Ani and her jerky stick
Yesterday while buying groceries, I just couldn’t get myself to purchase the natural beef jerky. It was almost $8 for 6oz. So I purchased a 2lb hormone-free beef roast for $8 instead, with the hopes of making my own jerky when I got home.
While looking for recipes online, I noticed that most folks use steak to make jerky. But all types can be used as long as you trim off all noticeable fat. I used this recipe with photos for a guide.
- Slice the meat thinly (1/4 inch). I didn’t pay much attention to cutting with or against the grain. I just cut it all different ways, as you can see in the photo.
- Soak the meat in a marinade overnight. I used 1/2 cup natural soy sauce, 2 T. kosher Worcestershire sauce, 2 T. sea salt and 2 T. brown sugar (but maple syrup or honey would be better).
- The next day, place several pieces of meat per wood skewer. Put one oven rack on the highest level and another at the lowest level. Place aluminum foil on the bottom rack to catch drips. Use the top rack to hold your skewers and allow you meat to hang.
- Bake on your lowest setting in your oven for 2-6 hours. Check meat for desired consistency. It should be dark brown or burgundy in color.
- Store in a plastic bag in freezer or refrigerator and eat within two weeks of making. It tasted soo delicious, I doubt it will even last a week!
Enjoy! I’m going to try making salmon jerky next and then goat jerky.
yum! you are so clever Betz. I’ll definately give this one a go!
My dh LOVES beef jerky but I refuse to buy it from the store. It’s too expensive and full of unhealthy stuff. So, when my dh thinks about it, he makes his own in our dehydrator. His marinade consists of just about everything in my spice/seasoning cabinet!
I love this idea! I was thinking that it would be great for food storage as well, but then I noticed that you said to eat it within two weeks of making. Hmm…do you know how to increase it’s storage life? Or is it because of preservatives that store-bought jerky lasts longer?
HI Mary!
The dryer the jerky the longer it lasts. If you had access to a vacuum sealer (foodsaver) that would increase the storage life. If it is dry jerky, you could easily store it for at least a year stored at a cool temp (basement, root celler). I like mine to be less dry and easier to chew so I don’t dry mine long and then I refrigerate it and it never lasts long here. My hubby eats it soo fast. I’m sure in the fridge/freezer it would last very long.
Sweet writing would love to read more from you