How To Make Jerky, A Fun Summer Snack

If you’re anything like me, summer time means its time to go camping or hiking!  I love camping trips where we get to car camp and cook outside over the campfire or in Dutch ovens.  One of my favorite things is to leisurely cook breakfast or dinner outside in a beautiful location.  But sometimes I want food that is packable, easy, and doesn’t require fuss or refrigeration.  Here enters jerky!  Who doesn’t like jerky – right!?!?  And…..you get kitchen prowess points when you can say you made the jerky you’re sharing J  Plus jerky’s just a pretty fun and satisfying snack. 

If you’ve ever bought food for a non-refrigerated camp trip you know it can be challenging and expensive!  But with a little bit of leg work ahead of time you can make your own dehydrated foods like jerky.   Jerky is great for road trips, snacks, and hiking or camping.  When you make it yourself, you can control what goes into your jerky and the flavors you prefer.  About 4lbs of meat will yield approximately 1lb of jerky. 

What Meat to Use

Fresh slightly frozen lean cuts are best for jerky although you can use hamburger as well.  Round, flank and sirloin are great options.  Our rolled roasts, taken apart and sliced, make great cuts for making jerky.  Each roast is about 4lbs, so you would get about 1lbs of jerky from a roast.  Sirloin steaks are also a great cut for jerky.  Our hamburger is 90% lean or greater, which makes it a great option for ground beef jerky and limiting shrinkage. 

Preparation of the Meat

If your cuts are slightly frozen they are easier to slice into thin slices with a knife and cutting board.  Cut thin slices across the grain, which increases the tenderness.  This means to cut horizontally across the long meat fibers, breaking them up.  Try cutting them no more than ¼ in thick depending on your preference.  The thicker they are the longer they take to dehydrate and the tougher the jerky usually is.  Remove excess fat during this process. 

Salting and Seasoning

There are two way so to cure meat for jerky

Brine Curing uses a salt and water mixture.  Often with additional spices and flavors.  The meat is soaked in this mixture until the salt is absorbed.  If using a brine mixture immerse the meat in the brine in a tightly covered container in your refrigerator for 6-12 hours.  The smell of the brine is probably strong so use a tight fitting lid to limit it permeating your other food. 

Dry Curing uses a mixture of salt and seasonings that are applied to the meat without adding water.  Liberally sprinkle your jerky with the cure mixture and put it in a container with a tight fitting lid in your refrigerator for 6-12 hours. 

Use a type of salt that is fairly pure like table salt or pickling salt.  Rock Salt tends to have impurities you may not want in your food. 

How to Dry Meat for Jerky

Place the meat on drying racks.  Do not overlap the meat to ensure good air circulation.  Use a temperature either in a Dehydrator or Oven of 140F-160F for the first 3-4 hours.  You may reduce the temperature to 130F after that until dry if desired.  Occasionally blot the jerky dry while dehydrating to get rid of excess fat. 

How to Know When Jerky is Dry Enough

Test your jerky by cooling a piece.  When it is cook it should crack when bent and not bend.  There should be no moist spots in the jerky. 

Storage

Cool it before storage.  If you want, cut it into shorter pieces for storage.  Jerky containing salt and cured with out a commercial curing preparation may be stored at room temperature for 1-2 mo.  Good air circulation and low humidity keep the flavor better longer and allow for longer storage.  If you have high humidity, store in an airtight container.  You can refrigerate it or freeze it to maintain better flavor and increase shelf life. 

Recipes

There are so many jerky recipes out there, and many can be found on Pinterest, or in books on how to dehydrate foods.  There are also many commercial seasoning and curing blends available as well.  I will include a couple of basic ones here to give you a starting place. 

Basic Dry Cure Jerky Recipe

¾ teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon of cracked pepper

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

1 garlic clove crushed

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1 tablespoon of Worchester sauce

1lb lean thinly sliced beef

Combine all the ingredients except the meat to start.  Stir to mix well.  Place your meat slices in a single layer on a clean flat surface.  Spread the salt mixture generously on both sides of the meat.  Place the meat strips in a tightly covered container and marinate for 6-12 hours in the refrigerator.  Stir the meat strips occasionally.  Dehydrate according to the directions listed above.  Yield approx. ¼lb.

Basic Teriyaki Marinade Jerky Recipe

½ teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon of pepper

½ teaspoon of ground ginger

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

1 garlic clove

¼ C soy sauce

1 lb lean thinly sliced beef

In a small bowl combine all of the ingredients except the meat.  Stir to mix well.  Place meat 3-4 layers deep in an airtight container and spoon the soy sauce mixture over each layer.  Cover tightly and marinate 6-12 hours in the refrigerator.  Stir occasionally.  Follow the directions above to dehydrate your jerky.  Yield approx. ¼lb.

May You Have Fun with Your Food!