Continued, Jerky

Rice porridge, or congee, is a common breakfast food in many parts of East and Southeast Asia. This silky, savory bowl of comfort with its spicy, salty, crunchy toppings beats the pants off the oatmeal we had to plod through at the breakfast table as kids. Toppings for rice porridge may vary from pickled mustard greens and preserved eggs to fried shallots and dried shrimp, but pork floss is always a favorite.

Porridge

10 cups (2.4 L) chicken or pork broth

1¾ cups (340 g) jasmine rice

1 tablespoon fish sauce, plus more if needed

Fine sea salt

Toppings

1⅓ cups (150 g) Fluffy Pork (this page)

2 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

2 tablespoons peeled and julienned fresh ginger

1 or 2 red Thai chiles, chopped

½ cup (70 g) chopped roasted peanuts

Small handful fresh cilantro sprigs

To make the porridge, in a large saucepan over medium heat, bring the broth to a boil. Add the rice and stir until the broth returns to a simmer. Add the fish sauce, turn down the heat to low, and cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until the rice is very tender and beginning to break apart, 25 to 30 minutes. The porridge should pour easily from a spoon; if it’s too thick, adjust the consistency with hot water. Taste for seasoning and add salt or more fish sauce, if desired.

To serve, arrange the toppings on a platter and set on the table. Ladle the porridge into warmed serving bowls and let everyone garnish his or her own bowl at the table.

In Oaxaca, lightly dried cecina adobada is often served along with another traditional Oaxacan specialty, enfrijoladas, a variation on enchiladas made by dipping corn tortillas in pureed black beans. For a traditional Mexican brunch, serve the enfrijoladas with mugs of steaming spiced hot chocolate or café de olla (spiced, sweetened coffee).

Enfrijoladas

1¼ cups (255 g) dried black beans

Fine sea salt

5 cloves garlic, unpeeled

4 tablespoons (55 g) lard or bacon fat

1 white onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 small árbol or cayenne chile

1 small sprig epazote (optional)

12 corn tortillas

Cecina and Toppings

12 ounces (340 g) lightly dried Cecina Adobada (this page)

¼ cup (55 g) crème fraîche

1 cup (150 g) crumbled queso fresco or Cotija cheese

¼ cup (5 g) fresh cilantro leaves

1 small white onion, sliced into thin rings, or pickled red onion (optional)

To make the enfrijoladas, rinse the beans well, then drain. Put the beans in a large bowl, add water to cover by about 2 inches (5 cm), and allow to soak at room temperature for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Pour off the soaking water, place the beans in a pot, and add water to cover by about 2 inches (5 cm). Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Lower the heat slightly to maintain a slow simmer and cook uncovered. Monitor the progress of the beans every 30 minutes for the first hour and every 15 minutes after that. Different beans cook at different rates. When the beans are slightly softened but not fully tender, season to taste with salt and continue to simmer until the beans have tender skins and creamy interiors. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a dry skillet over low heat, toast the garlic cloves, occasionally shaking the pan, until the skins are spotted brown and the garlic is soft. Allow to cool, then peel. In the same skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the lard over medium heat. Add the onion, árbol chile, and epazote, season lightly with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a blender and add the peeled garlic cloves and the black beans, and their cooking liquid. Puree until smooth.

In a sauté pan or large, wide saucepan over low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the lard. Pour the pureed beans into the pan and heat, stirring frequently. The warm puree should be thick but pour easily from a ladle. If it seems too thick, add a little hot water to thin. If it seems too thin, cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture reduces and thickens. Taste for seasoning and add salt, if needed.

In a skillet over medium heat, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons lard. Add a tortilla and fry for about 10 seconds on each side to soften, then carefully transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, stacking them on the plate as they are done.

Preheat your oven to its lowest setting and place four oven-safe plates on the racks to warm.

Using tongs and working with one at a time, dip the tortillas into the bean puree to coat on both sides, then transfer to the heated plates, placing 3 tortillas on each. Return the plates to the oven to keep the enfrijoladas warm while you cook the cecina.

To prepare the cecina, heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Sear the cecina just until heated through, 20 to 30 seconds per side.

Remove the plates of enfrijoladas from the oven. Arrange the cecina on the enfrijoladas, dividing it evenly. Top with the crème fraîche, crumbled cheese, cilantro, and onion. Serve immediately.

SEASONING WHEN COOKING WITH JERKY

Jerky and other dried meats tend to be highly seasoned, so when using them as an ingredient, you need to take into account their saltiness. Use a light hand when adding salt and pepper and taste often while cooking.

This rich, soulful stew of meat and beans is considered the national dish of Brazil, where it is often eaten as part of a celebratory meal. Variations abound and the ingredients range from pig’s tails to blood sausages to bananas. But most Brazilians would agree that sun-dried beef, known as carne de sol, is an integral component. It truly adds depth of flavor as well as a unique texture that makes the dish extraordinarily satisfying.

A pot of feijoada is perfect for feeding a large crowd, especially when served with simple traditional accompaniments, such as rice, braised greens, slices of pineapple, orange wedges, and pickled chiles.

2 pounds (910 g) oxtails

1 pound (450 g) pork stew meat

Fine sea salt

2¼ cups (450 g) dried black beans

1 large smoked ham hock

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons lard or bacon fat

1 large yellow onion, diced

3 or 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 medium red bell peppers, seeded and diced

6 to 8 ounces (170 to 225 g) Meat + Salt + Sun (this page) or other simply seasoned beef jerky, torn into bite-size pieces

4 cups (960 ml) beef broth or water

1 unpeeled orange, quartered

8 to 10 ounces linguiça or cured chorizo, cut into coins

The day before you plan to cook the stew, rub the oxtails and pork stew meat liberally with salt. Place in a wide, shallow bowl, cover, and refrigerate. Rinse the beans well, then drain. Put the beans in a large bowl, add water to cover by about 2 inches (5 cm), and allow to soak at room temperature.

The following day, drain the beans and place in a large pot. Add the ham hock and bay leaf, then add water to cover by about 2 inches (5 cm). Bring to a simmer over medium heat, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, until the beans are tender and the meat of the ham hock begins to pull away from the bone, 1½ to 2 hours. Season to taste with salt. Allow the beans to cool slightly, then remove the hock. Shred the meat off of the bone, then return the meat to the pot; discard the bone.

While the beans and ham hock simmer, remove the oxtails and pork stew meat from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. In a large, deep pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the lard. Working in batches and being careful not to crowd the pot, add the oxtails and stew meat and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes per batch. As the pieces are ready, transfer them to a large plate.

After all of the meat has been browned, add the onion and garlic to the pot along with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping up any browned meaty bits on the bottom of the pot, until the onion is golden, about 10 minutes. Add the bell peppers and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onion and peppers have softened, about 5 minutes. Add the dried beef and return the oxtails and stew meat to the pot. Add the orange and broth and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover, and continue to cook until the meat is nearly tender, about 2 hours. Add the linguiça and the ham hock meat and beans with their cooking liquid and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes, until all of the meat is quite tender. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if needed. Ladle the feijoada into bowls and serve.

MORE WAYS TO COOK WITH JERKY

The recipes in this chapter are just a few of our favorite ways to cook with jerky and other dried meats. But there are many ways to incorporate jerky into your everyday cooking.

•Try shredding a jerky, such as Bourbon and Molasses Smoked Beef Jerky (this page), and adding to your favorite recipe for baked beans

•Chop up Pocket Pastrami (this page) or Cecina Adobada (this page) and fry with peppers, onions, and potatoes for a breakfast hash

•Shred Pork Teriyaki (this page) or Pork with Fermented Chile and Miso Sauce (this page) and add to fried rice

•Make a green papaya salad using shredded Lemongrass Beef (this page) or Dendeng Balado (this page)

•Add diced Prairie Bison (this page) or Pork Pique-nique (this page) to enrich a tomato sauce

•Prepare a traditional Cuban tasajo criollo, using shredded Meat + Salt + Sun (this page) or Carne Seca (this page) cooked with peppers, onions, tomato, and a splash of sour orange juice; serve with plantains and rice or use as a filling for empanadas

Notorious for being slopped out in military chow halls and mess decks of yesteryear, creamed chipped beef on toast (aka sh*t on a shingle) gets a bad rap. But if prepared using commercially processed “chipped” or sliced beef and other unsavory ingredients, perhaps the rap is deserved. However, if you use delicate slices of brési and dried wild mushrooms and spoon it over slices of good bread, your chipped beef will be working on a whole other level. This is an excellent breakfast dish that’s equally good as a light lunch or dinner, with a green salad served alongside. You can spoon the creamed chipped beef over baked potatoes instead of bread, if you wish.

The dried beef is best sliced on a meat slicer, but you can get reasonably thin slices using a mandoline.

1 ounce (30 g) dried wild mushrooms

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1½ cups (285 g) minced yellow onion

Fine sea salt

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon dry sherry

2 cups (480 ml) whole milk

3 ounces (85 g) Brési (this page) or other air-dried beef, very thinly sliced and cut into ribbons ½ inch (12 mm) wide

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

4 large slices pain au levain or other hearty rustic bread, toasted

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Freshly ground black pepper

Put the mushrooms in a small bowl, add cold water to cover them by about 1 inch (2.5 cm), and let rehydrate at room temperature for at least 3 hours or up to overnight. Using your hands or a slotted spoon, gently remove the mushrooms from their soaking liquid, leaving any grit in the bottom of the bowl. Strain the soaking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve and set aside. Pat the mushrooms dry and chop finely.

Preheat your oven to its lowest setting and place four oven-safe plates on the racks to warm.

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 10 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt, then sift the flour into the pan and stir to combine with the onion. While whisking constantly, gradually add the sherry, followed by the milk. Bring to a simmer and continue to whisk until the mixture is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 8 to 10 minutes. Fold in the beef, thyme, and the chopped mushrooms and cook until the beef has softened, about 10 minutes longer. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if needed.

Remove the plates from the oven and place a slice of toast on each. Divide the chipped beef evenly among the plates, spooning it over the toast. Garnish with the parsley and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.

There are many delicious machaca preparations, but this simple, classic Sonoran-style fry-up of onions, roasted poblano chiles, tomatoes, and dried beef topped with an egg might be our favorite. It’s a hearty breakfast, fit for a vaquero who’s heading out to round up cattle in the high desert country or ample enough to fuel you for a morning of making more jerky.

3 tablespoons lard, bacon fat, or suet

1 white onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, chopped

Fine sea salt

3 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and diced

4 plum tomatoes, cored and diced

6 ounces (170 g) Machaca (this page)

4 large eggs

Flour tortillas, warmed, for serving

To make the machacado, in a sauté pan over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons of the lard. Add the onion and garlic, season lightly with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted chiles and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have softened and released their liquid, about 5 minutes. Fold in the machaca and cook until the machaca is tender and has sopped up all of the moisture, 5 to 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if needed. Remove from the heat, cover to keep warm, and set aside while you fry the eggs.

To fry the eggs, in a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium heat, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon lard. Crack the eggs, one at a time, into different areas of the skillet and fry until done to your liking. Season each egg with a pinch of salt.

Divide the machacado among four plates or shallow bowls and top each serving with a fried egg. Serve immediately with flour tortillas.

Crack 8 large eggs into a bowl and whisk together with a splash of heavy cream and a pinch of salt. Using a large skillet, prepare the machacado following the previous recipe. When the machaca is tender, add the beaten eggs to the pan and gently stir until the eggs form soft curds, about 5 minutes. Divide the mixture among four plates or shallow bowls and serve with warm tortillas.

For a few weeks in the late autumn, you can’t throw a stone in our neighborhood without hitting a ripe persimmon. They hang from the nearly naked trees in bright orange defiance of the cold winds and first storms of the season. Friends gift them by the shopping bagful, along with jars of homemade persimmon butter. Even our weekly farm-share box brims with the glowing, sweet fruit.

The squat, tomato-shaped Fuyu persimmon is prized for salads because, unlike many other varieties of persimmon, it remains somewhat crisp and firm when ripe. An autumn favorite, this elegant composed salad pairs earthy air-dried beef with the bright, sweet flavor of the Fuyu. You can also prepare this salad with thin slivers of Spiced Duck Breasts (this page) in place of the beef.

2 or 3 ripe Fuyu persimmons, peeled and sliced into thin rounds

4 tablespoons (60 ml) olive oil, plus more for drizzling

2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar, plus more for drizzling

Flaky or coarse sea salt (such as Maldon or fleur de sel)

4 ounces (115 g) Brési (this page), bresaola, or other air-dried beef, thinly sliced

4 cups (85 g) arugula, washed and dried

Freshly ground black pepper

2 ounces (55 g) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, in shards

Arrange the persimmon slices on a large platter. Drizzle with a bit of the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with a pinch of salt. Lay the slices of brési on top of the persimmons.

In a bowl, toss the arugula with the 4 tablespoons (60 ml) olive oil and the 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Place the dressed arugula on the bed of persimmons and brési and scatter the cheese about the platter. Drizzle with olive oil and dot with additional drops of balsamic and serve immediately, or serve the salad with additional olive oil and balsamic on the side so everyone may dress to his or her liking.

We have been making some version of this gingery peanut-laced cabbage slaw for many years. Easy to prepare with ingredients we often have on hand, it makes a frequent appearance at our dinner table alongside grilled meats, noodles, or rice. Originally, we used salted dried shrimp to flavor this salad, but smoky, peppery ganba is a surprisingly suitable substitution and makes this salad almost a meal in itself.

4 ounces (115 g) Ganba (this page) or other dried beef, torn into bite-size pieces

¼ cup (25 g) peeled and julienned fresh ginger

2 green onions, julienned

1 or 2 red or green Thai chiles, minced

1 large carrot, peeled and julienned

6 cups (700 g) shredded napa cabbage

1 tablespoon fish sauce

Juice of 2 limes

1 teaspoon honey

¼ cup (5 g) chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

¼ cup (35 g) chopped toasted peanuts

Fine sea salt

Using a mortar and pestle, pound the dried beef until it splinters and shreds. Alternatively, place the dried beef in the workbowl of a food processor and pulse until finely shredded.

In a large bowl, combine the shredded beef, the ginger, green onions, chile(s), carrot, and cabbage. In a small bowl, stir together the fish sauce, lime juice, and honey and pour over the cabbage mixture. Using your hands, toss the slaw to distribute the dressing. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the vegetables to soften slightly and absorb the dressing.

Fold the cilantro, mint, and peanuts into the slaw. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if needed. Serve immediately.

For the past twenty years, we’ve been using fragrant injera bread to scoop up delicious meser wot and other Ethiopian specialties at Café Colucci in Oakland, California. It was there that we first encountered quanta, which the café cooks simmer in a buttery berbere-spiced sauce, and realized that dried meats could be used as an ingredient in cooking. Meser wot, sometimes spelled misir wot, is a thick, spice-laden lentil stew that is commonly prepared as a vegetarian dish. We were intrigued when we came across a meaty version made with quanta and were easily won over by its rich, vibrant flavors. For a traditional Ethiopian feast, serve a salad and one or two other vegetables alongside, and plenty of injera. Or for a simpler meal, serve the meser wot over rice or another hearty grain.

1 cup (190 g) red lentils (aka pink lentils or masoor dal)

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

5 cups (1.2 L) water

Seeds of 2 cardamom pods

1 whole clove

1-inch (2.5-cm) piece cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon fenugreek seed

3 or 4 dried bird’s-eye or cayenne chiles

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 large yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Fine sea salt

6 to 8 ounces (170 to 225 g) Quanta (this page), shredded into bite-size pieces

6 plum tomatoes, diced

In a saucepan, combine the lentils, turmeric, and water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally and skimming any foam that may rise to the surface, until the lentils are soft enough to mash with the back of a spoon, about 30 minutes. Cover and set aside.

While the lentils are simmering, in a dry skillet over low heat, toast the cardamom, clove, cinnamon, fenugreek, and chiles until fragrant. Allow to cool to room temperature. Using a spice grinder, pulverize the spices until finely ground.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and garlic, season lightly with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened, about 10 minutes. Add the quanta and the ground spices and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and continue cooking for an additional 10 minutes. Stir in the lentils and their cooking liquid and bring to a simmer. Turn down the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils have thickened and the quanta has softened, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if needed. Serve immediately.

Pemmican was the clever invention of native North Americans. Traditionally, bits of lean dried meat were pounded with fruit or other nutritious foods and then combined with animal fats to create a protein-packed, nutrient-dense meal on the go. In this modern adaptation, creamy coconut oil replaces the more traditional rendered animal fat, and honey provides a touch of sweetness. The result is a delicious energy bar that you can tote along for a quick boost.

¾ cup (220 g) coconut oil

¼ cup (85 g) honey

8 ounces (225 g) bison or beef jerky, such as Prairie Bison (this page) or Meat + Salt + Sun (this page), torn into bite-size pieces

1 cup (110 g) chopped toasted pecans

1 cup (150 g) pitted and diced dates

¼ cup (40 g) sesame seeds

In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the coconut oil and honey until liquefied. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Place the jerky in the workbowl of a food processor and process until very finely chopped. Add the pecans, dates, and sesame seeds and pulse a few times to combine. Continue pulsing while slowly pouring the coconut oil–honey mixture through the feed tube, then process until the mixture begins to hold together, about 1 minute.

Line a 13 by 18-inch (33 by 46-cm) rimmed baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. Transfer the mixture to the pan and, using your hands, gently press it into an even thickness, about ½ inch (12 mm).

Alternatively, using your hands, roll the mixture into 1-inch (2.5-cm) balls and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Refrigerate the pemmican until firm, about 1 hour. If you pressed the mixture into a baking sheet, use a chef’s knife to cut it into triangles or rectangles.

Place the pemmican in an airtight container and store in a cool, dark place for up to 3 weeks, or in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.