Dry Meat

Dry meat, in my opinion is one of the delicacies related to Gwich'in cuisine.  Some people would compare dry meat to jerky. I have never made jerky, but dry meat can taste similar.  It is essentially the process of drying out Caribou meat in order to preserve it.  Dry meat is made a couple different ways depending on the season.  In the winter, racks are constructed within homes and meat is hung.  The drying process caused from the warm dry air within the home generated by a wood stove.  In the summer shelters are made using tarps, then fires are built and left smoldering or smoking while meat hangs nearby.  

Since the subsistence meat has been altered in some way, it is legal for to sell (or so it was explained to me).  Over the past two years I have bought several bags of dry meat.  It has been great for hiking and skiing snacks out on the trail.  Until now, I had not made my own.

During culture week, students visited a station which taught them how to make dry meat.  Despite seeing elders and parents carry out this tradition of food preparation, few had ever made their own.  While snapping photographs, I was invited to sit down and slice my own meat to dry.

I marinated using a broth mixed montreal steak seasoning.  The seasoning added a peppery bite which was really good in the end.  After one day marinating, it was time to dry.  Note: this step was solely added by me, and not a traditional procedure.  Occasionally people will marinate the meat, often using a teriyaki sauce.

Next you need a good rack to hang the meat on.  Many racks are made of thin twigs lashed together, I choose to use my oven rack.

The meat should be left hung for 48-72 hours.  The first day it will drip dry, making a mess underneath.  Every 6-8 hours it should be rotated.

You ask why doesn't the meat become rotten or moldy, since you're just essentially leaving out meat on the counter?  The answer is I'm not really sure.  Maybe because it is thinly sliced.  Maybe because the climate in this part of Alaska has very dry air.

After about two days, begin inspecting the meat closely.  It should look and feel like jerky.  Snapping when folded.  Nearly all brown, without a fleshy or glossy meat look.

My dry meat needed about three days.  The process might occur quicker when a wood stove is nearby making the climate warmer and drier.  Since I live in teacher housing this year, we have a broiler with base boards heating the building.

The ultimate taste test came when I gave a bag to the school cook.  A connoisseur of many dried meats, he at first agreed my meat was peppery, but also unique and delicious.