How To Make Beef Jerky In Four Easy Steps

If you've ever wondered How To Make Beef Jerky here's the instructions in four easy steps.

At the bottom of this page are recipes that include ingredients for marinades and rubs to give your jerky super flavor.

Making your own beef jerky takes some time but not a lot of labor.

Set aside at least two days for the entire process if you're using a marinade.

If you're going to use a rub you eliminate the marinating time and can get by with just one day. Most of that time is for the drying process.

Once you taste your own homemade beef jerky you'll understand just how bad the stuff you get from the convenience store is.

Yours will be more like the artisan gourmet beef jerky you buy over the Internet.

How To Make Beef Jerky Step-By-Step

How To Make Beef Jerky Step One: Selecting The Beef for Jerky

There are several cuts of beef you can choose to make your jerky. Personally I've only used beef flank steak but cuts from the beef round should work equally well.

I think most commercial varieties use beef top round.

The primary point to remember in choosing your beef cut is that you want one that is as lean as possible.

No beef chuck here!

Fat will not dry properly and will cause your beef jerky to go rancid.

How To Make Beef Jerky Step Two: Preparing The Beef

Once you've selected the cut you're going to use it has to be thinly sliced. I'm lucky because I have a butcher that will slice it for me on his machine.

If you're going to slice yours yourself it will help to partially freeze the beef cut first.

I've seen recipes that say to slice with the grain and recipes that say to slice across the grain.

Slicing with the grain will give you a finished product with long beef fibers. Slicing across the grain they will be shorter and, I think, easier to eat. The choice is yours.

Regardless of whether you cut across or with the grain or have the butcher cut it for you, you want to wind up with beef slices about the size of thick bacon.

I like mine sliced about 1/4 inch thick.

The slices should be as uniform as possible so they will all dry in about the same amount of time.

Be sure to remove any visible fat from your slices.

How To Make Beef Jerky Step Three: Beef Jerky Rubs and Marinades

Once you have your slices you could go ahead with the drying process right away. But rubs or marinades give you a chance to add extra flavor.

Unlike our ancestors this is about how to make beef jerky that tastes good and not just a food preservation method.

Most beef jerky recipes usually include a marinade or rub. However taste is a personal thing.

Beef Jerky seasonings come in a dazzling array of varieties and can be concocted with whatever ingredients you prefer. Trying new jerky seasonings is easy and fun and often leads to new and interesting tastes.

You can use some at bottom of this page to get you started then develop your own marinade or rub according to your tastes.

How To Make Beef Jerky Step Four: The Drying Process

If you own a food dehydrator it should have instructions for drying your jerky. I used to have one and mine did.

However a food dehydrator is not the only means of drying your beef jerky. Your oven will work just fine.

For oven drying you will need a rack of some sort. I use a half sheet pan with a cookie cooling rack. The rack keeps the beef out of any drippings.

I have seen recipes that said to place the beef slices directly on the oven racks but I haven't tried that. If you're going to go that route be sure to put some foil in the bottom to catch drippings.

Arrange the slices of beef on the rack as close as possible without overlapping. Place in the oven set on 150 degrees with the door ajar and just leave it alone for several hours.

If you have an oven thermometer now is the time to use it.

The total amount of drying time will of course depend on how thick your slices are and the temperature of your oven. Humidity also plays a roll.

Beef jerky is at the proper amount of dehydration when it will bend a bit before cracking. It should not be so brittle that it snaps without bending.

There you have it. How To Make Beef Jerky in four easy steps!

Yes it is time consuming. But most of the time is inactive time and the end result is better than anything you can get in a convenience store.

More Beef Jerky Recipes: