First batch of beef jerky

[jsharmon7]

I love beef jerky, and it rides around in the car well while on duty. The problem is that I was spending $6 a day on beef jerky from the gas station. I went out today and got a cheap dehydrator from Walmart, a 2 lb London broil, and some spices. I found a basic recipe online consisting of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, garlic powder, and onion powder. I also threw in a little Texas Pete and some brown sugar. I was somewhat surprised that this first batch turned out as well as it did. Next time I'm going to balance out the soy sauce a little better because that's the predominant flavor. With the London broil at $5 per pound and Kroger selling the basic sauces for less than $2 apiece, I think this dehydrator will pay for itself in short order!

Anybody have a good recipe for jerky they would care to share?

 

[bigworm]

sweet baby rays marinade with some soy sauce and pepper

 

[armedindy]

now i have to go to the gas stationg....jerky cravings at midnight, darn u ingo

 

[bwframe]

I have a dehydrator on my "next money" list. I'm watching to learn the particulars of prep storage, etc.

My neighbor watched me take a doe last month and was asking where the jerky was. Good neighbors can be tough to find. I intend to keep them happy.

 

[LeeStreet]

I've been making now for at least 3 years. I first got interested from a thread here on INGO. If you Google jerky recipes, you will get many recipes. The 2 basics are soy and worchester, then add black pepper, onion powder,garlic powder, honey,a couple shakes of balsamic vinegar,liquid smoke, then add hot pepper to taste. One of these days I'm going to make some super hot. I've marinated beef, chicken, deer, antelope, and just tried pork loin, which came out excellent. Consider that pork is about half the price of beef, you can make a lot more. If you have a bulk grocery around, you can save money by buying worchester and soy by the gallon, and liquid by the qt. or gallon. I use Wrights liquid smoke, and bought soy light. Good luck, it's fun and you will have to fight off family and friends once they try homemade jerky. I've seen jerky go for $25 per lb.

 

[jsharmon7]

Thanks LeeStreet, it looks like I'll be heading down to GFS or somewhere later. I just bought smaller bottles for now to figure out what I like, but it seems like soy and Worcestershire are the two most common base sauces. I'll have to try the Sweet Baby Ray's suggestion too; their BBQ sauce is my favorite. I only made a couple of pieces last night to see how the machine worked. I let the rest of the meat marinate overnight and it's in the dehydrator now. I want to go get more supplies and make another batch but I work the next five days and won't probably have the time.

 

[LeeStreet]

Sometimes I leave mine in the marinade for 4-5 days, because I can't get back to it until then, which doesn't hurt it a bit. I might try the Sweet Baby Rays because I 've been wanting to try a bbq type.

 

[PistolBob]

I use some liquid smoke in my soak...or if I am out of that I use hickory smoke flavored salt.

Gotta have some smoke.

 

[Clay]

my buddy used to make deer jerky with dales seasoning and it was like freakin crack! awesome stuff!

Dale's Liquid Steak Seasoning - 16 oz: Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food

 

[SERparacord]

I've been making now for at least 3 years. I first got interested from a thread here on INGO. If you Google jerky recipes, you will get many recipes. The 2 basics are soy and worchester, then add black pepper, onion powder,garlic powder, honey,a couple shakes of balsamic vinegar,liquid smoke, then add hot pepper to taste. One of these days I'm going to make some super hot. I've marinated beef, chicken, deer, antelope, and just tried pork loin, which came out excellent. Consider that pork is about half the price of beef, you can make a lot more. If you have a bulk grocery around, you can save money by buying worchester and soy by the gallon, and liquid by the qt. or gallon. I use Wrights liquid smoke, and bought soy light. Good luck, it's fun and you will have to fight off family and friends once they try homemade jerky. I've seen jerky go for $25 per lb.

 

[JettaKnight]

I have a dehydrator on my "next money" list. I'm watching to learn the particulars of prep storage, etc.

My neighbor watched me take a doe last month and was asking where the jerky was. Good neighbors can be tough to find. I intend to keep them happy.

Do you have a box fan? Get some air filters and bungee cords!

Watch Alton Brown explain it.

 

[jsharmon7]

FYI, the dehydrator I got from Walmart was only $45. It's not the fancy kind with adjustable settings and such, but for the price it does the job just fine.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Got a dehydrator, been waiting to get some other stuff in order before doing the jerky thing. I bought a syringe thingy with jerky heads for strips and cylinders. We have to avoid pepper, but that's pretty easy.

 

[Joshua473]

I have a dehydrator and use the same recipe jsharmon7 uses but every time i make it, it turns out like hearended leather, not too mention god knows where my cholesterol levels were going with all the sodium.

 

[bwframe]

Do you have a box fan? Get some air filters and bungee cords!

Watch Alton Brown explain it.

Thank you! I saved the recipe and will look into the filter deal. That would save some serious jack over the Excalibur's I've been eyeing.

 

[JettaKnight]

Thank you! I saved the recipe and will look into the filter deal. That would save some serious jack over the Excalibur's I've been eyeing.

Yep. Avoid "uni-taskers". They take up space and only do one thing (sometimes poorly).

I made some drying racks from screen material and 1" pine strips. They stack, have good airflow and are reusable. I haven't gotten around to posting the instructable, yet.

I use mine for herbs, jerky, chilis and hops - no heat so the food is dried gently.

 

[BRbaseball34]

My father in law makes some incredible Jerky. Using metal cooling racks and his oven