The Perfect Beef Jerky Recipe : Classic Style

This really is the perfect beef jerky recipe.  I made it with regular beef steak that I happened upon while shopping for camping, and it was on sale, so bonus!

Read more for this super simple dehydrator recipe!

Salton Dehydrator with Heat Setting

This is a recipe I pulled off in my Salton dehydrator with a temperature setting, and it did it very quickly, and evenly.

Disclaimer: Wherever you read online about beef jerky, it says something about someone's family been making it one way which directly disagrees with the FDA recommended method of preparation.  So just remember, food safety is something that should be included standard with every recipe without mentioning it.  Dehydrating beef included.  Your Results may vary. 

A few quick tips : 

Raw Beef in the Marinade : Fattier than you'd like for Jerky

- Beef Jerky, you should have beef with not too much fat or marbling to start with. I used sirloin because I had some leftover steaks.

- Cut with the grain, you want each piece to have long strips, (the grain) of chewy meat which is what everyone associates with jerk!

- Scale up your marinade for any recipe size, just make it before hand in a separate container, and pour it onto the sliced beef enough to cover, and that will always be enough.

Preparing the trays and to dry off the beef

Procedure 

1. Trim your beef of silverskin, and any exterior fat. I was eating mine pretty shortly after making it, so I wasn't overly concerned with fat spoiling my product.

2. Slice it as thin as you can manage with the grain, nice long strips the better.

3. Place in marinate (recipe to follow)

4. Sit for 4-6 hours

5. Prepare clean dehydrator trays,

6. Lay strips on dehydrator trays with a finger's width between them. Dab them dry with paper towel

7. Set dehydrator to 160 F if you have it.

8. I rotated the trays so the one that started on the bottom gradually moved its way up to the top one spot by one, every hour.

9. I dried mine for 5 hours. Dry time will vary based on how thick or thin you managed to cut your beef.

10. I tossed in a little pinch of salt after they were done to sit in the ziploc back they stayed in.

11. Consume sooner the better, keep dry, sealed, and cool.

Marinade:

-1/2 cup soy sauce
-1/3 cup worchestershire
-2tbsp honey
-pinch chilli powder
-1 tsp chopped garlic
-2 tsp salt
-Fresh ground black pepper,
-Dose of hot sauce to taste (I used a habanero puree I made a while ago)
-A few shakes of liquid smoke

Beef Jerk in the great outdoors. Where does the tree bark end and the beef begin?

So I know, liquid smoke, its not as good as the real thing, but sometimes the flavour is more important than how it gets there.  So make your marinade in a separate container and pour it over your beef tossing it in gently enough until the beef is soaked and just covered by not swimming or drowning. 

Enjoy your Beef Jerky!