Unwind on the trail with the eccentric beauty of nature and finger-licking home-made jerky by your side. The deliciously chewy, smokey, and salty beef jerky are indeed one of the best snacks for any occasion. So did you try a hand in baking them? Are you afraid that you might accidentally overcook it? We have some incredible tips that will help you make yummilious jerky right at home in a dehydrator. Let’s go!
You are just 10 steps away from savoring the delicious and smokey beef jerky! Are you excited? Then let’s start with sorting the ingredients.
Start the process by selecting a lean piece of meat that has as minimal fat as possible. Here we choose the Beef Eye of Round. You can even make jerky with a jerky gun and ground meat.
The next step involves slicing the meat. This is a crucial step that includes trimming off any visible fat layer from the meat. The presence of fat will spoil the meat, hence to preserve your jerky for a longer span, remove all the fat.
Before you start slicing, it is best to place the meat in the freezer for 1-2 hours and let it freeze partially. The meat must get hardened to touch but not frozen completely. This step will help you cut the lean pieces of mean uniformly. Each slice must be 1/8″- 1/4″ thick to get that perfect chewy texture.
Now is the most important and exciting step—marinate the beef! Take a big bowl and add all the ingredients mentioned above to it, including the sliced meat. Blend it thoroughly so that each ingredient adds a distinct flavor to the jerky.
After covering the beef strips in the marinade, in a ziplock bag or airtight container, keep it in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours to have a perfectly tasty jerky. The longer you keep the marinade, the tastier the result will be.
After 24 hours now, it’s time to dehydrate the beef strips. For this drain and pat the excess marinade from the strip, this aids in dehydration faster.
It’s time for some fun experimentation now. Place your dry patted marinated beef strips on the dehydrator racks at inches apart, so each strip gets cooked uniformly. Avoid overlapping to enjoy tasty jerky!
As excited as you are, this is by far the most essential step. Turn on your dehydrator to 165 degrees and let it remain turned on for 4 hours. The time for dehydration depends on how thick your meat slices are.
After leaving beef strips in the dehydrator, you must keep a watchful eye on the jerky throughout the dehydration process, so you don’t over-dry the jerky. When you see you jerky start to bend and crack without breaking into half, you know your delicious jerky is ready. The white meat fibers also get visible. Once done, remove the jerky from the dehydrator and let it cool down on the rack for a few hours.
Its time! Store your yummy jerky in a vacuum-sealed bag, ziplock bag, airtight container, or glass jar and, most importantly, in your tummy! Storing in airtight bags can preserve the jerky for 10-14 days.
Jerky is one of the most popular snack choices for mid-afternoon craving or while on a hike. It is gluten-free and is a good backup food while you are camping in rough terrain. It can last up to 14 days in a ziplock bag. Are you wondering what type of dehydrator or jerky recipes you can make? Well, your options are endless. If you want some spicy flavor, you can add some red chili flakes, and if you want the jerky to have a shelf life, add celery juice powder or curing salt.
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