Pineapple Teriyaki Jerky Biscuits (Dehydrated)

[ Equipment: oven or food dehydrator. For more information about the terminology in this recipe, see Low Temperature Baking: A Journey of 3 Paths ].

The inspiration for these chewy, crunchy, savory biscuits is the stir-fry classic: pineapple teriyaki beef. For the teriyaki beef, I mix in finely shredded teriyaki flavor beef jerky. The dried pineapple chunks add notes of sweet and sour. I balance the sweet binder of honey and peanut butter with salty bouillon powder that intensifies the jerky flavor with beef broth seasonings. The biscuits get their lift and crunch from puffed kamut. For vegetarians, non-meat alternatives can stand in for the jerky and bouillon.

For a long time I wondered if I could do a raw recipe with jerky, because exposure to moisture can ruin the dessicated meat. In my research online, I discovered a trail food called pemmican, a mixture of powdered dried meat in melted suet or tallow, made and carried by native Americans on long trips. As it solidified, the fat sealed the meat from moisture and extended freshness for anywhere from months to years.

In these biscuits, the tallow has been replaced with peanut butter loosened with honey, and the beef jerky has been coarsely ground into bits, but not a fine powder. The online search engines enumerated several brands of teriyaki beef jerky; my local market stocked the Oberto teriyaki jerky. I've read in the Amazon.com reviews that Oberto jerky can be a little dry for eating, but that's not a problem for this recipe. Of course, the jerky could be homemade instead of store bought - lots of recipes online. The key ingredients in the Oberto teriyaki are beef, soy sauce and brown sugar. A faux vegetarian jerky could work in these biscuits too.



While jerky can be cut with a knife, it's too fibrous to chop easily with a knife. Instead, I grind it in a spice grinder. The chopped jerky should have the appearance of small shreds of dried meat. Do not grind it into a powder. If the pieces are too large, the texture of the biscuits will go from chewy to tough.

Peanut butter contains oil, not water. Honey has a small amount of water, but the high concentration of sugar acts as a preservative. The peanut butter-honey binder will not encourage bacterial growth in the jerky. However, these biscuits should not be stored in the cupboard for years. Over time, the puffed kamut could sop up moisture in the air and wet the jerky. Keep the biscuits in an airtight container and eat them within a few weeks.

The puffed kamut cereal functions as the solid leavening, aerating the dough and providing structure and crunch. It's almost tasteless in this application and won't compete with the other flavors in the biscuits. For substitutes, I'd try puffed wheat, puffed rice or puffed millet. The kamut grains are huge compared to rice or millet. Puffed kamut grains can measure up to 1 inch long. I lightly crush (or break in half between fingers) the kamut to reduce the grain size to about 3/8 inch before mixing it into the batter. Puffed rice or millet could be mixed in as-is.

I made my own bouillon powder by crushing a beef bouillon cube with a pestle. It can be purchased in powder form too. For a meatless alternative, try a vegetarian version. Make sure to tamp out any lumps, or the flavors won't mix evenly and the biscuits may turn out gritty. The recipe specifies 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of powder, because the seasoning varies by brand (the recipe was tested with Hormel's HerbOx). I recommend making the biscuits with 1/2 teaspoon first to check the balance of sweet-salty and flavorings. Also, more bouillon powder darkens the dough slightly.

Makes 8 biscuits
- 85 calories per biscuit
- Oven Temperature: 120°F/49°C

• 1/4 cup almond meal or almond flour
• 1/4 cup lightly crushed, puffed kamut cereal (see text)
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon beef bouillon powder or vegetable bouillon powder (see text)
• 2-1/2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2-1/2 tablespoons finely chopped, teriyaki-style beef jerky (0.6 oz) or vegetarian jerky (see text)
• 2 tablespoons chopped, dried pineapple

1. In a small dish, thoroughly mix the honey and bouillon powder. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.



2. In a large bowl, mix the almond meal, chopped jerky and chopped dried pineapple.



3. Stir the peanut butter into the honey-bouillon.



4. Add the peanut butter-honey binder to the jerky and thoroughly mix into a paste.



5. Gently fold/press in the puffed kamut.



6. Form the dough into a disk and divide the disk into 4 sections.

Note: Steps 7 and 8 prepare the biscuits for dehdyrating in my Presto Chango dehydrator assembled with a 9-inch heating area. For drying in a commercial food dehydrator, follow the manufacturer's instructions.



8. Turn an 8-inch cake pan upside down and sprinkle with 2 or 3 drops of water. To make a liner for the dehydrator, cut out an 8-inch circle of wax paper with a 1-inch center hole. Place it down on the cake pan and press. The water drops will temporarily glue the wax paper to the pan.

Divide each quarter portion of dough in half and form each half into a 2-inch biscuit (8 biscuits total). Arrange the biscuits on the wax paper liner.



9. Transfer the liner with biscuits to the dehydrator's drying tray and complete assembly of the dehydrator.



10. Dehydrate the biscuits at 120°F/49°C for 12 to 24 hours, turning them over at the halfway mark. That 24 hour range is not an exaggeration. They dry very slowly. When ready, the biscuits will feel firm and dry on all surfaces, keeping their shape when handled.



11. Remove the biscuits from the dehydrator and cool them on a rack at room temperature for an hour or two. As they cool, they will crisp up slightly. Serve or store in an airtight container.