Official Off Topic Discussion Thread #1
- Thread starter Chrisplosion
- Start date
Really disappointing Lfs visit...
But, I'm attempting to make my own beef jerky later
We make beef jerky all the time.
It is so much better than store-bought and cheaper, too.Are you doing it in a smoker or the oven? The key is to dry it out while minimally cooking it, so a long time at a very low temperature is key.
Our recipe is as follows - measurements are estimates, I never actually measure any of the ingredients:
One flank steak, maybe two pounds, cut into 1/2" thick strips across the grain
Marinade:
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar
fresh and/or crystallized ginger
splash of rice vinegar
lots and lots of fresh ground pepper
spoonful of Asian fried-chile paste, or whatever you want for heat
chopped green onion
crushed garlic
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup sesame seeds
Marinade overnight.
You can leave out just about anything but the soy/sugar and it will still turn out well, but if I have all the ingredients on hand this is how we do it.
Pull it out of the marinade and flatten it out - I use a mallet but I don't pound it, just squish it out flat gently.
Put it on a wire rack on a sheet pan and let it air-dry until tacky.
Smoke on low heat for three or four hours. It is important to turn it every once-in-a-while so that it dries evenly.
Watch closely towards the end because there is a fine-line between perfect and overdone.
How do you like the dehydrator? I've had one for a couple of years and a jerky recipe book but yet to use either.
I have been looking to get a dehydrator because it is tricky to avoid burning it on the Traeger. Ideally I would smoke it a bit for flavor and then finish it in a food-dryer. My favorite is definitely the hot-soy-ginger one, but my wife tried one that had Coca-Cola that was pretty good, too.
You've made me want to go buy some flank steak!
