For most people, the mention of beef jerky makes them salivate, but budgetary issues may restrain how often you indulge. Perhaps not many people know that it’s possible to make their own beef jerky. Homemade jerk not only cost you less (by about 50%) compared to the store-bought, but it will also bear your favorite flavor.
Apply the following five tips to make your beef jerky.
1. Get lean meat
Buy around 2 pounds of lean beef steak and then trim off all the visible fats and silver skin. Fat can make your jerky to go bad much faster, that’s why we recommend you get rid as much of it as you can.2. Slice it
You’ll then need to slice the meat, but to ease the process, freeze it first. Then (around five hours later) slice the meat into strips measuring roughly four inches long and 0.25 inches thick. Remove all the visible fat on the meat as you slice it. You can ask your butcher to do all this for you, which may cost you a little bit.3. Marinate
Do you like spiced beef jerky? If you do, then your favorite marinade in the meat will help you make a mouth-watering jerky. Marinating gives it the best possible flavor. Some of the seasonings you add to the can mix to treat your meat include garlic, brown sugar, sesame seeds, salt, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar and lime juice. From the range, you can use some, depending on your preference. If you don’t want to spend much on this, you can just use the seasoning items in your pantry.Once you’ve made your favorite marinade blend, and put in it a large bag with a zip top, add the beef strips and stir them to ensure that the entire meat is coated with the marinade. Then, close the bag and stash it in the refrigerator and let it stay there for four hours to a day.
4. Dry the marinated meat
Remove the well-marinated meat from the bag and dry it using a dehydrator. Put the seasoned meat pieces on the rack of your dehydrator, with ample space between them. Leave the meat to dry for 8 to 12 hours. Within the period, check if the meat turns deep brown or burgundy and cut into it to confirm whether the jerky is raw inside.Don’t worry if you don’t have a dehydrator; you can make use of your oven to dry up the meat strips. Using a saucepan, place the treated meat strips on the wire rack and put in your oven. Set the oven at 70° C and switch it on.
Allow the meat cook for one to three hours. However, you should keep on checking on the progress of the meat after every half an hour.5. Store
Upon confirming that they are well cooked, remove the beef jerky from the oven or dehydrator and allow them to cool completely. Store the cooled jerky in an airtight container and put them in a refrigerator.Do you see how easy it is to make your beef jerky? It isn’t as complex as many people deem. You may also visit Bigwig Jerky Co’s website to view more beef jerky recipes which you can count on to perfect your cooking skills. Henceforth, the ball is in your court. Take up the challenge and make your family their favorite beef jerky.