Preparing Homemade Jerky | Live Free or Die

So all these willows are gonna be really nice just to make like a little bit of a jerky rack. You don't want too much bulk there 'cause the jerky needs to dry fast. It's nearly 60 degrees in southern Utah. At those temperatures, meat will spoil in as little as two hours. If Matt fails to get a supply preserved quickly, he'll lose vital rations before he knows for sure the land still has all the resources he needs to survive.

You know, I like to suspend my jerky racks up in the tree, away from other animals that might be interested in eating it. There are mountain lions that come through here a lot of times, and there are raccoons as well. So I'm gonna try to stabilize it a little bit more.

These young shoots are still very moist and flexible, so I can use those as a binding if I don't pull too tight. So far, I mean, it looks good. It feels really good to be back, but I still have a lot to do to settle back into camp. I didn't bring all the resources I need for this moment 'cause I just got back here, so I'm just making do with what I can.

This salt I'm gonna use for basically coating the meat. It's gonna help the jerky taste a little bit better and act as the preservative. Now the jerky rack's built. The main thing at this point is just to hoist it up away from animals, off the ground, safe.

This meat I brought with me will get me going for a little while. Hopefully, I can start finding other food.