Making Jerky

I have been told that I eat like a dude. And you know? I probably do. I love meat, huge steaks, bar food, and sunflower seeds. I don’t have a problem picking up a big slab of ribs or chicken wings and eating them to the bone. I mean, all those things are just fantastic!

In the spirit of man/dude food, I decided to make some beef jerky this weekend. AND boy does my house smell awesome! Jerky is seriously my favorite snack and is one of my favorite foods. I eat it for breakfast on a regular basis – yes, breakfast – and always have some on hand for snacking. Oh and John loves jerky too – LOVES it!

I have never made jerky before, but seriously how hard can it be? Well, as I found out it is not hard at all. You just have to be patient, which is really hard when your whole house smells like jerky! YUM!

Look how fantastic it looks!

I used three different rubs – two were dry rubs and one was a wet rub. The dry rubs were a pre-packaged brand that I picked up at the butcher – one original flavor and one sweet and spicy. The wet rub recipe is as follows (for 1.5 to 2 pounds of meat):

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons Worcestershire
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon red chili flake
• A dash of your favorite hot sauce
• A ton of pepper – or to taste

Mix all ingredients together and dump over beef. Marinate in a Ziploc bag for at least 24 hours.

Preheat your oven to 175 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Lay your strips of beef out on the baking sheet. Season with more pepper. Bake fore 8-10 hours.

Here are just a few tips I learned about making jerky:

• I used top round roast. The butcher said any round roast works well - make sure to trim the fat.
• Cut your meat about ¼” thick. The butcher said any thinner and your jerky would be crispy.
• The dry rub pieces took 5 hours versus 8-10 for the wet rub or marinated pieces. Just be patient...it is worth it!

Well, now I am off to enjoy my jerky. I just can’t stand to smell it any longer without sneaking a piece (as if I haven't already)!! :)