Having some left over blood oranges from a fish dish I found a simple recipe to put them to use with. I wasn’t naive enough to believe that the jerky would taste of blood oranges, but wanted to see how far they would go.
INGREDIENTS
• Beef: ~1kg
• Molases: 2 tbsp
• Local Honey: 2 tbsp
• Evian Water: ½ cup
• Blood Oranges: x2
• Teriyaki Sauce: ⅔ cup
• Black Pepper: 2 tbsp
• Garlic Powder: 1 tbsp
• Onion Powder: 1 tbsp
• Stubb’s Hickory Liquid Smoke: 1 tbsp
• Sea Salt Flakes: 2 tbsp
• Soy Sauce: 1 tbsp
ref: http://beefjerkyrecipes.com/meat-type/beef-jerky-recipes/orange-beef-jerky/
They weren’t very bloody oranges and I was disappointed by that, but it’s what I had. They seemed to be overripe as they disintegrated in my hands, leaving the pulp in the marinade, which was advised against, but I don’t think it will leave too much mess (as with the Lemongrass recipe) and would equate to chilli seed sprinklings.
I think that a clear sign of the oranges did distinctly seep through into the marinade, but then the overriding flavour was of course the Teriyaki. The molasses, not sticky to the point that the meat need be prized from it’s skewer as with brown sugar, surprised me by bringing all the ingredients together into a thick consistency, I didn’t expect that.
The cut of the meat was a little thicker than I would have liked, but as these steaks weren’t from the butchers, I had little choice. That being said, they can always be torn apart, larger pieces are good for that, so long as it’s with the grain. Except this time the molasses coated the outside jerky by binding deep within the fibres; which not only withheld jerky’s signature tear, but left it as tough as shoe leather!
Although the blood orange never stood much of a chance, the jerky came out quite fruity, every sweet flavour played it’s role. However, beef never conforms well to deliver a fruity punch; the result then left a distant milky/tart like impression, with a hint of fruit compote that only begins to pay off after chewing the thick pieces heavily for a time.
It is now clear to me that sugar cane molasses is best kept for fish (as with the Salmon recipe), however I would like to experiment with other flavours such as tarty pomegranate (a Turkish favourite) which should safely bore deeper into the meat. The beef itself may need tenderising if its thicker like it was this time, of which lemon could definitely find a role.
CONCLUSION
The jerky was too tough and too big, the flavour was mild, but did work, given enough effort. I put it down to the thickness of the meat, in combination with the molasses, which ironically behaved as a shield to the marinade in the end. If the meat were thinner the recipe would have balanced better, yet I’d like to experiment again with a more concentrated orange juice, perhaps I should have reduced it down and made a syrup?
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