We live in a truly blessed country with all of the most modern conveniences on demand at our very fingertips. Our ancestors would have killed to have hot water on tap, air conditioning in the summertime and refrigeration to preserve their food.

The old ways, it seems, are being forgotten in lieu of these modern conveniences. But have you asked yourself, what would you do if had to do without electricity?

In Africa, for example, there are many people who live in straw huts, draw their water from crocodile-infested waters and hunt game with little more than sharpened sticks.

When a big game animal is killed, the heat and insects can quickly cause the meat to spoil. As much of the kill as can be immediately consumed is butchered and cooked fresh. The rest is cut into thin strips and rubbed with vinegar, salt and various other spices, and then hung outside to dry.

Once the meat is dried, it is called biltong. This delicious method of meat preservation has been around for several hundred years and is a cooperative creation of native Africans and Dutch settlers.

Our North American Native tribes would sun-dry the meats of both fish and fauna. These would then be smashed into small bits and combined with tallow, wild fruit or berries as well as nuts or seeds and then molded into a bar of sorts. Pemmican, as it is known, has been around even longer than biltong and is also quite delicious.

Machaca, native to Central and South America, is quite similar in preparation in that it is thin strips of salted meat sun-dried and smashed into small chunks. Frequently it is kept in this stage until it can be rehydrated in a skillet and heated up with pepper and chilis to be served with eggs or with beans in a tortilla.

Not entirely dissimilar, jerky is another tasty way to preserve protein. Jerked red meat involves cutting meat into strips, brining and smoking. Salt here is the chief ingredient, but garlic, sugar and pepper as well as other flavor-imbuing substances are also frequently incorporated into the brine.

Equally important to flavor as the brining ingredients is the selection of the smoke wood. Frequently apple, cherry or peach wood is chosen; also popular are hickory and mesquite. Locally, we have found alder wood to be ubiquitous and provide the best flavor in our jerky-making.

Whatever wood you select, it must be green to provide the proper amount of smoke.

In a smokehouse that I built as a wood shop project in the seventh grade, we continue to make our own family recipe of jerky at least every other year. This tradition provides yet another way to enjoy the meat of our big game harvests throughout the year.

It is comforting to me to know how to preserve protein in a way that is not dependent upon electricity. The same can be said for canned meat, smoked sausages, machaca, pemmican and biltong.

One very important thing to remember is that while it is permissible to smoke in the outhouse, do not out in the smokehouse. That might make your jerky taste like Limburger cheese! All joking aside, Happy New Year!

Do you make your own jerky? Write to us at shootingthebreezebme@gmail.com today!