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.
how-to-make-beef-jerky-recipe