My batch of jerky is just starting to be done and it's sooooo good. This is the first time I have made it without teriyaki or Korean BBQ sauces and I must say it's wonderful. I just wanted to post and remind everyone what a nice, handy snack this is!.

I will post the recipe if anyone wants it.

I use bottom round roasts and have the butcher slice them up really thin. (I have a really nice meat slicer, but having the butcher do it saves time as long as you will be okay with whatever size slice he gives you..today mine were a little thicker than I had wanted, but still okay. Note, if you want to slice roasts yourself, put them in the freezer and let them firm up. It makes them much easier to slice thin.)

In a big bowl I mix:
1 Can of low-sodium beef broth
Low-sodium soy sauce. I start with 1/2 Cup and work my way up to 'taste'
2-3 tbs. of Liquid Smoke


That's the basics. Today I added:
2 heaping tbs. of Chinese garlic & pepper paste (5 carbs per 2 tbs.- mind you..this marinade will do quite a bit of beef.)
1 tbs Chinese 5 Spices

Soak the slices in the marinade for at least an hour or so. I find that is enough time, but you can marinade them overnight it you want.

I use a food dehydrator and after about 3 or 4 hours the bottom-most tray starts to be done and that tray is usually gone and never sees the inside of the storage container! Warm fresh jerky and the fatty part, if cut thin enough, melts in your mouth like butta! You can also put the meat on a rack in a cookie sheet and bake at a low temp in the oven for a long time. As I have never done that I have no idea how well it works or how long it would take.

Okay, I have already had two pieces and the smell downstairs is soooo good. Hubby is picking at it too. So, always buy more meat than you think you will need.. it does't look like all that much when you get it all laid out and dried. Finally, when you grab a piece also grab a toothpick/flosser thingy! I need one right now....

My hubby makes homemade beef jerky. He uses London Broil (gets it on sale). I just asked him, and he says he uses about 10# london broil (he slices it really thin), then he mixes this with 2 bottles of Allegro brand Hickory Smoke Marinade and a 1/2 bottle of the Allegro brand Hot & Spicy Marinade. he marinades it for about 3-4 full days, flipping the tupperware bowl(s) twice a day. Then, he uses the food dehydrator and man, those are to die for! Love 'em!

(he uses the American Harvester dehydrator with 12 trays - it takes about 8-10 hours to do all the trays, and it sure it worth waiting on!)

my husband makes this with venison and a jerky gun... gets the venison ground and then mixes it all up and we bake it at low heat in our convection oven for just about forever (it seems - not something you want to do in the summer, LOL!). However, the venison is just a little too gamey for me, so I've got some ground pork that I'm going to have him mix in with the venison for next time.

Only thing about home made jerky as opposed to the packaged kind is that there are no preservatives and you have to keep it in the fridge which makes it harder to pack around with you.

My mom has a similar recipe, made into logs and cook low'n'slow for hours for summer sausage, it uses Morton Tender Quick as a curing agent as well as the cooking/drying so while it needs to be *stored* in the fridge/freezer its fine for day trips as long as you don't leave it sitting on your car seat at 80degrees or anything.
You might check into the Tender Quick as an addition.

I always seem to lose at least one tray full to snacking, I just can't pass it by when it smells so good. I usually do mine in Franks hot sauce, garlic powder, and cayanne pepper.

My jerkey recipe is ...

Boneless beef roast, mostly frozen. I slice it on my deli meat slicer and it is great as all the slices are the same. I then layer the beef in a glass casserole dish and sprinkle the layer with seasoned salt, worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke(a few drops). then add another layer of beef and seasonings. cover with plastic wrap and refrig for at least 2 hours or overnight. I then set my gas oven to the lowest temp..170 degrees and put the beef on the racks. put a lining of foil in the bottom of the oven to catch the drips. prop the door open with a wad of foil and leave overnight or put on in the am before work. I store it in a ziplock bag and have never had any linger more than 3 days. You can zip it up with black pepper, garlic or onion powder, red chile flakes, soy sauce......the sky's the limit.

Nanci I don't think I could sleep smelling that all night, sounds great...Bru

Hey Bru,

You are right about smelling it all night. Also sometimes when I have it drying while I work, I will come home and say "Wow, boy am I glad I started something for supper in the crockpot...hey wait a minute........." But then I get to eat a couple of pieces and I don't have to wait any longer........

nan

i might have to try this. sue

I see this is a really old post, but I was just wondering if anyone has suggestions for making jerky out of venison. What is a "jerky gun"? If it's all ground up, then do you somehow smash it into as thin of a strip as possible? Does it work with suasage added to it? And how do you marinate it if it's ground up?

catsrus I always made mine out of roasts, semi frozen, slice thin. Sorry I've never tried ground before...Bru

That's exactly what the jerky gun does . . it looks like a caulking gun. You full it full of ground meat, put a tip on (there are a few . .. large flat, 2x small flat, round etc) squeeze the handle and it comes out in the shape of whatever tip you have on it.

I usually use mostly dry spices for ground meat. Put the meat in a mixing bowl (make sure the bowl is large enough to get your hands into) with your ingredients and mash it all up until it is well mixed (and dont forget a curing agent !).

Jeff