Beef Jerky Cowboy Style Beef Jerky Food

BEEF JERKY

Steps:

• Trim the flank steak of any excess fat, place in a zip-top bag, and place it in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours in order to firm up.
• Remove the steak from the freezer and thinly slice the meat with the grain, into long strips.
• Place the strips of meat along with all of the remaining ingredients into a large, 1-gallon plastic zip-top bag and move around to evenly distribute all of the ingredients. Place the bag into the refrigerator for 3 to 6 hours.
• Remove the meat from the brine and pat dry. Evenly distribute the strips of meat onto 3 of the air filters, laying them in the grooves and then stacking the filters on top of one another. Top these with 1 empty filter. Next, lay the box fan on its side and lay the filters on top of it. Strap the filters to the fan with 2 bungee cords. Stand the fan upright, plug in and set to medium. Allow the meat dry for 8 to 12 hours. If using a commercial dehydrator, follow the manufacturer's directions.
• Once dry, store in a cool dry place, in an airtight container for 2 to 3 months.

THE BEST HOMEMADE BEEF JERKY RECIPE

Steps:

• Slice the meat between ⅛ and ¼ inch thick with the grain. (If the roast is too thick to slice easily, cut it in half horizontally before slicing.)
• Make the marinade: In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, meat tenderizer, black pepper, red pepper flakes, onion powder, and garlic powder. Whisk until evenly combined and the sugar is dissolved.
• Add the meat to the marinade and toss until all of the pieces are evenly coated. Cover with plastic wrap or transfer to a large ziplock bag and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours or overnight. Toss the meat (or flip the bag) once or twice to be sure the meat marinates evenly.
• Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil for easy clean-up. Place a wire rack over each pan. Preheat the oven to 175°F and set two oven racks in the centermost positions.
• Arrange the marinated meat on the wire racks in a single layer. Bake, rotating the pans from front to back and top to bottom midway through, until the meat is dried out, 3 to 4 hours. To determine if the jerky is thoroughly dried out, take a piece out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature. It should be dry to the touch, leather-like in appearance, and chewy but still somewhat tender.
• Store the jerky inside an airtight plastic container, Ziploc bag, or airtight glass jars. Properly dried jerky will keep at room temperature for about one week. Refrigerate or freeze for longer storage.
• Note: Pop the meat in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours before slicing; it will be easier to cut.
• Note: Meat tenderizer contains bromelain, an enzyme that breaks down meat tissue. You can find it in the spice section of your supermarket. (I use McCormick.)

HOMEMADE BEEF JERKY

Steps:

• Whisk Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, paprika, honey, black pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and onion powder together in a bowl. Add beef to bowl and turn to coat beef completely. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator, 3 hours to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 175 degrees F (80 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack over the foil.
• Transfer beef to paper towels to dry. Discard marinade. Arrange beef slices in a single layer on the prepared wire rack on the baking sheet.
• Bake beef in the preheated oven until dry and leathery, 3 to 4 hours. Cut with scissors into bite-size pieces.

DOC'S BEST BEEF JERKY

Steps:

• Place beef strips in the bottom of a large bowl. Pour soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, brown sugar, salt, pepper, meat tenderizer, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika over beef. Mix to assure all the meat is evenly coated. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
• Remove meat from bowl and place between two pieces of plastic wrap; pound to 1/8-inch thickness.
• Arrange the meat strips on the tray of a dehydrator and dry at your dehydrator's highest setting until done to your liking, at least 4 hours. Store in an airtight container or resealable bags.

HOMEMADE BEEF JERKY

Steps:

• Trim all fat off meat.
• Cut steak in to 4 inch strips.
• The steak should be about 1/2 inch thick.
• It's easier to cut meat partially frozen.
• Pound meat lightly, you don't want it too thin.
• Add all ingredients in a large bowl.
• Mix well.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight (8 hrs).
• Line cookie sheets with tin foil.
• Place steak strips on sheets, don't overlap meat.
• Set oven at lowest temperature. (150-175°F).
• Bake six hours, turning after three hours.
• Jerky is done when meat is dried out, depending on your oven.
• Worth the wait!

BEST EVER BEEF JERKY

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients (except the meat) until combined.
• Add meat that has been thinly sliced (the meat is easier to slice when its half frozen) and marinade 24-48 hours, refrigerated.
• Remove from marinade, disguarding excess.
• Place onto food dehydrator trays, you'll know its done when it cracks when bent but does not break.
• I have never "over dehydrated" my jerky, I always feel its better over dried than under dried. Mine usually takes about a day and a half to be fully done. Rotate trays for even dehydration.

OVEN-DRIED BEEF JERKY

Steps:

• Prepare a large baking sheet with a wire rack to fit on baking sheet.
• Put the flank steak in the freezer for 30 mins, or until firm, but pliable.
• Slice the steak very thinly across the grain, about 1/8-in thick; or ask your butcher to slice the meat at time of purchace.
• In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, honey, lemon juice, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, salt and pepper; mix well.
• Mix and coat the beef strips with the sauce mixture.
• Refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 180F.
• Place the strips on a wire rack on a baking sheet.
• Bake for 12 hours, or until meat is dried (it should bend, but not snap).
• Store in an airtight container when cool.

DRY CURE SOUTHWEST BEEF JERKY

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine all ingredients and really rub the dry ingredients into the grain of the meat; really get it worked in Cover and marinate overnight.
• If you have a dehydrator, by all means use it.
• My oven method: Place aluminum foil on oven rack.
• Preheat oven to 170 degrees F (that's as low as my oven will go--).
• Put meat on baking racks then set on the foiled oven rack to dry.
• Prop the oven door open with an oven mitt to allow moisture to escape.
• In my oven, it takes about 7 hours for complete drying; slightly less if you use very thin slices (mine are about 1/4 inch thick).

BEEF JERKY STEW (REALLY A SOUP)

Steps:

• Bring the four cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot.
• Add meat. Boil till slightly brown.
• Add veggies and spices/seasoning.
• Bring to low boil and occasionally stir everynow and then.
• Your stew/soup will be ready shortly after your veggies start to soften up a bit. I like mine to have a bit of a crunch to them so it doesnt take long at all. Let cook to prefference of veggies and enjoy.

BEEF JERKY THE REAL MCCOY! SMOKER REQUIRED...

Steps:

• Lets get our selves ready first to actually make Beef Jerky with some preparation. I can not stress enough about food safety practices here. You are about to preserve meat in a way that requires a low temperature cooking and drying method and you are the preparer; You are the one that has to take these tips I share with you to heart and prepare with care or love.
• The meat needs a storage container that is sterile and clean, I suggest getting a food container of the likes you can find at any good restaurant supply store or Costco, Sams Club in their food pro catering Isle a nice deep square/ rectangular non reactive container with a very tight fitting lid. Various Tupper Ware types will work but make sure you have an air tight seal that won't give in a few hours or days. We need it air tight.
• Consider your cutting area we need a good clean butcher block or meat cutting area.
• Finally, gloves it may help to have some gloves to ensure cleanliness.
• Okay lets begin:.
• Preparation, the CUT:.
• Take your London Broil and identify the grain of the meat, and cut along the grain 1/4 inch to just under 3/8 of an inch thick strips. Your London Broil is usually about an inch plus thick slab of meat. So take each slice and portion that slice length wise to about the same first dimensional cut of about 1/4 inch to 3/8 inch. Now you should have long strips of meat that are about the thickness of a lady's finger. This is important in the final quality of your jerky. I have found staying very close to a precise 1/4 inch precision cut strip to no larger than 3/8 will yield a chewy, but tender result that will satisfy. Many cut into thin wide slices but bare with me and give this recipe a try and reserve your judgements for the final product.
• Marinading, THE CURE:.
• We are going to layer the meat, and dress with salt and molasses. We will layer each layer of meat in a directional manner. First layer, lay strips North to South the next layer will be East to West -- But wait Read below first -- Start with your first layer of meat laid North to South covering the bottom of the container completely no spaces no overlaps.
• This is very critical and it does take a steady hand to prepare your cure box with just the right application of salt and molasses. So WARNING, please read this first do not just dive in -- Okay we need to lay down the salt, I like to start by swinging the Kosher salt box over the curing container that you will store your beef in a back and forth manner that is level and parallel to the meat surface in a nice controlled manner and as you tilt the salt box in your hand over the curing box the salt will begin to throw out nice and even. Important we are not trying to make a perfect layer to cover every square inch of the meat. That would be too much salt, a proper salt layer will actually have granules of salt about every 1/8 to about a 1/4inch of the meat. I know that sounds salty nonetheless but trust me, it is about right. You might want to practice over a baking sheet a little to get your technique down, I highly recommend practicing.
• Okay great now the Molasses, you want to have the same control here in the application by pouring the molasses with an even parallel swing but slower, its molasses and you want a small thread of molasses to begin pouring out and just as the molasses begins to clear the bottle neck pull back the tilt a bit to reduce it to that very fine thread that will flow in a thread like manner. Now swing back and forth nice and steady laying a thread of molasses at a coverage of about one line space per 1/8 inch North and South, then come back and lay a thread at 1/8 spacing East and West. Wheh -- You did it --
• Okay great now your next layer, remember this time alternate the direction of the meat lay this layer East to West. Fill the layer completely no spaces. Repeat layering salting, and molasses application till you have no more meat. Cover tightly and refrigerate for one week. Then you are ready for smoking in a smoker. I have marinated/Cured Jerky up to two weeks with no problems, if you are adding flavors and seasonings to this curing process then increasing curing time can be beneficial. see tips at the end of the recipe.
• Managing the CURE:.
• Leave your Curing Meat undisturbed in the refrigerator for two days. straight. Once you have two days in to the curing process you can now redistribute the contents. This is important to insure we get an even cure on all of the meat try to get what is on the bottom to the top and the top to the bottom. I hope that makes sense, in other words if you wish you could take a clean spatula and just slip it in one side and just flip the contents over don't worry that all your neat layers are now in disarray that is fine. Do this every day now flipping the contents till you have a full week into curing the meat.
• Ready to JERK:.
• One week later your London Broil Strips are now cured. Believe it or not your jerky is safe to eat, but I do not think it would be very appetizing. It will be soon and we are more than half way there but a little more TLC and we will have the best of the best, The Real McCoy of Jerky in your hands soon.
• Remove Jerky from the the confines of your fridge.
• Prepare your Smoker with wood natural lump charcoal, light and bring your smoker to a operating temp of 170 degrees F. try to keep it below 200 degrees F. as you maintain this heat level. Prepare your choice of wood chunks by soaking them in water, I prefer Hickory, but all nut or fruit bearing hardwoods are fair game. Clean your racks and lightly oil them but once oiled clean of with a paper towel we do not need the racks oiled heavily. I like to have the very bottom rack covered in tinfoil, if your fire and heat is coming from below. this will cause a more even heat distribution and smoke distribution.
• Remove the meat and I like to strip the pieces with my hands wearing a food grade glove to remove most to nearly all the marinade. Some of you will fret for the sake of flavor but the less moisture you have on the meat and in the smoker the better to insure our drying time is on cue.
• Prepare each rack for your smoker by laying the strips across the grate with at least a 1/8 inch of air space between strips. Fill the racks densely though because the fewer racks to rotate in the smoker the better. Place the Beef lined racks in the smoker and maintain the smoker at about 170 degrees F. add wood chunks to add smoke flavor. If your accustomed to smoking you probably have a feel for what is too much smoke or too little. You want a slow steady procession of fresh smoke gently rising with the heat. Use lots of ventilation on your smoker we want the heat to carry away the moisture so do not dampen heavily less you need to squelch a flare up that is causing your temp to sore. Best to ad fuel sparingly. Check the racks of meat about every 30 minutes. Ensure to rotate as needed over under or to just rotate the racks in a clock wise rotation to ensure even drying. Here is what I find works best for smoking and drying time; expect 4 hours at about 170ish to 200 degrees F. and then you may want to stoke the fire then you may want to stoke the fire up one last time at 4 hours to about 200 degrees and then just as that fuel dwindles, fully vent the smoker and allow to air dry to full cool for another four hours. Remove from smoker, remove from racks. You know it is right when you bend the meat you will see it give into exposing the meat fibers in the bend and possibly splinter slightly. If it splinters easily you are to dry, if it bends but will not expand and expose meat fibers to a few splintering it needs more drying time. You can air dry on baking racks inside, or in your oven to perfection. Another great gauge for perfection is your pallette go ahead and try it dry to your liking this thick cut should be chewy, but pleasant to work and not be so hard to cause severe gum and mouth abrasion. I hope that all makes sense here.
• Storing: Once you have your finished product it is important to store correctly. Zip locks are great and even vacuum packing is better, with each batch of jerky store with two paper towels folded into a single flat to lay on one side of the bag. The Paper towel will help with collecting moisture and keep your product in better shape. It is completely normal to see the paper towel wick a colored stain into itself. change the paper towel on longer stored jerky. Room temperature for short periods is fine say a week to ten days. Longer storage you can freeze up to many months, or refrigerate for many weeks.
• Tips on Flavor:.
• Okay the natural smoke flavor of the Real McCoy already should make you feel as though all Jerky you ever, ever, ever ate from a mass producer is only fit for a Dog. I know the first time i made it just as described I nailed it not too salty, not too sweet and the London Broil was a premium cut with next to no fat or connective tissue just pure premium meat. My dogs were smelling this for hours in the smoker and when I had the first chew I got that overwhelming feeling so primal and so natural of an instinct to hunker down and cover myself from prying eyes as though I discovered a very special secret -- Like striking gold and hiding the prize from claim jumpers. So all by it's simple self this recipe screams perfection.
• To jazz things up here are my best tips from my years of production and trials. If you want heat then make as per the recipe above but dust the finished product with Ground Red Pepper when storing -- Making a heated up hot sauced marinade will only mellow in the smoker and the pepper sauce and spices may take on more bitters of the smoking process. Seasoning with spices is always better at storage time. Try making your favorite smice rubs and blends and see what you think.
• My favorite and very best of the best recipes has been the addition of julienned strips of Habenero peppers, and a product called Sweet Spicy Ginger Teriyaki, from East West Specialty Suaces -- Pouring the liquid marinades, citrus, peppers, or red pepper flakes in after your two day soak is best -- It is not necessary to add your flavor ingredients in the first production of making layers. I encourage you to let the curing of the salts and sugars of the molasses to do their job first then flavor it all up in the toss up and flip of the meat after your two day cure soak. I have found this to work the best.
• Enjoy and please, comment feel free to comment, our journey in the pursuit to the REAL Mc Coy is a shared experience and collaboration of us working to the same pursuit of hapiness. Cheers.