Beef Jerky, NYC 2020

I bought a dehydrator months ago before all of this shit happened(thank you Stephen King?) And, I've dallied with it, my first accomplishment was with kiwi(not KIWIS, as that would be cannibalism). I really bought it for making of the jerkies of the beef. And, I nailed it. I use a Dehydro, the lower end model, and by damn, if the mf'r didn't give my marinated jerky up within 7 hours. I grew up on a jerky akin to carne seca. I like a dry, savory, chewy jerky. Think pemican, but with herbs instead of fruits. Not that sticky sweet gas station/grocery store preservative shite. In the time of Covid19, I just want a fast protein fix. I used round steak, the less fat the better, na und? It turned out, my first try, surprisingly good!

Hi,

Always fun to do something new. It is a stress relief at least for me.

You may find these links of interest:

All About Drying from the National Center for Home Food Preservation

Leathers and Jerkies from Colorado State University

Have fun!

Regards,
Cathy2

Nice one. I love beef jerky. Got any pictures?

No dehydrator here but I sometimes do a smoked jerky on the Weber. I try to keep the temp below 200F and use a heartier wood like hickory.

Beef jerky is good when it's simply flavored with just salt and smoke. Mexican groceries often have "sandwich steak" which seems to be lean round roast sliced thin. It goes on sale a lot which is great for jerky making.

I've used the oven method where you set the temp as low as it goes and leave the oven door ajar. Probably still a little too warm but makes a pretty decent jerky.