Friday, January 23, 2009

Make Beef Jerky At Home

By Jonni Haydens

Creativity is what truly makes great beef jerky. You can learn how to make beef jerky easily. But learning how to make great tasting, one of a kind beef jerky with take some time and experimenting.

When it comes to making beef jerky the only limit that you have is your own imagination. You can create all kinds of different types of beef jerky and try all kinds of different ingredients until you find a recipe that is just what you taste buds desire. Mix up the spices and the meat used to create great combinations.

Let's start letting our imagination go and use some red wine in our beef jerky. Yes, you heard me right. We are going to use your favorite red wine and make come red wine beef jerky. However, remember to use the wine in small amounts because we do not want to get the jerky too wet because then it will be hard to dry.

Don't be alarmed if your first batch of jerky taste terrible. This is normal. You can't always hit a home run on your first try. It's all a matter of trial and error and your beef jerky will get better and better as you go along. Practice makes perfect.

When it comes to what meat to use for your beef jerky, we recommend that you use sirloin tips. It is our personal favorite but you can use whatever you would like. Once you get your meat you will then need to cut it into 1/8 inch wide strips or just have the butcher do it for you. Just make sure that you cut the meat with the grain to ensure a better final product. This width is recommended because it will make the meat dry much faster when you put it in the dehydrator.

When you are cutting the meat make sure to cut off any fat that is on the meat. We do this because fat will not dry and will become rotten. The next step is to marinate our meat and this is where we start to get creative.

The ingredients for our beef jerky marinade are: half cup of red wine, 1 teaspoon of garlic, 1/2 cup of soy sauce and 2 garlic cloves. Want to add some heat to the mix? Mix in some red pepper to give it some fire. Combine all ingredients along with your meat and place then in a sealed bag and let them marinate for at least 6 hours and preferably over night in the fridge.

After letting the meat marinate for a night it is now time to toss it in the dehydrator. Beef jerky usually takes around 6-10 hours to finish but you will want to keep an eye on it to make sure it is not over cooking. To test it, just take a piece out and cut it to see if it is still moist. When the jerky has finished drying, take it out and enjoy.

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