Tasty Tuesday- Homemade Chicken Jerky

It's been ruff trying to post today. The camera card reader wasn't working then on a final attempt to get it to try to read, ma broke the card. Off to the store we went to get another card for our camera. Thank dog, she used the micro card and was able to retrieve my photos. 

I love chickyum, I mean chicken. I love chickyum jerky. I am addicted to it. I don't like much of the jerky on the market but I do love Nudges chicken jerky but ma doesn't always buy it for me. 
So what is a poodale to do? She makes it herself! Not entirely by myself but with the help of ma. I am not allowed to use knives so I allowed her to do that part. 


We use a dehydrator to make our jerky. You can also use the oven but I really think the dehydrator really makes it taste better. 

Let me introduce you to my help. That is Jenny Sue AKA Sissy Spaniel. She is blind but that doesn't stop her from being a great tester, catches everything that hits the floor and calms me when I am working myself up in a tizzy thinking about chickyum. The little guy in the back is Scooby Doo, he is the supervisor who just watches over everything but seriously he is just there to eat it. 

After you cut your chickyum into slices (we use breast and sometimes thighs) place it in the dehydrator evenly spaced on each tray. Put it on high and put a lid on it. Then you have to wait for about 10-12 hrs before you turn it over. 

The house smells pretty good and it can make us furkids dance but after the first 10-12 hours then you can turn the chickyum over and we have to wait another 10-12 hrs. They say good things come to those who wait and wait and wait. *Plays Jeopardy tune*

After you have allowed the chickyum to dehydrate for the amount of time, you get a delicious jerky. We prefer ours a little chewy. Ma says that way we taste it and don't gobble it down. The chickyum is totally cooked but not to the point it breaks when you touch it. You can cook a little longer for the break apart type. Great thing about dehydrators is you can do 2 trays crispy and 2 trays chewy. 

Looks delicious doesn't it? 

After you take it off the tray and sample a few pieces , you can place it in bags. Make sure you cook all the fat off it. The fat will cause it to go rancid unless you keep it in the fridge. Ours doesn't last long enough to go rancid. 

So there you have it! Homemade chicken jerky. 

If you want to do it in the oven , heat the oven to 180-200. Lightly grease (or use baking spray) to coat a baking sheet. Place chicken on sheet, make sure to space the pieces so the air circulates. Bake for around 2 hrs, turn chicken over. Check each piece to make sure its not getting done faster than others. Bake another hr and check. Its best to check jerky every hour. Jerky will be bendable when finished. Allow to cool and place it in bags when done. 

Hopefully next week I won't have so many electronic problems and I can share some more Chef Carma's Chickyum Creations.