My mother used to make beef jerky whenever a cut of london broil was on sale (which in my hometown is like once a year). I would dream about it all the time and now that I'm all grown up, I can make my own! While I don't have a dehydrator, I make use of the most basic thing in my kitchen, the oven!
Beef Jerky
I made too much and it didn't all fit! O.o
*Marinades 2-3 lbs of meat
Allergen Tips:
Choose a gluten free soy sauce made by Kikkoman or Tamari.
Stay away from the liquid smoke to keep it g-free!
2-3 lbs of Meat (I use flank or london broil because of the low fat content)
1/2 C. Soy Sauce
1/3 C. Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/4 tsp. Onion Powder
1 1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
2 tsp. Pepper
Here is where you can play with it a bit.
1 tsp. Liquid Smoke or 2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar or once you finish a layer, sprinkle it heavy with more pepper for that extra spicy kick!
*You'll need a lot of paper towels for this*
1. Slice your meat against the grain in very small slices and put them in a container or a ziploc gallon size bag. (you might consider splitting this into two bags and either freezing one after you add the marinade because there's not enough room for all the meat in one batch.\
2. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and pour into or over the meat.
3. Make sure the meat gets covered well by the marinade and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
4. Once it's done marinating, dump the bag into a bowl or just pull out the container.
5. Doing small batches at a time, spread the meat out on paper towels and dab to get the loose marinade off of it. *Set the oven to the lowest setting, as close to 140 degrees as you can get it!)
6. I use stackable cooling racks and lay the meat out as close together as I can get it. Other ways to do it would be to use a skewer and thread the top of the meat and hang these from the oven rack on the highest slot in the oven. Either way, I have a cookie sheet underneath to catch anything that drips.
7. As you get the jerky ready for the oven, you might consider adding seasonings to give it that extra pop (i.e. peppered jerky, or red pepper flakes).
8. Once all the meat is ready to go, put it in the oven and prop the oven open with a wooden spoon for just a little circulation.
9. Depending on how thick your meat was sliced, cook for 5-9 hours. To tell if it's ready, it should crack a bit when you fold it in half but not snap.
10. Pull the jerky out and let it fully cool before you package it up. You can freeze it in jars for up to 4 months or keep it in the fridge for 1-2 months depending on how fatty your cut of meat was.
11. ENJOY and don't eat it all in one sitting!!!
(These facts are using london broil not flank!!)
(Serving size is 4-6 pieces depending on how thick or long you cut them)
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