Beef Jerky

I know what you're thinking. "Beef Jerky? That's not gourmet food!" I guess that depends upon your taste and the size of your wallet. Have you priced beef jerky in a store lately? It might sound like low budget stuff but they darn sure charge upscale and a half for it. Why pay the price for something you had no control over when it's not all that hard to make right at home?

Now this does require a shopping trip or two for materials. If you don't have a dehydrator I'd highly recommend you acquire one. If you mess around in the kitchen at all you'll find dozens of uses for it. I grow herbs in my flower beds and use the dehydrator to preserve them for later. Kids will enjoy dried fruit and you can add various nuts to that and make your own trail mix! LOTS of reasons to go spend $30 or so bucks on the thing. The big outfitters like Cabela's, Bass Pro and Gander Mountain usually have them in stock. Also try places like Academy Sports and Outdoors or a really good hardware store. I prefer one with the fan and heater on top. Much easier to keep clean that way.

If you don't care to buy a dehydrator you can use your oven. This will not work as well and requires more attention but it's an option. Dehydrating is done at VERY low temperatures over a long time. If you can't set your oven to a range between 115 and 155 degrees F then it's going to be a real bother. Most ovens bottom out at 200 which it too high. To compensate you can simply cycle your oven on and off every half hour or so. Like I said... ovens can be a bother.

On the other hand if you're really crafty you could put together a makeshift unit. Staple some screen (wide mesh) onto some 2X2's. Make these about a foot square. You'll need about 6. Find some fairly thick cardboard and make an enclosure on all four sides and the top. Lay another piece on the bottom to catch drippings. While your wife isn't looking.... borrow her hair dryer. Cut a hole in one side at the bottom to accept the business end of the unit and another hole at the top for a vent. Run the unit on low heat and low speed for best results.

Now..... time to get the rest of the stuff together. Head on down to your local Mega Mart and grab an eye of round roast. Go for at least 8 pounds. Also get a large bottle of Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce and a good brewed soy sauce. If you want.... might grab a bottle of liquid smoke too. Depends upon your tastes. Okay.... pay up and head on back to the ranch. (OOPS! If you don't have them at home.... snag a box of 1 gallon zip lock bags!)

If you happen to have a meat slicer set the gap to about 1/8 inch. Trim all the fat from the outside of the roast and begin slicing. No machine? Grab a really sharp chefs knife and get busy then.... same deal.... about 1/8 inch. Start on one end and work towards the other. Pieces should be 3 to 4 inches in diameter.

Those of you with the electric slicer.... congratulations! You've got extra stuff to clean! Knife guys.... it's okay to laugh at them. Slicer guys.... grab a knife too.... time to get to cuttin'. Take each of the pieces and cut it into 4 to 5 pieces. Results will now be about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide and 3 to 4 inches long. Drop these into the gallon zip lock bag until you've got them all.

Tastes vary but at this point I pour in about a tablespoon of garlic powder. Next the entire bottle of Worcestershire sauce and about an equal amount of soy sauce. Compress the bag to remove as much air as possible and seal. Work it around for a minute or so to make sure the liquid is well worked in around the meat. When you're sure the meat is well coated and covered place the bag in a good sized baking dish and store in the refrigerator. (The dish is in case the bag springs a leak) Okay.... walk away (after cleaning up of course) for anywhere from a few hours to several days.... it will be just fine.

When you're ready get the bag and barely open it. Drain out all the liquid you can. Load the shelves of your dehydrator (whichever kind you're using) with the meat. My dehydrator is round so I lay the meat around the outside edge in a circle working my way to the center. When the rack is full you have options. Option 1 is to just go in to the next rack and continue filling. Option 2 is to kick things up a bit first. I usually sprinkle on some additional dry seasoning at this point. Maybe more garlic powder..... or onion powder..... if you like heat dash on some black pepper! I also find that if you take Kansas City or Canadian Steak seasoning..... run that through a spice mill and put it in a shaker bottle..... it gives the jerky a more exotic flavor. Experiment! If you like something put it on! Anything but more salt.... trust me... there is enough of that already.

Once all the racks are filled stack them up and assemble your dehydrator. I go for about 140 degrees and 8 to 10 hours. Time will depend upon how dry you want the meat to be. If you like your jerky moist and chewy... less time.... say 6 to 8 hours. My wife likes her's "crispy" so her batch cooks for about 12 hours. The dryer the end product the longer it will store without a problem. Moist jerky can still become moldy in less than a week.... provided it lasts that long.

Jerky makes an excellent low fat high protein snack. (Sodium is rather high though) Have a baby that's teething? Skip the teething biscuits (they make a BIG mess anyway) and give the kid a stick of Jerky instead! The flavor will keep them interested and the texture works their gum's better than the biscuit. When the business end gets too limp and soggy just snip it off with some scissors. (If you're going to do this make some extra long pieces of Jerky. Their piece should never be so small that they can't hold it with two hands.... otherwise there is a choke hazard.)

This time of year I start cranking up production. I give bags of Jerky to family members at Christmas. (We tried presents last year and everyone asked "Where's the Jerky?") I also drive around and hand out bags to the guys at the auto repair shop who keeps our two SUV's in running condition. Unless they are a vegan they'll appreciate the gift.

Jerky, by the way, is the Americanized version of the traditional Indian (native American) pemmican. The difference being that pemmican was usually venison pounded out and mixed with dried fruit or berry's. That was typically dried in the sun but it could be slow cooked and smoked in an earthen oven too.

Take your time.... choose high quality ingredients... don't be afraid to experiment some either. I like heat in my Jerky so I use the Worcestershire sauce. You might want to start out with straight soy sauce and tweak it the next time until you find the flavor you prefer. I've made Jerky with curry power and Jamaican Jerk seasoning on it. Like mustard? Toss some in the bag while the meat soaks. A more hardy or traditional flavor? Try adding your favorite BBQ sauce! Just go easy as that stuff doesn't dry well. For your time and effort you end up with two to three times the amount of Jerky for the money.... AND you know exactly what went into it and how it was made! (Priceless!)