Recipe: Burger Jerky

If you're concerned about the safety of using bits of meat picked up off the packing room floor without proper cooking temps--and you should be--I'd suggest buying a safer cut of meat and grinding it yourself if you really want the consistency of a ground beef jerky.

Dear Chuck,

My opinion. I have read a lot about drying meat by smoking it and have a friends whose father makes beef jerky(though not ground beef). I believe the improtant thing here is that you dry the meat well and remove moisture. To mantain shelf life it may be nessecery to re-dry occassionally and this is reccomended. Wether the difference in consitancy of the beef is an issue, I know not. I wish I knew the answer too.

I'm conflicted about the safety of making jerky using ground beef. There seems to be a fair amount of research done at universities that says it isn't safe. Can anyone shed some more light on this? I'd like to use ground beef, if I can do it safely.

from http://www.ehow.com/how_2083_make-solar-oven.html
Step 1

Find two boxes. One should fit inside the other with a 2- to 3-inch space on each side. (This can vary slightly - the space will be filled with newspaper.)

Step 2

Line the bottom of the large box with crumpled newspaper.

Step 3

Place the smaller box inside the large box.

Step 4

Fill the space between the sides of the two boxes with crumpled newspaper.

Step 5

Line the sides of the inside of the smaller box with aluminum foil. You can use a non-toxic tape or fold the edges of foil over the top of the box to hold it in place.

Step 6

Line the bottom of the inside of the smaller box with black construction paper to absorb heat.

Step 7

Lay a piece of cardboard on top of the large box and trace the shape of the box onto the cardboard.

Step 8

Add 2 inches around the trace line and cut out to make a reflector.

Step 9

Cover the cardboard piece with aluminum foil. Smooth out any wrinkles and secure the aluminum foil to the cardboard with non-toxic glue or tape.

Step 10

Staple the reflector to the outside back of the large box.

Step 11

Situate the oven with the box opening up and the reflector facing the sun for maximum heat.

Step 12

Place food to be cooked in the solar oven. (See "How to Use a Solar Oven," under Related eHows.)

Step 13

Stretch clear plastic wrap across the top of the large box. Secure the plastic with tape around the entire box.

Is there a way to dry this jerky in a home-made solar oven, and how would you make that oven?