I'll keep this one more brief and concise and a bunch of pictures.
Beef: Shoot for lean and trim excess fat. I use brisket flat, top round, top sirloin, bottom round and top blade. I always by the last minute, it's expiring sale meats.
Start by freezing for 30-45 minutes to make slicing easier.
Meantime, make a rub or marinade. Search for marinade recipes and fine tune them to your flavors.
I always use Worcestershire and Tamari and will add in other liquids that sound good. you do not want it too wet. So, keep the volume of liquid down. If it is wet when it comes time to dry it, just pat it with paper towels.
This recipe is very rough measurements and makes a paste that I hand mix all the strips of beef into ensuring every slice is coated. It is more of a thick rub that sticks to the meat.
I used 1.5 lbs Top Sirloin
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon Low Sodium Tamari because it is gluten free. Soy Sauce is fine too
1/2 teaspoon each
- Mustard powder
- Cinnamon
- Thyme
- Italian Seasoning
1/8 teaspoon blistering hot Ghost Pepper seasoning or whatever heat source you want or leave the heat out
1 teaspoon each
- Granulated garlic
- Onion Power
- Smoked Paprika
- Dark Chili Powder or whatever you got
If not using a smoker, add 2 teaspoons of liquid smoke
Note: I do not use salt or sugar. I don't think it needs it. It's up to you.
This is a pretty dry marinade so I don't leave marinating very long. About 30 minutes while I get the smoker/range going and the cookie sheets lined, stuff cleaned up, etc. If you make a more liquid marinade, refrigerate a few hours.
Start the Smoker or Dehydrator.
I set my Traeger to Smoke setting (runs 150-160F). I preheat for 15 minutes with the lid closed (after starting).
When using my ranger with a dehydrate function, I set it at 150F. If you have a convection over and can set it as low as 150F, that should be fine. I preheat 15 minutes.
Slice the steak, against the grain, in 1/4 inch slices.
Mix the marinade so it is a paste and spreadable. You are going to use your hands to get this all over the thinly sliced steak. Add small amounts of sauces if it is too thick.
Thoroughly mix the beef in the marinade/rub making sure everything is coated.
Space the meat out on parchment lined backing sheets (easier cleanup) with racks. I needed two sheets this batch.
Put it in the smoker / dehydrator.
On the Traeger, I smoke 4 hours.
In the Range, I usually go 6 - 8 hours.
Testing for the right dry level is kind of a science. Bend it. It should shred a little and slowly bend itself back. You should taste test too.
Cool to room temperature. You can store about a week in a zip lock or couple weeks in the refrigerator.
I strongly encourage you to get food grade desiccant packs from Amazon or where ever. Put 10 or 15 in the container. Beef Jerky WILL MOLD. Desiccant helps A Lot. If it molds, toss it.
Sorry, images are out of order. Thanks Blogger!
