Thursday, May 14, 2009

Jerky

A friend gave me a 7 pound roast last week and we made the best jerky out of it. Thought I'd pass along the recipe.

2/3 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp seasoned salt
Frank's hot sauce (optional -- as much as you like)
1/4 bottle liquid smoke
2 pounds roast

A lean meat works best, so a top round, bottom round, or sirloin would be best. Don't use chuck. Dehydrated fat is very tough to chew. Trim all the extra fat and slice thin, about 1/8 inch to 3/16 inch thick. If you have a meat slicer, it cuts easier and makes less mess if the meat is slightly frozen. If you don't have a slicer, the deli will cut it when you buy it. Combine all ingredients and marinate overnight. Squeeze out meat and place individual slices on dehydrator tray or cookie sheet with sides if you're doing it in the oven. We had LOTS of meat, so we had some in the dehydrator and some in the oven. The oven worked a lot faster (about 1/3 of the time) but I think the jerky from the dehydrator was a little more tender. Sprinkle the meat with pepper if you like it peppered. We did some both ways and liked the peppered better. Rotate dehydrator trays every couple of hours. It takes up to 18 hours in my dehydrator. Or turn the oven on as low as it will go (140 to 160 degrees) and leave the oven door propped open a few inches. It should be done in 6 to 8 hours.


-Mindy