Solid Muscle and Ground & Formed Jerky
Hi-Country Jerky Seasonings are custom formulated for making some of the tastiest whole muscle and
ground & formed jerky out of wild game and/or domestic meats. Functionality has been highly
considered when formulating these recipes to help increase the moisture holding capacity of the
meat. This is accomplished with the addition of humectants to improve palatability, as well as
unrefrigerated shelf life (when combined with appropriate cook and dry procedures). Our flavor
profiles are defining the most popular flavor trends of the day.
For those who are MSG sensitive, several of the jerky seasonings have been formulated without
any added MSG. And for those who have an aversion to sodium nitrite, a separate cure packet
comes with each kit which can be omitted without altering the finished jerky.
Unique to Hi-Country spice kits are the full color step-by-step instructions for making both solid muscle
and the popular ground & formed jerky. These instructions utilize USDA food safe cook and dry procedures
as they apply to home smokers, ovens, and dehydrators. How-to videos are also available online!
Three flavors of Powdered Smoke are also readily available to provide a smoky flavor for customers who make jerky solely in their home oven or
dehydrator.
Wild Game
Flavor Profiles
#4048 - Original
#4075 - Original with No Added MSG
A combination of:
Sugar, Salt, Spices, and Garlic.
#4049 - Teriyaki
#4076 - Teriyaki with No Added MSG
A combination of:
Sugar, Soy Sauce Powder, Salt,
Spice, and Natural Flavors.
#4052
A combination of:
Sugar, Salt, Tomato Powder, Molasses,
Natural Flavors, Spices, Paprika, Jalapeno Pepper, and
Natural Smoke Flavor.
#4053
A combination of:
Sugar, Salt, Spice, Garlic, and Natural Smoke Flavor.
#4054
A combination of:
Sugar, Salt, Spice, Red Bell Pepper, and Garlic.
#4055
No Added MSG
A combination of:
Salt, Garlic, Sugar, Spices, Brown Sugar, and Onion.
Game Bird
Flavor Profiles
#4080
A combination of:
Sugar, Salt, Spice, Soy Sauce Powder, Red Bell Pepper,
Onion, Garlic, and Natural Flavor.
#4081
A combination of:
Sugar, Salt, Spice, Garlic, Orange Peel, Lemon Peel,
and Natural Smoke Flavor.
#4057
No Added MSG
A combination of:
Sugar, Salt, Black Pepper, Garlic, Jalapeno Pepper,
and White Pepper.
#4058
No Added MSG
A combination of:
Sugar, Salt, Brown Sugar, Soy Sauce Powder, Molasses,
Spice, Garlic, Onion, and Natural Flavor.
Solid Muscle and Ground & Formed Jerky
Product and Processing FAQ’s: Hi-Country Jerky Blends
• Hi-Country Jerky kits contain an honest amount of seasonings and ingredients to produce the flavor and texture of commercial
grade jerky, everytime!
• Whole Muscle Jerky: Made from meat sliced from large muscle (rounds) from wild game, or breast sections from poultry or game
birds. Thick silver skin and connective tissue should be removed.
• Ground and Formed Jerky: Made from random smaller pieces of meat trim after merchandising steaks and roasts from game, or
breast meats from fowl. Some connective tissue is acceptable since all meat will be ground through grinding plates.
• Jerky is traditionally considered as a non-refrigerated meat snack.
• The wild game jerky seasoning blend contains three key ingredients: Spices, Sugars, and Salt.
• Fresh whole spices are used (where natural oils and flavors have been left intact) to intensify and develop flavor profile.
• Humectants (Sugars of various types) are added to bind available free water from meat to produce a moist and pliable
jerky product when properly dried.
• Salt is added for flavor and to increase shelf stability by inhibiting potential bacteria growth in this non-refrigerated product.
• An 18 gram Cure Packet (6.25% sodium nitrite, salt) is included in all kits where meat is normally pre-cooked and smoked.
• Cure is widely used in the commercial manufacturing of jerky snacks and is considered a food safe substance.
• Sodium Nitrite inhibits the growth of Botulinum and other pathogens that produce dangerous toxins.
• Cure salt also reacts with the color pigment myoglobin in meat to affix a slightly pink color in the light meat of poultry, and
a reddish/pink in darker muscle meats of game birds or poultry.
• Cure can be omitted since the seasoning blend contains all the required amounts of the key ingredients to make excellent
jerky. Some people signal a preference for uncured products, others may have allergies.
• Competitive jerky kits usually contain a Sugar Cure which includes some if not all of the salt and sugar along with
the sodium nitrite cure. If omitted flavor and functionality is compromised in the finished product.
• Whole Muscle Seasoning Process: Mix seasoning and cure together and distribute by hand; mixing with meat until all pieces are
covered. Seasoned meat should be refrigerated overnight to allow nitrite and salt to penetrate into the solid muscle for adequate
curing to inhibit bacterial growth.
• Ground and Formed Seasoning Process: Grind meat through a coarse, or 3/16”, sausage plate and mix seasoning and cure together.
Then hand mix until mixture sticks to your hand. Mixture can be reground or immediately formed into jerky strips. Overnight
curing is not required for ground meat.
• Hi-Country Jerky blends make a great base to add ingredients to!
• Example; honey and brown sugar can be added to a Spicy Jerky blend to make a Sweet and Spicy Jerky; Crushed chili
peppers can be added to blends like Teriyaki to make a Spicy Teriyaki jerky.
• Thermal processing procedure for making jerky:
• The following thermal cook-dry process is in compliance with the most current food safe process recommended by the
USDA for home processed jerky.
• This process is known to destroy harmful pathogens such as E Coli or Salmonella before they become heat
resistant, as can be the case with low temperature drying over a long period of time (a home dehydrator would be
an example of this).
• Method is a cook-dry process. Seasoned meat is fast cooked by steam or high temp oven roast to an internal temperature of
160º F within the first 20 minutes of the process. After this internal temperature is reached, the drying process can be
achieved at much lower temperatures of 140º F to 160º F.
• The internal temperature is monitored by folding meat over a oven proof temperature probe during initial cook
process.
• Smoke is applied right after the high temp cook cycle as moisture is evaporating on the surface of the meat.
Smoke adheres best to a moist and tacky surface.
• Dehydrators and home ovens can make excellent homemade jerky.
• Seasoned meat is fast roasted at 325º F to an internal temperature of 160º F on cookie trays in oven and either
reducing oven heat for drying or transferring meat to a dehydrator for drying to the texture and moisture levels
desired for homemade jerky.
• To achieve traditional smoky flavored jerky, powdered smoke in cherry wood, apple, hickory, and mesquite are
also available from Hi-Country to mix with the meat and seasonings.
• Instruction booklets illustrates when jerky is dried to the proper doneness with example pictures.
• Jerky is finished drying when meat fibers and connective tissues are semi dry and white in color upon twisting or
splitting open jerky. Ground and formed jerky will be somewhat elastic, even when properly dried, so it is
important not to over dry since this jerky can become brittle and burnt after cooling.
• After drying, allow the moisture to migrate between thick and thin pieces by sealing all the jerky in one or two sealed bags
overnight. This creates a much more pliable jerky.
• Jerky can be stored in a sealed container in a cool dry place, or refrigerated and frozen for long term storage.
Hi-Country Snack Foods, Inc. • Wild Game Seasoning Division • PO Box 159 • Lincoln, MT 59639 USA• 1-800-433-3916 • (406) 362-4203 • www.hicountry.com