For a long time in human history the only way to preserve meat was to dry it in the sun. Although with the advancement of technology, humans began to use freezing techniques and chemicals to keep food fresh, many people still love the unique flavor of beef jerky. Because the fat is removed, beef jerky is a healthy food rich in protein. Want to learn how to make beef jerky? If so, read on.
Preliminary
1 Choose a piece of meat
Choose a beef tenderloin, beef back belly steak, beef thigh, and beef rump to make with less effort.
- Some people also wish to make jerky from turkey meat. Turkey meat has a softer flavor, is good for all seasons, and the chicken is very lean.
- You can only use beef and turkey for jerky.
2 Remove any fat that can be seen
The fat will cause the jerky to spoil very quickly. Cut the meat into very thin strips (if you don’t want to do this yourself, you can ask the butcher to do it for you, for a small extra charge). It will be easier to cut the meat by freezing it for 5 hours and then taking it out and cutting it. You can cut with or against the grain of the meat. Some people find that cutting against the grain of the meat produces strips that are easier to chew. Trim the fat off while cutting. This is because the fat cannot dry out.
3 Marinade
Use olive oil and vinegar and sea salt to make a solution for the marinade, or make a marinade to your liking. Place the meat soaked in the marinade in the refrigerator for 10 to 24 hours to allow it to become more flavorful. This step can be done or not; the extra moisture will make the sun-drying step take longer and the resulting jerky will be thicker. Adding some brown sugar is also nice.
- A very good marinade ingredient includes: smoked liquid (wood acetic acid), soy sauce, sriracha, Tabasco chili sauce, and brown sugar.
- Also available: Belgian dark barley beer, honey, soy sauce, mustard seeds, garlic and lime.
- Add some cayenne pepper to add some kick.
- Also add some pineapple juice (Hawaiian beef jerky); some ginger (Asian beef jerky); or curry powder (Indian beef jerky). Be adventurous.
4 Coat the meat with your choice of seasoning
Add more salt as appropriate to help dehydrate the meat. NOTE: It is recommended to use the suggested oil, vinegar, smoking liquid, and brown sugar to make the marinade with the following seasonings:
- Sprinkle some salt, pepper, cinnamon, and dried chili powder on the marinated beef.
- Or, sprinkle some coriander, cloves, and nutmeg to make African-style beef jerky.
- Try sprinkling some oregano leaf powder, chili powder, and garlic powder on the marinated beef.
Dehydrate and store beef jerky
1 Dehydrate the beef
You can usually use a dehydrator, but if you don’t have one you can use the oven. Keep some space between cuts of meat to allow air to circulate.
To use a dehydrator, spray a rack with some cooking non-stick spray and then preheat the rack.
2 Sit and wait
Making beef jerky is not a long process. Because the temperature, moderation, thickness of the meat and other factors are not certain so the production time is also various forms. Generally, the process takes 2 to 6 hours.
After 2 hours, check the toughness of the meat, and from then on, check it again every 30 minutes until you are satisfied. Cut the meat open to see if it is still raw inside. The beef should turn a dark brown or burgundy color.
3 If you don’t have a dehydrator then you need to use an oven
Preheat the oven to 70 degrees C. Temperatures below 70 degrees will not kill the bacteria in the meat and will multiply the bacteria that are already there, which is unsafe and spoils the meat easily.
- The heat is not to heat the beef, but to evaporate the water in the meat and dry it out.
- Place the prepared meat directly on the grill with a baking sheet underneath to catch the dripping marinade.
- Roast for 1 to 3 hours, depending on the size of the meat. It may take longer to dehydrate, but make sure the meat is completely cooked before you take it out. Check after 90 minutes in the oven and then again every 30 minutes.
4 Allow fresh jerky to sit in a dry place and store
The ideal storage method is to place the jerky in a corked jar. Place the jerky in the refrigerator or freezer and it will be ready to take out and eat in almost 2 weeks.
In fact, the perfect storage method is to place the jerky in a vacuumed plastic bag. But many people don’t have tools that can suck air out of the bag, so this method is not very practical.