Jerky

Bill Ellis

Well, here's a subject we can really sink our teeth into, but if you're as old as I am, they just might stay there.

Jerky is basically dried meat that is cut into strips. It was developed by several cultures around the world.
The word jerky comes from the Inca word "charqui." In Africa, it is called "biltong."

Sometimes people even smoked jerky.

To make jerky, cut the meat into strips and remove all the fat and gristle. Add a lot of salt and pepper on the meat and hang it outside. Put the jerky out when the morning dew is gone so dew does not fall on it. Take the jerky in before the evening dew falls.

Usually Indians did not season their jerky.

Sometimes jerky was pounded into a powder and mixed with fate and berries to make pemmican. The berries were added to make the pemmican more palatable to white people.

In the gold rush days, pemmican was mixed with chili and pressed into bricks and sold as a trail food. The brick would be crumbled into a pot of boiling water for chili con carne. In San Antonio, chili bricks were sold to westbound travelers by the ton.

Jerky can be made from any low fat meat, but beef jerky is still the favorite.

Wado



Cherokee Bean Balls
Drain one can of hominy and mash it to a paste. Mix with one can of refried beans. Form into balls, dust with corn meal and fry till brown. Serve with beef tips and gravy.