Beef Jerky

As I'm sure many of you have done since the New Year, my family and I are trying to get healthier this year.  Part of that for us is trying to figure out how to eat foods that we can make ourselves.  Jerky as you may know is very expensive, but not too bad if you make it yourself!  The flavor is much much better than anything we've bought from the store.

The good news is that we got a dehydrator pretty inexpensively from Bed Bath and Beyond and we used our 20% off coupon.  We can dry fruit and veggies, herbs and even make fruit leather which I'm very excited to try. However, if you don't have a dehydrator there are some homemade versions of that you can make too.

My husband travels a lot for work so jerky is the perfect portable snack for him.  Knowing we made it ourselves makes it that much better!

Homemade Beef Jerky

Recipe from Alton Brown

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds very lean beef (flank, top round, brisket)
• 2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 2 tsp ground pepper
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

Cooking Directions

1. I used a Nesco dehydrator for this recipe but there are additional instructions at the link above if you don't have one.
2. begin by cutting the meat about 1/4 inch thick.  It's easier to cut if you freeze the meat for 20 minutes prior to cutting. 
3. Mix all the ingredients together and pour over the meat, refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. 
4. Remove the meat from the marinade and dry using a paper towel, then place on the trays of the dehydrator in a single layer allowing space between each piece. 
5. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for exact instructions. Mine said 8-10 hours so I set it up to cook during the night. It took about 10 hours.