Unleash the Flavor: The Ultimate Red Wine Venison Jerky Recipe (Corkscrew Deer Jerky)
Red wine offers far more than just a delightful beverage; it serves as a fantastic ingredient, transforming ordinary jerky into an extraordinary gourmet experience. If you appreciate the rich, complex notes of a good red wine, you’ll be captivated by this venison jerky recipe. It boasts a distinct red wine flavor that is sure to awaken your taste buds and leave a lasting impression.
Preparing and Slicing the Venison for Optimal Jerky
Making delicious jerky begins with proper meat preparation. Over the past few months, I’ve been consistently utilizing venison from my freezer for jerky batches, and it consistently yields fantastic results. For those who don’t have a personal stash of deer meat, high-quality venison can often be sourced from many local butcher shops, or you can opt for lean beef roasts as an excellent alternative.
Before slicing, it’s crucial to properly thaw your meat. I typically defrost freezer-packed venison roasts in a bowl of cold water placed in the refrigerator. Always ensure any meat is thawed in the refrigerator, never at room temperature on your kitchen counter, to prevent bacterial growth. Submerging the vacuum-sealed or tightly wrapped meat in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes, can significantly speed up the thawing process, allowing you to proceed with your jerky making much sooner.
Once your deer roast is fully thawed and rinsed, the next critical step is to meticulously trim away all visible fat and silver skin from the meat. This step is paramount because fat spoils much faster than lean meat, which will drastically shorten the shelf life of your finished jerky. Removing it ensures a longer-lasting, higher-quality product. Silver skin, while not affecting shelf life, can make the jerky tough and unpleasant to chew, so it’s best to remove it as well.
For consistent and uniform jerky strips, I rely on my Weston Jerky Slicer. To fit the roast into the slicer, I first cut it into approximately 1-inch thick pieces. A sharp knife is indispensable for cleanly slicing through meat that is not partially frozen. If you don’t have an exceptionally sharp knife, a useful trick is to place the meat back in the freezer for 1-2 hours. This partial freezing hardens the meat slightly, making it much easier to cut into evenly sized strips. For comprehensive guidance on preparing and slicing various cuts of meat for the perfect jerky, be sure to visit my dedicated how to slice jerky page.
Feeding the venison steaks through the jerky slicer ensures perfectly uniform strips every time, which is essential for even drying. This tool is truly a game-changer! While you certainly don’t need a specialized slicer – you can absolutely slice the meat by hand into strips – if you find yourself making jerky frequently, investing in a good jerky slicer will significantly streamline the process and improve consistency. It’s a worthy addition to any serious jerky maker’s arsenal.
From a single deer roast, I often create multiple distinct jerky recipes, allowing for variety and experimentation. As you can see in the photo above, the roast was separated into three approximately 1-pound piles, each destined for a unique flavor profile.
Related Page: Explore Dozens of Jerky Recipes – Click Here!
Crafting the Flavorful Red Wine Marinade
The secret to this corkscrew deer jerky’s exceptional taste lies in its carefully balanced marinade, featuring a delightful blend of red wine, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, and a selection of common spices. The good news is that most of these ingredients are likely staples you already have in your kitchen, making this recipe both accessible and convenient.
To begin the marinating process, simply combine all the marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag, a shallow bowl, or a dish. Once mixed, add your prepared jerky strips, ensuring that every piece is thoroughly coated and submerged in the flavorful liquid. Allow the meat to marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours, and ideally up to 24 hours. For optimal flavor penetration and even marination, make sure to mix or flip the bag/contents every 4 hours or so. The longer marinating time allows the venison to truly absorb the rich red wine and spice flavors, resulting in a more intense and satisfying jerky.
After the marinating period is complete, remove the jerky strips from the refrigerator and transfer them to a colander to drain any excess marinade. The meat will only absorb a certain amount of the liquid, and removing the excess is crucial for an efficient drying process. Leaving too much liquid on the strips can extend drying times and potentially lead to a less desirable texture.
Before placing the jerky strips into your dehydrator, oven, or smoker, it’s vital to pat them thoroughly dry with paper towels. This step helps to speed up the overall drying process significantly by removing surface moisture. Furthermore, it prevents the finished jerky from developing an undesirable ‘sticky’ or tacky feel, ensuring a more pleasant and traditional jerky texture.
For this particular recipe, I utilized my reliable Excalibur Dehydrator. As depicted above, arrange the strips on the dehydrator trays, ensuring there is adequate space between each piece. This allows for optimal air circulation around every strip, promoting even and consistent drying. While a dehydrator is an excellent tool, you can achieve equally delicious results using a conventional oven or a smoker. Each method offers unique advantages and slight variations in flavor and texture. For detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to effectively use a dehydrator, oven, or smoker to create perfect jerky, I highly recommend visiting my comprehensive How to Make Jerky page, which covers all the essential techniques.
Assessing Jerky Doneness: The Bend and Crack Test
As your jerky dries, you’ll want to start checking for doneness around the 3-4 hour mark, depending on your chosen drying method and meat thickness. To test, carefully remove a piece of jerky from your dehydrator, oven, or smoker, and allow it to cool to room temperature for about 5 minutes. This cooling period is crucial, as jerky will stiffen slightly as it cools, giving you a more accurate assessment. Once cooled, bend the jerky in half. A perfectly dried piece should bend significantly and show white fibers, and possibly a few small cracks on the outside, but it should not break cleanly in half. The appearance of white fibers, especially when the piece is torn or bent, is a strong indicator of proper dryness.
If the jerky feels too pliable, or breaks too easily, it means it’s not quite finished. Continue drying it for another hour, then repeat the cooling and bending test until you achieve the desired consistency. Typically, most jerky I make reaches perfection within 4-6 hours when using a dehydrator or oven. When utilizing a smoker, the process usually takes a bit longer, ranging from 6-9 hours due to lower temperatures. Interestingly, if you pre-heat the meat in the oven to an internal temperature of 160°F before transferring to a dehydrator, the drying time can be significantly reduced, sometimes to as little as 2.5 hours.
For this particular batch of red wine venison jerky, it took approximately 4.5 hours at a consistent temperature of 165°F to reach the perfect texture and dryness. The final product was exceptionally tasty. It carried a pleasant, subtle tartness from the red wine vinegar, beautifully balanced by a delightful berry-like sweetness and depth from the red wine itself. The black pepper contributed a subtle, yet satisfying, spice kick that emerged gracefully towards the end of each chew. If you consider yourself a true aficionado of fine wines, this jerky is tailor-made to thrill your palate! After a demanding day, who could resist unwinding with a glass of wine and a flavorful piece of homemade jerky? I certainly can’t!
Storing Your Homemade Jerky for Maximum Freshness
Proper storage is essential to maximize the shelf life and preserve the fresh taste of your homemade jerky. To help your jerky last as long as possible, incorporating curing salt into your marinade is highly recommended for its preservative qualities. Beyond that, keeping your finished jerky in airtight containers, such as sealed bags or glass jars, is crucial to protect it from moisture and air, which can lead to spoilage. For even longer preservation, consider vacuum sealing or refrigerating your jerky. I’ve compiled a comprehensive guide on storing jerky, detailing various steps and methods you can employ to ensure your delicious creation enjoys an extended shelf life. Be sure to check it out for more in-depth tips!
For more in-depth directions on how to effectively dry your jerky using various methods, make sure to visit my page on Jerky Making Methods.
Corkscrew Deer Jerky
Pin Recipe
Ingredients
Lean Meat
- 1 lb Venison or Beef Roast
Marinade
- ¼ cup red wine
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ cup beef broth
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon curing salt (optional)
Equipment
Instructions
- Trim all visible fat and silver skin from the venison or beef roast and place it in the freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze, which aids in easier slicing.
- While the meat is chilling in the freezer, combine all marinade ingredients in a large bowl or a resealable ziplock bag.
- Remove the meat from the freezer and slice it into uniform ¼-inch strips. Slice against the grain for a tender, easy-to-chew jerky, or with the grain for a more traditional, chewy texture. For detailed guidance on various slicing techniques, visit my page on slicing jerky. I used my Weston Jerky Slicer for precise cuts when preparing this recipe.
- Add the sliced venison or beef strips to the marinade mixture in the ziplock bag or bowl. Ensure all strips are fully coated and marinate in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours, mixing occasionally for even flavor distribution.
- After the meat has finished marinating, remove it from the refrigerator, drain any excess marinade in a colander, and pat the strips thoroughly dry with paper towels. This step helps speed up drying and prevents stickiness.
- Proceed to dry your jerky using your favorite jerky making method. For this recipe, I used my Excalibur Dehydrator, drying for approximately 4.5 hours at a temperature of 165°F.
- The jerky is finished when it is firm, bends and cracks (but does not easily break) when folded in half, and white fibers are visible within the meat.
Pro Tips
Old Pro Tips:
- Trim all fat from the meat before marinating for longer lasting jerky once it’s finished drying
- Use curing salt or celery juice powder to extend the life of the jerky
- Marinate closer to 24 hours for the most intense flavor
- Any red wine can be used when making this jerky