Experiments at home: Making Jerky

Jerky Recipes

I have been making beef jerky for about 4 years now and it's gotten to be a bit of a thing with some of my friends.  Every July, I make provisions for a long sailing trip that they take for Brooklyn to Maine.  Here are the recipes for the jerky snacks I’m going to try for the Big Maine Voyage.

1. Sriracha Jerky
2. Carolina BBQ Jerky
3. Sweet Chipotle Jerky, which is basically a milder, smokier pepper.  

This year, I have a vacuum sealer, so that should mean no more moldy rations and chumming the seas with seasoned beef.

I’m going to start with about 20lbs of beef for each recipe – usually a nice lean sirloin or brisket – which usually gives 7-8lbs or jerkable beef. Get rid of as much fat and sinew as possible and cut into jerky-sized strips - cut across the grain, which makes for easier eating. If you cut with the grain, you’ll sometimes get strips that you think might  tear out a tooth. Sinew is just impossible to chew once dried.

Each recipe below will be for about 5-6 lbs of beef.

Basic recipe for all jerky:

Trim fat from lean meat and cut into 1/4 inch strips (cut against the grain).
Mix up the marinades and soak the meat overnight in a ziplock bag before dehydrating.
Dehydration is done in an oven at approx. 140-160 degrees until done – lower & slower is better, but I have been known to rush it in larger batches.

This year, I am going to try to use fresh garlic, onions and ginger instead of dried for some. I think it’ll work well. I am also going to do a hot marinade this year, which should also work out nicely. Simmering the onion and garlic and cooking it slightly is key to not getting an overwhelming, bitter onion and garlic flavor, but one that’s mellower and meaty goodness-enhancing.  So far, all of my previous jerkies have been made with dried onion, ginger and garlic.

Carolina-style BBQ:
1 cup Soy sauce
2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
16 cloves of garlic minced
1 onion cut into strips
3 Tablespoons Coleman's mustard powder
3 tbsp dijon mustard
Special mustard*
1 1/2 Teaspoons paprika
4 Teaspoons liquid smoke – Hickory.
8 Tablespoons of honey
1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
2 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp ketchup
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar

* for this, I use a firey Russian mustanrd called "Mother-in-Law's Tongue."  I don't know where you can get it outside of Brooklyn or Russia.

Bring all ingredients to a low boil, and simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Add more soy and Worcestershire to reconstitute if it gets too tacky. Then add:
8 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Sriracha Smoked Pepper Jerky
The second one is my Spicy Recipe; easily my favorite of the two. The spicy flavor is there, but most of the actual heat was left behind in the marinade. I might re-slather the jerky in straight Sriracha prior to drying.  The funny thing is that you need to amp up some of these other ingredients to make the batch taste like Sriracha - Sriracha alone won't do it.  

1 cup Soy sauce
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
16 cloves of garlic minced
1 onion cut into strips
10 Tablespoons of Sriracha hot relish
4-5 tbsp sriracha sauce
4 Tablespoon red pepper flakes
3 Teaspoons chili powder (probably more Mexican Paprika)
2 Teaspoons cumin
1 Teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
¼ cup blackstrap molasses

Bring all ingredients to a low boil, and simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Add more soy and Worcestershire to reconstitute if it gets too tacky.
1. Sweet Spanish Chipotle-spiced Beef Jerky
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 24 hrs 0 min
Ready In: 12 hrs 
Sweet, salty and hot - this beef jerky is simple to prepare. Store it for up to 3 months in an airtight container at room temperature.
1. Ingredients
1 ½ cups naturally fermented soy sauce
1 cup whole, unrefined cane sugar
3 tablespoons onion powder
3 tablespoon garlic powder
6 teaspoons chipotle chile powder – Spanish stuff, I think
½ tsp cayenne
1 tsp turmeric
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1. Place trimmed steak in a resealable plastic bag. 
2. Whisk soy sauce, sugar, onion powder, garlic powder and chipotle chile together in a large mixing bowl, and pour into the resealable plastic bag over the steak. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 and up to 8 hours.
3. Drain the marinade from the meat, and place the strips of seasoned beef onto the trays of your food dehydrator. Dehydrate at about 150 F about 6 to 8 hours depending on the humidity of your kitchen and the thickness of the cut.