Turkey Jerky

With summer here and outdoor activities on the rise, portable, nonperishable snacks are essential. We recently picked up a food dehydrator which has been key in making all sorts of easy to grab-and-go snacks. Yesterday we made turkey jerky...and let me just show you how easy it is!

All you need is ground turkey and some jerky seasoning and cure. You can pick up these handy little packets wherever you can buy a dehydrator.

Mix it all together... yeah, go ahead and get your hands dirty!

Then you'll need this....an extruder (or jerky gun). This is also right next to the dehydrators in the store.

Now, load all the meat into the extruder (it holds a pound of meat easily).

Pick the tip you want...we like the regular flat jerky.

Squeeze the trigger, and out it comes!

You may have to spread them apart just a tad so air can circulate around all edges.

Continue filling each tray and stacking them up. At the end there may be a little meat that won't quite push through, we just flatten it out and add it to the tray too.

Set the dehydrator on its highest setting (ours goes to 155 degrees). It usually takes about 3-4 hours. Then, since it's turkey and we don't want salmonella, place the jerky on a baking sheet and put it in a 165 degree oven for 30 minutes. That will kill any remaining germs without over cooking the meat.

When it's all done, it looks like this! A perfect portable snack.

I'll be trying out another recipe for a jerky marinade that's great for beef, venison, and other game. I'll let you know how it turns out...it may come in very handy next fall for anyone who lives with a hunter like I do!