Beef Jerky

After this adorable little boxer ate two bags of my boyfriend's beef jerky, I decided to try to make my own.  I found this recipe on the Mark's Daily Apple site. I couldnt' find flank steak anywhere so I bought a cut of top roast instead. I've been told you can use just about any cut. 

One time I boiled the strips in the marinade for a few minutes before placing in the oven at 170 for 7 hours on foil-lined baking sheets (My oven is digital and that's the lowest it would go). Another time I placed the strips of meat and marinade in a ziplock bag in the fridge for 3 hours, then cooked overnight.  I liked the ziplock marinade better, but play around and see what you prefer. 

Flank steak. Cut ¼” strips across the grain. Freeze a bit for easier cutting.
Marinade: For a 2-lb cut:
Instead of letting the meat “soak” overnight in a plastic bag, you can boil your marinade mix and drop in your meat strips for a minute or two (recommended by USDA for meat to reach 160 degrees anyway).
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. liquid smoke
3 minced or crushed garlic cloves
2 ½ tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. hot chili powder
½-1 tsp. each of salt and black pepper
(Hint: For a hotter taste, add red pepper flakes or hot sauce. To add a hint of sweetness, include a Tbsp. of honey.)
Again, if you’re using an oven, you’ll use the power of the dry heat to dehydrate the meat over several hours. Lay the strips across clean wire racks or a broiler pan, and place in the oven. You’ll want to put a lined pan in the oven a couple rack bars lower than the strips in order to catch the drippings. If you don’t have racks that will hold the strips, line backing sheets with aluminum foil, and lay your jerky strips on the pans. Make sure the strips don’t touch. Particularly if you used a hot marinade, you can use a lower temperature (150 degrees is common) for 6-8 hours. Turn strips half-way through cook time.
Jerky is done when it’s darkened and cracks when bent. (It shouldn’t break apart.) Allow to cool completely at room temperature. Seal in bags in the fridge (keeps longer in the freezer).

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-make-your-own-jerky/

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Similar recipe from Alton Brown.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds red meat (although you can use elk, bear, venison, wild boar or just about any other critter you can hunt. I stick with beef such as top round steak, flank steak or brisket)

Brine:

• 2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon honey

Directions

Place the meat in the freezer for 1 hour, so that it will be easier to cut.
Slice the meat with the grain as thin as humanly possible.
Mix brine ingredients right in a resealable plastic bag (placing the bag inside a large plastic container will make this easier.)

Place meat strips in brine. Move the meat around so the marinade is evenly distributed around it. Seal bag, working out as much air as humanly possible.

Lay bag flat in the plastic container and refrigerate for 3 to 6 hours.

Remove meat from the brine and drain on cooling racks. Discard the brine.

When the meat is dry place it inside Blo-hard 3000 and set fan to medium. Leave overnight or for at least 12 hours. If you don't find yourself in possession of a Blo-hard 3000, place strips directly on oven racks.
Heat oven to lowest setting and use a blob of foil as a wedge to hold door ajar.
Oven-dry overnight or until meat reaches a consistency of your liking.
Store in zip-top bag or jar in a cool dark place for 30 or 40 years or until fuzzy stuff starts to grow on it.