Buccan/Jerky

[Patrick Hand]

I just found Animal's thread : A Boucanier Barbecue and it kinda answered what I was looking for... but I'll post this anyway...

The last batch of buccan/jerky I made was just dried meat, with no seasoning. I had cut the meat into thin strips, and placed them on the grill from my oven, and then put that over the heater...This works great in Winter... I have to heat the house anyway, so I can also dry out some jerky at the same time..... in three days it was all completely dried. (unfortunately, I kinda nibbled it all up, so I have to make some more...)

I've read recipes for jerky using soy sauce, or honey or Tabasco, and obviously salt. But I was trying to figgure out what Buccaneers would have used to season the meat. In Animal's thread : A Boucanier Barbecue Lime juice, Salt and Crushed Allspice is used. I figgure those ingredients were available to Buccaneers... So that is what I will try for the next batch.

But I know that a lot of other Pyrates have favorite recipes for Jerky. If the recipe is an attempt at "period" Buccan/jerky or a modern recipe that's just really good...then just "label" it as such. But either kind of recipe is welcome here...

I've made jerky that was marinated overnight in beer, with soy sauce, hot sauce, and some salt that turned out pretty good. I made some that I used "Seasoning Salt", but that batch came out too salty (I ate it anyway...)

So what's your buccan/jerky recipe ?

[Quartermaster James]

I prefer a dry cure. Seems odd to add liquid to something I intend to dry.

For five pounds of prepared meat, sprinkle with 3 tablespoons salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 3 teaspoons of black pepper. Mix well and let stand refrigerated for 24 hours.

Sometimes I add other seasonings: spices, powdered hickory smoke, more sugar, dredge the cured strips in more pepper, etc. To be entirely honest, I did add some liquid to my last batch because I made cinnamon/chipotle jerky and used Buffalo Brand Chipotle Sauce (Damn! The stuff might just replace chocolate in my diet!).

Anyway, I thread the strips onto bamboo skewers, 5-6 per skewer, and hang them from my oven rack (at the highest position, the bottom rack I cover with foil both to catch drips and diffuse heat). I set the oven to a low warming setting and keep the door propped open with a thermometer. Do not let the temperature get above 120 degrees or you will have hard, crumbly jerky. I try to keep it around 90-100. It's usually dry enough in 24-36 hours.

[hurricane]

True boucan wasn't like jerky. It was smoked and cured over green pimento wood which gave it the allspice flavor - allspice itself wasn't used on the meat - the wood did all the work.

Over time the meet would indeed harden and become jerky like, but not at the beginning. Only as it dried out did it become this way. After six months, it had very little flavor to it. Interestingly, the Caribees used the same process to cure human flesh, so widespread was the practice. Even after a long day fishing, the natives would still take the time to build the wood grate and create the little fire below it to start boucanning the fish. It was a slow cook process, not high heat. This kept the meat moist and flavorful.

There's a great description in Burney's History of the Buccaneers of America, including the etymology of how came to use the terms buccaneer and filibuster.

-- Hurricane