Homemade beef jerky

[Quiksilver]

I've been wondering what to eat between meals(3hrs apart) besides peanut butter. I've always liked beef jerky, but the price in the store turned me off it, waaay too much money for a 10 second snack. If it turns out okay, this will be an awesome snack.

3 pounds top round London Broil, trimmed of fat
3 tablespoons salt (1tbsp per lb)
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder

Cut meat into strips a little less than 1/4-inch thick(or get butcher to do so). Place strips in a shallow bowl. Combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder in a small bowl. Rub spice mixture into strips. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and marinate for 48 hours in the refrigerator. Remove a rack from the oven. Preheat the oven to 115 degrees. Remove the strips from the marinade and lay them directly on the oven rack so that air can circulate around them. Line the bottom of the oven with aluminum foil to catch the drippings. Place the rack in the oven, leaving it partially open to maintain a constant temperature of 110 to 115 degrees. Leave the jerky in the oven until well dried, 6 to 8 hours.

Note: The USDA recommends cooking the beef jerky at 160 degrees for the first 4 hours and then reducing the temperature to 130 degrees during the dehydrating process.

I'm gonna start this tomorrow, I'll let you know how it turns out. If anyone else has done this, I'd love to hear how it is.

 

[Quagmire911]

I agree the prices are far too expensive,

I will watch this with salivating anticipation...

Quagmire

Ps.-Hmmm, maybe adding another spice would work better. Those are good, can't really communicate what I mean though as I know f*** all about these things. Those ones wouldn't seem to give a conventional flavour, may be wrong though. Check the packet next time I see one .

 

[JohnnyIrish]

I'm a fan of beef jerkey too.. I buy the jack links every once in awhile (yep, its damn pricey).

I bet the home made version will taste 100 times better too.
I'm also curious as to how this turns out.

 

[Throttle]

haven't tried it, but another benefit (besides price) is that your version will be nitrate, nitrite & MSG free.

 

[spesmilitis]

Mmmmm

 

[Master Bates]

This sounds good. How much does top round London Broil cost? I have everything else needed.

 

[KarmaSutra]

I've made jerky in my smoker outside. What I do is marinade the meat for 24 hours with garlic powder, freshly cracked black pepper, onion powder, cumin, and sometimes some low sodium soy sauce. I only use kosher salt just before I drop it on the smoker otherwise the meat becomes too salty and leather-ish.

 

[KarmaSutra]

This sounds good. How much does top round London Broil cost? I have everything else needed.

Depends, no more than $5 per pound.

 

[g g g unit]

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Beef-Jerky

there's another article on it. I've been tempted to try it myself for a while but I'll see how it turns out for you first.

P.s - Is kosher salt different to regular???

 

[Throttle]

kosher salt is much coarser than table salt and always iodine free. there's less salt in a tablespoon of kosher salt than a tablespoon of table salt, so you have to use a bit more. sea salt is typically even coarser.

 

[g g g unit]

hmm sounds good does it taste like normal salt?? If so i'll probably switch.

 

[JohnnyIrish]

hmm sounds good does it taste like normal salt?? If so i'll probably switch.

It does to me. A friend of mine only cooks using kosher salt.
Actually I think I like it better then your regular table salt..

 

[KarmaSutra]

Also another thing I use is liquid smoke, sometimes the mesquite sometimes the hickory. A little goes a long way.

 

[DarthJuan]

Jerky rules. Mmmm.


MANY years ago I tried using one of those cheap beef jerky dehydrators that they use to sell on those infomercials.
It didn't work too bad. Took too long though.
I'm not sure if they suck up more or less electricity vs. using an oven.