I have been making a simple unsalted jerky out of beef and lamb heart for a long time. Recently, I tried also making jerky with lamb roasts and beef brisket. And they are amazing! For the brisket, it was actually so nice and fatty that I had to trim some of the fat for the dehydrator, otherwise it just collects in the drainage rack and is hard to clean up. So wonderfully delicious! And so easy! I just thaw them enough to slice thinly, and then place them in the food dehydrator overnight. I store the pieces in the freezer for extra crispiness!
I just visited one of my favorite beef ranchers this weekend and picked up some chuck roast with which I will also try making jerky. I think it will be perfect as I shouldn't have any extra fat to trim!
Another amazingly easy and wonderful cooking technique is the slow cooker. I throw shanks, oxtail, tongue, ribs, kidneys, testes, and sweetbreads (pancreas and thymus) all whole right into an empty slow cooker, and let it cook 12 hours. Then voila! Perfect every time. Who knew! I always thought cooking testes and sweetbreads both required parboiling and removal of membrane, and that's how I've cooked them for years. But not true at all! If you throw them whole into the slow cooker, especially if you can keep them a little elevated out of the juices, then the outsides get all nice and crispy and brown and succulent and they cook perfectly. I can't even tell you how good they are! And no waste!
In other news, I am trying to help a friend with a very sick, emaciated dog. I have been helping prepare an all meat diet for the dog, including ground beef, chicken livers, and some lamb scraps, and my cooking juices for her as a supplement. She seems to be doing a lot better after a week or so on zero carb! In fact yesterday she was running around like a puppy! That was really nice to see. So let's hope maybe we can turn her around with a meat diet. She seems a lot happier!
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