I have always loved Beef Jerky, but commercial beef jerky is expensive. Spending $17+USD for a 12oz. bag of Beef Jerky is cost prohibitive for the average person. This is what has led me to begin making my own!

Making your own beef jerky is fairly easy! And you can flavor it to your own taste and preference! And most importantly, you can make 12oz. of your own Beef Jerky for approximately $3.00 depending on the type of meat and flavorings that you choose to use

My Ingredients

Almost all Jerky Recipes begin with a Marinade Base of Soy Sauce and Worcester Sauce, and additional ingredients are added to your preference. The great thing about Jerky recipes is that I have found that there are no wrong answers. As long as you start with a good base of Soy and Worcester, you can pretty much add any other flavors that you want until you find the blend that you like best!. Below is the list of common ingredients that I use in my recipe.

Soy Sauce

Worcester Sauce

Tabasco Sauce

Liquid Smoke

Pretty much any other meat marinade that you desire

Crushed Red Pepper

Salt

Chili Powder

Garlic Powder

Brown Sugar

Again, you can add or delete any of these ingredients. For instance, if you are concerned about the carbs, don't add the brown sugar. Go with your instinct on this, you won't go wrong!

Picking your Meat!

When selecting a meat for Jerky, stick to lean meats! Fatty meats do not hold up well during the cooking/dehydrating process. I use Top Round. I recommend using at least 5 pounds of meat to yield a meaningful amount of finished product.

Slicing your Meat

Using a very sharp knife, I use a filet knife, slice your meat cross grain into very thin slices. Try to keep each slice to no more that 1/16 of an inch. It is very important to keep consistent with the thickness of your slices. This will help ensure that each piece of jerky will cook consistently throughout the process.

Combine Your Wet Ingredients

After combining all of your wet ingredients as show above, place your sliced meat into the Wet Mixture

Combine your Dry Ingredients

Combine your Dry Ingredients in a separate container. Then slowly remove your wet meat and mix it into the dry ingredients. Try to coat/rub each piece consistently ensuring that not one piece receives more of a coating of dry ingredients than others. Once your meat is coated with the dry ingredients, place them back in the wet ingredient container.

Marinade for at least 24 hours

Dehydrate Your Meat

After you have marinated your meat for at least 24 hours, you will be ready to cook/dehydrate. Spread your slices of meat on your cooking trays leaving some space between each piece. For cooking, I use a dehydrator set at 160 degrees and cook for 6 hours, but you cooking time will vary based on your preference. You can also use your oven for dehydrating/cooking your jerky. You just need to use the lowest temperature possible and leave your oven door cracked throughout the cooking process.

Very Simple, Very Easy, and Much Less Expensive

Thanks for taking the time to read this and feel free to up vote if you found it useful and leave any comments and suggestions to make my product better :)