Beef Jerky

I purchased a new preserves book this fall. It is called "Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It, and other cooking projects" the author is Karen Solomon. It is an interesting book with recipes for some basics and other things like, bacon, cheese, marshmallows. There was a recipe for Beef Jerky. I have a recipe that I use regularly but decided it would be fun to do two recipes - our old stand by and this new one and let my kids decide which they prefer. Here is the beef. I found a small beef roast and it was BOGO so I asked the meat department to slice it for jerky. They did this while I shopped. It was awesome. Below is a picture of the how the meat looks before I get it ready for marinating.

New Recipe :
1 lb. lean top sirloin or flank steak
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried chile flakes (optional)
1 tsp black pepper (optional)



Mix all ingredients in a bowl and put both meat and marinate in a large Ziploc bag. Put in fridge and let sit for 24 hours. Occasionally push meat around in Ziploc bag to make sure all meat comes in contact with marinade. Below is a picture of the meat and marinade in Ziploc bag.

My Regular Beef Jerky Recipe

2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

2/3 cup soy sauce

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and place both marinade and meat in Ziploc. Close bag and massage the meat so that all meat comes in contact with the marinade. Place in fridge and occasionally move the meat around to keep meat marinated.

Below is a picture of my new dehydrator. My original machine had no thermostat control or fan. The bottom of the machine had the heater coil so could not be washed. I tried making sun dried tomatoes this summer with it and because it was not hot enough my tomatoes went moldy before they were dried out. So I decided to splurge and get a new machine. It has a fan that circulates the heat better. There are several temperature settings and on the top it shows what temperature to set for what you are drying. The fan and motor are in the lid of the machine so that the racks and base can all be washed. I have done sun dried tomatoes in the new dehydrator and love it. This is the first I made jerky and it was quick. Maybe too quick so I tried the second batch at a lower temperature.

After meat has marinaded for a minimum of 24 hours take out and place on racks of dehydrator. Here is a picture of the meat when it starts out.

When meat has dried out take off rack. Some pieces will dry faster than others depending on size and thickness. You may find that you need to rearrange the meat on less racks as meat dries. When meat is dried I store it all in a Ziploc bag. Be aware - it won't last long once the family members find it - and that is a good thing.