Cold Frames Revisited

In case you missed them, find our previous posts about cold frames here and here.

Swiss chard growing in January

The straw bale cold frame has performed remarkably well.  With no supplemental heating, it has sustained the cold tolerant Swiss chard and the cold hardy Scotch kale quite well through overnight temperatures down to 5 degrees.  The cold intolerant sweet basil did not make it when temperatures got into the teens.  The thick bales provide a remarkable level of insulation.  The key is to grow cold tolerant crops and when the temperature is above 30-32 degrees, remove or prop open the cover to allow more sunlight in and more importantly, to not overheat the plants inside.  When temperatures are going to be lower than 30-32 degrees, cover them over for protection.  Simple.

Shadow cast by the southern wall of the cold frame

During the short days of winter, the sun sits very low in the southern horizon.  This creates a significant shadow effect from the southern straw bales as seen in the picture above.  The crops inside need as much solar exposure as they can get this time of year if they are going to not only survive, but produce a harvest of greens for you.  So this shadow was a real problem.  I thought and thought about what to do, thinking about translucent materials for the south wall such as a greenhouse panel or glass blocks.  Both of these were too expensive.

Straw bales on the southern side rolled down and away

So, I am standing there looking at the cold frame and had a Eureka! moment.  Why not just roll the two southern bales away on sunny days (as seen above) and replace them when it gets cold.  This allows full sunshine into the cold frame with no additional cost and minimal effort.  It has really worked out well.

Lettuce with freeze damage when covered by a 1 gallon glass jar

Lettuce with freeze damage when covered by a 10 gallon aquarium

The upturned glass aquarium and jars worked within their performance envelope, but didn't have nearly the insulating properties of the straw bale cold frame.  They seemed to protect the lettuce down to 25 degrees or so, but even then any lettuce that physically touched the glass at this temperature was ruined as seen above.

Have you been using a cold frame?  I'd love to hear your experiences and suggestions in the comment section below.

Making Jerky at Home

Common ingredients for jerky and marinating jerky in bags

For us jerky addicts, the expense and preservatives associated with store bought jerky make homemade jerky an economical and healthy choice.  The fact that it is a very simple process is icing on the cake.  

Neccesary items:

Dehydrator - It needs to be able to dehydrate between 145-155 degrees and an adjustable thermostat is nice.  We use the Excalibur 9 tray, but cheaper dehydrators like this, this, and this will work in smaller batches.  With the smaller dehydrators, you will have to lay the meat on the trays instead of hanging it.  

As an alternative, I have heard of people setting their ovens to the lowest setting (180-200 degrees usually), putting the meat on the oven racks, and cracking the door with good success.  I haven't done this, but would suggest putting a cookie sheet or foil below the meat to catch drippings.

Lean, fat free meat - Wild game meat like deer, elk, buffalo etc. has worked best for us, but we've also made good jerky by looking for sales on beef cuts like flank steak (best option) or eye of round.  The key is good, lean meat.  No fat or it will taste gross and turn rancid.  Avoid dehydrating fish or poultry.

Jerky can be made is several forms:

• Whole muscle strips no more than 1/4" thick at its thickest point are our preferred style.  We do make some batches thicker (1/2"), but due to high moisture content after drying they must be kept in the freezer until we are ready to eat them. 
• Whole muscle sheets no more than 1/4" thick at its thickest point.  These must dried on trays, but otherwise are prepared the same as strips.
• Strips made from ground meat with dry ingredients mixed in.  We have no experience with these.

Spices - Let your imagination go wild here.  Soy sauce serves as the base ingredient for most jerkies, but anything can be used.  Try different things that you like.  We like original, peppered, Cajun, and teriyaki, but we've tried crazy things like coconut milk and shredded coconut (it was awful).

Some various spice suggestions (not in any order):

• Soy sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• Teriyaki sauce
• Liquid smoke (a little goes a long way)
• Frozen orange juice concentrate
• Louisiana hot sauce
• Garlic salt
• Onion salt
• Mrs. Dash (original yellow cap or spicy red cap)
• Coarse ground black pepper
• Red pepper flakes
• Cumin
• Honey
• Brown sugar
• Lemon or lime juice

A basic recipe:

• 3 pounds lean meat cut into 1/4" strips
• 1 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 2 cap fulls Mrs. Dash original (red lid if you want it spicier)
• 1 tablespoon garlic salt
• 1 cap full liquid smoke 

1. Put cut up meat into a 1 gallon zip-lock bag.  
2. Combine all other ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.  
3. Pour the marinade in the bag with the meat and squeeze all air out before sealing.
4. Massage the bag with your fingers to ensure that all of the meat surfaces are in contact with the marinade and then put in in the refrigerator for 24 hours.  Massage it 2 or 3 more times during the marination period to ensure even coating.
5. After 24 hours, drain the meat and pat it somewhat dry with paper towels.  At this point, sprinkle with any dry ingredients if you choose (Coarse black pepper, red pepper flakes, etc.) then put it in your dehydrator and turn it to 145-155 degrees Fahrenheit.  We hang ours from metal skewers due to ease of clean up.  Don't let meat pieces touch each other in the dehydrator.  I come in after an hour of drying and run a knife between any pieces that have stuck together.
6. It takes 4-12 hours depending on your dehydrator.  Remove meat when it is as hard as you like.  A good general guideline is when it cracks when bent, but does not snap completely in two.
7. Place the jerky into plastic bags immediately or it will continue to dry out.  Unless you dry your meat to rock hard (which I happen to like), it's a good idea to store it in the freezer until you are ready to eat it to prevent molding.  Adding salt and nitrates to the marinade can make it shelf stable while moist if you want to do that.  We prefer not to add these.

Jerky hanging and ready to be dried

Jerky hanging in the dehydrator with paper towels below

Finished jerky original recipe

Finished jerky with added red pepper flakes