Homemade Beef Jerky

I make my jerky in a horizontal offset stick burner smoker running it as low as possible usually around 140F using flank steak cut 1/4" across the grain and I dry rub it with Cavender's Greek Seasoning:
https://greekseasoning.com/

I have tried all cuts of meat flank steak is the best for jerky IMHO and I never use a wet marinade.

Cavender's Greek is amazing for every meat and any purpose, even salad dressing base you can get it anywhere.

Note: this jerky recipe is not intended to make a long term shelf stable jerky and must be frozen or refrigerated after making since it does not have sodium nitrate or sodium nitrite

 

I skipped the cheap round dehydrators and went with the big 9 tray Excalibur model. Here are the 2 recipes for beef jerky I've made so far. Both used top sirloin strips cut by the butcher down to 1/8" thick, and with the visible fat all hand trimmed:

1. Teriyaki soy: 3.5lbs sirloin. Marinated for 8 hours in a large freezer Ziploc bag in soy sauce, Yoshida's sauce, ground black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder. Dehydrate on 155 degrees F for 8 hours, or until the jerky cracks when bent but doesn't break entirely. Yielded just under 2 lbs of finished jerky.
2. Spicy pepper: 3.5lbs sirloin. Marinated for 8 hours in a large freezer Ziploc bag in soy sauce, Worchestire sauce, ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, red chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder. Dehydrate on 155 degrees F for 8 hours, or until the jerky cracks when bent but doesn't break entirely. Yielded just under 2 lbs of finished jerky.

Super simple. Marinade it the day before for at least 8 hours (24 hours is overkill) in the fridge, turning the bag over and kneading the marinade around the meat so it's evenly coated. When drying, make sure to turn the pieces over every 2 hours and dab them with a clean paper towel to remove the fat droplets. Fat excess will increase spoilage time on jerky, so always use lean cuts of beef.

Save in vacuum sealed foodsaver bags with an oxy absorber packet. Lasts for months.

Best goddamn beef jerky I've ever eaten. The spicy came out amazing. I didn't measure my ingredients, but I ended up with way too much marinade to throw away so I could have used less of everything.

 

This will be updated Friday and Sun or Monday. Here is my prep with pics. It's a start of 5.1 lbs of select top round roasts, after trimming by the butcher came out to 4lb 12 oz.

My mix: Rich's Mad Hunky Meats jerky mix. Good blend of spice. It has cure, he makes his own cure mix, it's good n cheap. Cure prevents the meat from growing nasties, used for a loooong time. So you can dry it using low temps and not kill anyone. That's how it was done in the old times, you didn't cook the meat. This is how the jerky gets the wonderful red deep color we all equate with quality.



I add 1C dry red wine, 1 TBS brown sugar, and 1 tsp of Smitty's Spice, Rich sells it. It made by a local guy he knows, it's HOT but not killer. It's seasonal, once he's out, he's out. Cure is great, it's like the old salt days where they preserved meat. Too much salt is bad for your health. It has less salt. It's used in sausage/bacon/snack sticks/hotdogs etc etc. Prauge Powder #1 is the really pure stuff, you would use just a few grams per lb of meat for jerky. LOL, a 1lb bag making 5 lb of jerky a week would last wayyyyy over a year and it's cheap on ebay. Read up on cure, something all smokers of meat should know.

I have used many home made and bought jerky mixes. I have used this one before. It's pretty good and was on sale.

I mix the meat like this, then into a bag for 24 hours at least and mix in the bag a few times. If it sits 3 days no worries, all the liquid and spice is soaked up in 24hs. I mix the spice and let it sit for an hour, and taste the wine I used, pretty good dry red this time. I then layer the meat into a big bowl and pour a bit of the spice on each two layers. Since it has cure, you need to get it all over the meat very well. Yea I'm probably overdoing it, but I have the time, I'm off work today!



Lookies at the pretty meat slices. I use select top round roasts and have a butcher at Nellis AFB Commissary cut them. Shout-out To Rob (my main contact butcher) and Mary Ann and one other (forget her name, she's tall and nice) for always doing me right. Rob cut them at #25 this time with the grain, I think I'll go a bit thicker next time, I never remember the slicer #. I try against/with the grain to see what I like best.

Into a bag after mixing and separating/mixing the slices, look at the 1 gallon milk cut up in the bag. Drop the meat in the plastic, keep the seal clean. Very important for a vac sealer when you do 70 lbs of pork butt and need to vac seal.

Into the fridge for a few days, will get mixed. I put it on a cookie sheet to keep my wife unit of 31 years happy, no mess in case it leaks.
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cool so when can we expect a sample??

 

Prolly never. The shit is so expensive to make. Yea it's under the fucked up costs you pay at the store with no labor. I still need to load up the smoker like this


and smoke 4 hrs then onto the round home dryer to dry and pull each piece off the dryer when done, and then in a bag sealed overnight in the fridge to equalize the moisture. It's good for sure. So. Maybe 17 bazillion a lb? Cuz I already ate it after my butchers, my friends, my relatives get some.

If you was in Vegas, you'd get pulled pork sammiches, Atomic Buffalo Turds, home made pickles and onions. You just need to bring the beer and and a Tacoma. And then you will taste my's Jerky. LOL.

 

There should be a thread for trading I know how it goes when you mention jerky, apple butter, home made pickles...everyone wants a sample and everyone expects you to give it all to them...

 

Hehe, on one forum I'm on we have an xmas exchange. Good stuff. Local rubs and spices, hand made stuff, good flavors!

 

Jerky going in the smoker 8 AM.

 

That is a great idea using paper clips like that!

 

Pulled off the smoker at 2PM. Had smoke for 3 hours. Kept the temps at 100-110f for the rest of the time. Put in the old round dehydrator (it runs at 105f) till 6PM, put in in a bowl in the fridge. The fridge is a very dry place so it helps equalize the moisture. This AM it went into a huge plastic bag to sit on the counter and equalize more. Then I'll vac pack some of it up. I started with 4 lb 12 oz, ended up with 2 lbs. Bit less than 50% this time.

Paper clips really increase the amount you can smoke, increases drying time due to the bends etc and the stuff don't lay flat when dried. It works for me though.

 

I marinate mine 2 to 3 days. So I guess I am really "killing" it..

 

Nothing wrong with that, I just wanted to state that to get good jerky from a dehydrator, overnight is enough time to marinade thin strips. I got fantastic taste out of mine in just 8 hours.

 

Yep, as long as the marinade is through the meat, it's ready. I do overnight, some times at 9 PM and on the smoker at 8 AM. And done two days.

AND, you DO do not need heat if you learn about cure. No heat jerky is real jerky and I have made both. No more than 110f is needed. Prauge Powder #1 or mixes with cure work great.

Mad Hunky with red wine as the liquid and a TBS of really hot spice. Perfect. Not too salty, great balance.

 

No heat needed for "real" jerky, but the dehydrator gets it done in 8-9 hours depending on ambient humidity. I just store it in foodsaver vacuum bags with oxy absorbers for longer shelf life. I love dehydrator jerky.

 

marinating london broil. I'll put it on sunday and enjoy...