We recently bought a dehydrator to make healthy snacks for on the go. I had visions of banana chips and dried papaya in my head, but I knew that Garrett wanted something a little heartier – Beef Jerky!
I have to admit that until we made this, I had never tried beef jerky, but I’d always been intrigued by the idea of it. What had kept me away in the past was all the preservatives in store bought jerky, as well as the price. It’s about $2 an ounce at the store verses $12 for about two pounds of homemade jerky. A four pound roast turns into about two pounds of jerky after it has been dehydrated.
But this? This I can get behind. It is a great savoury snack for those days when we’re on the run and might not have time to stop for lunch. I’m looking forward to making this in the summer when we go camping or to the cottage.
I picked up a 4 pound eye of round roast from the butcher shop. It needs to be a very lean cut of meat because any fat can go rancid quickly. Marbling and fat are bad when you’re making jerky. I’ve also read about people using flank steak, but my butcher highly recommended eye of round.
Place wrapped meat in the freezer for approximately 1-2 hours to partially freeze the surface of the beef to the make it easier to slice evenly.
Once the beef is partially frozen, remove from the freezer, and unwrap. Using a sharp knife, remove all visible fat. You can either cut it with the grain for a chewier, tougher texture or against the grain for an easier texture, which is what I prefer. I have a comparison shot at the end of this post. Slice the partially frozen beef into 3/8 inch thick slices, trimming the fast as you go.
Marinade:
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp ground red cayenne pepper or chili flakes
- pinch of salt
Mix together marinade in a large plastic bag. Add beef slices to bag and refrigerate for 8-24 hours. I just left it in the fridge overnight.
Remove the marinated beef from the refrigerator and drain off the marinade. Using paper towels, pat the meat dry. Arrange the meat strips on the trays of your food dehydrator, leaving enough room between pieces to allow air to flow around the meat.
Our dehydrator came with four trays, so I made sure to leave lots of space between them for air to flow.
Depending on your food dehydrator and the thickness of the meat slices, it can take from 6 to 14 hours to dry a batch. Mine took 12 hours, but read the directions for your own dehydrator because it can vary between different machines. Rotate the trays from the top half down to the bottom a couple of times through the drying time, to let everything dry evenly.
When the jerky is dry, you should be able to bend a piece and see no moisture inside, but it shouldn’t be so dry that it will break. You want it to be chewy and leathery. Remove the jerky to a paper towel lined plate and allow to cool completely. It may still be fairly warm when you take it out of the dehydrator.
When the jerky is completely cool, store in an air tight jar. Plastic zip-lock bags can produce moisture and are not recommended, unless you plan to eat it very soon. Store the jerky in the refrigerator or even longer in the freezer.
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I love jerky, but it’s so expensive to buy in the grocery store that we almost never get it. I never even thought about making it from scratch! Thanks for sharing this!
My family loves to eat beef jerky and i agree that it will be so expensive to buy in the grocery store. I reviewed some of the top beef jerky dehydrator and gladly, i bought myself one last week!
Here is another great Beef Jerky Recipe
Island Cowboy Beef Jerky
Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 pounds beef
• (or any meat type but eye of round works great)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1/4 cups lime juice
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire
• 1 teaspoon red pepper – crushed
• 1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1/2 cup water to cover
Directions:
1. Cut your meat into 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick slices. (It may help to slightly freeze before hand)
2. Mix all ingredients and place in flat glass tray.
3. Add meat and coat.
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
5. Dry meat according to your dehydrator.
That sounds awesome! Thanks for the recipe. I’ll have to try this one out.
If I were to say what my survival food is, I would answer beef jerky, beyond any shadow of doubt! I can go out on camp for days just as long as I have enough supply of it. 😀 It is an on-the-go snack which wouldn’t spoil easily. On that note, how long did this batch of jerky last? ;D
With two of us, we ate it in about two weeks, but that was with us being conscious not to eat all of it. If given the chance, I’m sure that Garrett would have eaten it all in a weekend, especially if we were camping. Can’t wait to make our next batch!
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Hello Amanda.
I always love to use my dehydrator but never had real tried to make jerky. And guess what? I am cooking now with your recipe. All the credit goes to you Amanda.
I make jerky weekly. The vultures at work always beg for more so my dehydrator stays busy! Korean bbq is my go to. Sweet, spicy, smokey. I have found that the heat of the marinade doesnt really translate accurately to the finished jerky. So I go INTENSE levels of heat in the marinade. I love hot food and a teaspoon makes me say wow! But that’s what it takes in my experience to get a decent amount of spiciness in the finished product