the meat before you hang it. Store fat bits in the cooler until you are ready to render. You can also store it in cold running water. If the fat is dried, it will deteriorate rapidly. 

Some fat can be hung as this fat often tastes great, tansports well, and wont need to be rendered; however drying fat, deteriorates exposed to air.