Jerky is a type of dehydrated, or dried, meat which can be made from almost any type of meat or wild game. It is high in protein and low in fat, and doesn't need to be refrigerated. Jerky is a convenient food to carry in your purse or backpack or keep in your car for a healthy on-the-go snack. Jerky is a popular item among hikers and backpackers because it provides a lot of nutritional punch for a small amount of weight and space.
Instructions
Instructions
1. Choose lean cuts of raw meat. Fat will cause the jerky to go rancid, so find the leanest cuts of meat such as loin, round or flank steak. Beef is one of the more popular choices when making jerky, and many find it the easiest meat to work with. Choose a cut that is approximately ½ inch thick. Four pounds of yield about one pound of jerky.
2. Place the meat in the freezer for a few hours, until it is partly frozen---this will make it much easier to slice. Trim off any visible fat and cut the meat across the grain into ¼ inch slices. Try to keep the slices a uniform size so they will all dehydrate evenly.
3. Marinate the jerky before you dehydrate it. Choose a sweet, salty, spicy, or peppery marinade for your jerky from the recipes listed in the resource section or make up your own recipe using some combination of soy sauce; Worcestershire sauce; sugar; honey and spices such as garlic or onion powder, black pepper and chili powder. For the simplest possible marinade, use plain soy sauce. Place the sliced meat in a nonmetal pan or plastic bag and cover it with marinade. Refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
4. Drain the marinade from the strips of meat and spread them out on foil-lined cookie sheets or the racks of your dehydrator. Do not allow the strips to overlap---air should be able to circulate freely around each strip. Set your oven or dehydrator temperature to 120 to 170 degrees and allow the strips to dry, checking periodically for doneness.
5. Test to see if the jerky is done. It can take anywhere from 4 to 24 hours for jerky to dehydrate, depending on the thickness of the meat. It usually takes longer in the oven than in a dehydrator with a fan. The turn darker and shrink as it dehydrates. Pick up a piece of jerky and bend it in half; it should bend slightly before it breaks. If it does not break, then dehydrate longer and test again until you find that it is done.
6. Store jerky in a sealed plastic bag or jar in a cool dark place for up to a week. You can store it in the refrigerator for a few weeks or in the freezer for up to a year.
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