How to Make Beef Jerky Recipe

How to Make Beef Jerky Recipe

How To Make Beef Jerky Ingredients :

• 1 Round Steak
• 1tsp. liquid smoke
• 1 tsp. season salt
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 c. worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 small chopped onion
• 1/4 c. soy sauce

How To Make Beef Jerky Instructions
Cut meat into 1/4 in. wide X 3 in. long strips. In glass bowl mix all ingredients. Add meat, cover and marinade overnight in refrigerator.
Lay meat on drying rack. Dry in oven at 150 degrees for 8 hrs or overnight. Can be dried in microwave on roasting rack for 30 minutes on 2 power.
TIP - No drying racks? Place aluminum foil in bottom of oven. Put toothpicks through meat strips and hang through oven racks.
The beef jerky is ready .....
cooking-beef-jerky

Cooking Beef Jerky

Cooking Beef Jerky
Your beef jerky must be cooked. You can do this in the oven, dehydrator, grill or smoker. The cooking/curing process is done slowly at low heat. Over cooking and over smoking will give an off taste and make your beef jerky tuff and hard to chew.
Oven:
Remove all cooking racks from the oven. Place a large cookie sheet in the bottom of the oven and pre heat oven to 200 degrees. Use tooth picks to provide supports for hanging the beef jerky on an oven rack. Place rack in the oven and cook for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Sample the beef jerky for extent of doneness after 1 hour.
Dehydrator:
Follow instructions for preparing meat supplied with the dehydrator.
Smoker and Grill:
Cook at 200 degrees for 1 hour with indirect heat. If your grill cannot be held at this low temperature, cook for smoke flavor for about 20 minutes and then finish in the oven.
Remove the beef jerky from the oven and immediately pat it dry with paper towels. Place the hot jerky into zip lock bags or a glass jar and allow to cool. This will enhance the flavor. Store finished beef Jerky for up to one week in the refrigerator. Freezing finished beef jerky will make it dry and tough.
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The Beef Jerky Making Process

The Beef Jerky Making Process
Jerky Beef needs to be cut with the grain. If you slice the meat across the grain as you would when carving a roast, your jerky will crumble and fall apart when cooked. Beef and deer jerky strips should be about 1/4 inch thick and 1 inch wide. Jerky made from poultry needs to be 3/8 inch thick.
Most meat carving knives have a flat sided handle which is 1/4 inch thick on each side of the blade. The handle can act as a guide for cutting the perfect thickness. Lay the meat out flat on the cutting board with the grain running up and down. Lay your knife flat on the cutting board at the bottom of the meat with the edge facing away from you.

Lightly hold the meat in place with one hand and slice the meat while keeping the knife handle flat on the cutting board. Take your time and cut slowly with even strokes. Never cut with your hand in front of the knife. If holding the meat while you cut it seams a little scary, use a coffee cup on top of the meat. Cut all the way through.

Separate the two pieces of meat and repeat the cutting process with the top section if necessary. If the top piece is less than 1/8 inch to thick, do not cut again. If the meat is to thin, it will not cure and cook evenly. Lay the meat out on the board again with the grain running top to bottom. Cut each piece in half and then in half again until you have strips about 1 inch wide. If the strips are very long you should cut them in half across the grain of the meat. The strips need to be short enough so that they will leave a space at least 4 to 5 inches from the bottom of your oven when they are hung for cooking. Try to keep the pieces uniform in size so they cook evenly.
Weigh the meat to determine how much seasoning and cure mix is needed. This is critical. Using to much seasoning and cure mix will rune your jerky. Use no more than the amount recommend on the seasoning package. If you do not have a kitchen scale, member to have the butcher write the weight of the meat on the package when you buy it. If you have any doubt, using a little less is best.
Use a fork to fluff up the seasoning and cure mix. Measure out the correct amount of seasoning and cure mix by filling the measuring spoon and leveling it off with a straight edge. If your recipe calls for additional spices place the mix in to a bowl or small measuring cup and then add the other spices. Any spice combination you wish to try will work. Place the seasoned meat in a large zip lock bag and store in the refrigerator over night. The meat will begin to cure and turn very dark red. The beef jerky is ready !
How-to-make-beef-jerky.-cooking-beef-jerky.

Selecting Meat for Beef Jerky

Selecting Meat for Beef Jerky
How to make beef jerky..
Jerky can be made from lean beef, chicken or turkey breast, and wild game. Quality meat means quality jerky but you don't have to pay a high price. Watch the sales at your local supermarket and take advantage of them. One local store here regularly runs a buy one get one free promotion on rump roast or flank steak. That's half price and there is no reason not to freeze the beef for making jerky at a later date. By the way, if your freezer is like ours, you'll probably find a piece of beef or chicken in there that's lost it's eye appeal but is still fine to eat. It will make great jerky! Lean ground beef like ground round will make good jerky and, using our Jerky Gun, it can be a lot of fun for kids!
How to make beef jerky..

How to Make Beef Jerky 1

How to Make Beef Jerky 1

Step 1

Trim all the fat from the meat. Discard fat, and place trimmed meat in the freezer. Fat will cause the jerky to go rancid, so you want very lean meat.

Step 2

Remove the meat from the freezer when it is semi-frozen. Slice the meat into even width strips. Cut between 3/8 to 1/4 inch in width. The jerky will dry quicker with thinner pieces. Whatever width you decide, try to cut all the same width. Semi-freezing will make the meat easier to cut. For chewy jerky, cut with the grain, for tender jerky, cut against the grain.

Step 3

Marinade the strips in the marinade of your choice for one hour. Then drain in a colander.

Step 4

Lay the strips on the dehydrator trays. Do not overlap the pieces. Dry at 145 degrees for 8 to 10 hours.
The beef jerky is ready....
how-to-make-beef-jerky

HOW TO MAKE BEEF JERKY

HOW TO MAKE BEEF JERKY

1. Choose your cut of meat. Choosing a lean cut of meat is always best. It may cost a bit more at the meat counter, but will save you a lot of work in the long run. Inside/ outside or eye of round are best because they don`t have a lot of fat.
2. Slice your meat. Cut your meat into slices aprox. 1/8″ thick, cutting against the grain of the meat. To make slicing easier, you can put it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes beforehand. Be sure to trim off as much excess fat as you can while you are slicing, because fat can go rancid after drying.
3. Marinate your meat. Place your slices of beef into an airtight container and coat with anything you like. I prefer something simple. I use a mixture of cayenne pepper sauce, teriyaki, salt and liquid smoke. (a shot of Jack Daniels doesn`t hurt either) Let stand in fridge over-night. Just remember that the more liquid you use in your preparation, the longer it will take to dry.
4. Dehydrate the meat. If you are using an oven : preheat oven to the lowest possible setting. Place meat on wire racks (the kind used for cooling cookies & cakes are perfect) on top of foil lined cookie sheets and put in oven. Keep the oven door open just a crack while drying to let out any extra moisture. After 6-7 hours check the meat frequently. When it is done it should break fairly easily, but not snap. If you are using a dehydrator: lay strips of meat evenly on racks. Be sure the strips aren`t touching, as this will prevent even drying. Rotate trays periodically to ensure an even consistency (the bottom racks dry much more quickly) You can also spray the racks with any brand of non-stick cooking spray, so cleaning the trays is easier.
5. Bag it. The best way to store your Beef Jerky is to refrigerate it in Zip-Lock bags. Make sure to keep it refrigerated or even frozen until you plan to eat it.

Beef Jerky Tip : To make one pound of beef jerky you will usually need 2.5-3lbs of beef , depending on the cut.

Experiment with your ingredients. Try : crushed chillies, soy sauce, cider vinegar, cracked black pepper, brown sugar, honey, grated ginger, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder….the list is endless. Experiment and enjoy.
cooking-beef-jerky