Hard tack question

[mvoigt]

There was an old timer when i was a kid who would give us a very dry ring bologna that he called "hard tack" i have been researching this and all i can find is a hard bread the civil war soldiers had for rations. What could this meat version be he spoke of? it was really good.  would have to leave it in your mouth for a long time before you could chew it. 

 

[chilerelleno]

That ol' soldier was confusing one item in an Iron Ration pack for entirely another.
There was a hard, hardly edible, so called biscuit referred to as Hardtack in use from only God knows when through WWI.
But in a WWI Iron Rations pack was a bar made from beef boullion and parched, cooked wheat, this is what he was thinking of and perhaps even giving you.
It could have been around since the Civil War.
An Iron Ration pack was packed in a tin, consisted of three 3oz Beef bars, three 1oz bars of sweetened chocolate and packets of salt/pepper, it weighed in at about a pound.
It was an Emergency ration, only eaten when nothing else could be brought to the Front lines.

 

[themoparmanjc]

A friend of mine and his dad make this every year. They also call it hard tack. It is very good. Here's the recipe:

20lbs ground venison or lean beef
1 cup pickling salt
1/2 cup liquid smoke
Some black pepper if you like

Be sure to thoroughly mix everything.
Stuff into casings (they use hog casings) and make rings. Hang in dry place for about 3 weeks.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Old thread, but it was probably similar to hunters dried venison sausage, or venison Landjaeger both can be made in a ring and both can be dried to a very hard sausage. You can use very lean beef for these too. These would have been popular in communities where there was a German influence. We used to have a meat market here that the butcher/owner who was of German decent made what he called hardtack and it was along the lines of the mentioned sausages. And as you say very dry and placing it in the mouth to reconstitute was needed to chew.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Another similar sausage product would be droe wors. If really dry they can be hard as rocks too.