One thing that I just cannot get enough of is good beef jerky. Slim Jim's don't count. The only problem is that my butcher always sells out. So, I decided to try to make some on my own. It is easy and tasty. The good part is, you can vary your flavors to your own taste.
So, where do I start? Well, I used Alton Brown's Jerky Marinade as a starting point. I followed the recipe exactly, except I left out the liquid smoke. I added that on my own.
After mixing up a batch of marinade, I used 2 lb of chip steaks that I purchased from my local butcher. Into the marinade they went for an over night swim.
After the overnight marinade, I poured into a colander to drain, then laid the steaks flat on cookie racks to dry for about three hours.
Then, I fired up the smoker and heated to about 150 F and placed some hickory wood in the pan. I waited until the hickory was burning and giving a nice thin, blue smoke out of the stack. Then, I layered the jerky on the smoker racks...
On a smaller smoker like the Stumps Baby, you need to keep your eye on the jerky. After about an hour, the meat on the bottom was starting to dry out perfectly. So, I just kept rotating the racks every 20 minutes until the meat had that dried jerky consistency. Here is a picture of the final product...
Perfect dried jerky with a nice flavor. You can store it in a paper bag for weeks at a time, if it lasts that long ;) If your jerky is slightly wet, keep your paper bag in the refrigerator so that it does not mold due to the moisture.
You can use the marinade recipe above as a base. One variation that I tried and liked for the marinade was:
2/3 cup Worcestershire Sauce
2/3 cup of soy sauce
1 small can pineapple juice
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 tablespoon of Ken's Buffalo Wing Sauce or equivalent
If any of you have some homemade jerky marinade recipes, please share them here for all to try.
Thanks for stopping by...
Bill
So, where do I start? Well, I used Alton Brown's Jerky Marinade as a starting point. I followed the recipe exactly, except I left out the liquid smoke. I added that on my own.
After mixing up a batch of marinade, I used 2 lb of chip steaks that I purchased from my local butcher. Into the marinade they went for an over night swim.
After the overnight marinade, I poured into a colander to drain, then laid the steaks flat on cookie racks to dry for about three hours.
Then, I fired up the smoker and heated to about 150 F and placed some hickory wood in the pan. I waited until the hickory was burning and giving a nice thin, blue smoke out of the stack. Then, I layered the jerky on the smoker racks...
On a smaller smoker like the Stumps Baby, you need to keep your eye on the jerky. After about an hour, the meat on the bottom was starting to dry out perfectly. So, I just kept rotating the racks every 20 minutes until the meat had that dried jerky consistency. Here is a picture of the final product...
Perfect dried jerky with a nice flavor. You can store it in a paper bag for weeks at a time, if it lasts that long ;) If your jerky is slightly wet, keep your paper bag in the refrigerator so that it does not mold due to the moisture.
You can use the marinade recipe above as a base. One variation that I tried and liked for the marinade was:
2/3 cup Worcestershire Sauce
2/3 cup of soy sauce
1 small can pineapple juice
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 tablespoon of Ken's Buffalo Wing Sauce or equivalent
If any of you have some homemade jerky marinade recipes, please share them here for all to try.
Thanks for stopping by...
Bill
Do you ever cook with your Jerky? S.O.S. or Machacha and eggs come to mind.
ReplyDeleteNope, I haven't tried either. But, they both sound good. I'll have to give them a try. Any suggestions for a Machacha and egg recipe?
ReplyDeleteWe saw a show were Rick Bayliss pounded jerky in a mortar to make the Machaca. A blender would work too. It was basically scrambled eggs, chopped beef and pico de gallo. We made it and have a post on Nov 19. S.O.S. is a dish from my fathers generation and am not really familiar with.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip Mr. Genius. I think it is time for some jerky to be made. As for the S.O.S., I love it. My mom used to make it with dried chipped beef. I have also had with hamburger as well. You should try it some time. It really is high grade comfort food...
ReplyDelete