How To: Make Better Beef Jerky with Better Meat

The better the meat you use, the better your homemade beef jerky will turn out. You will want to go to your butcher and get as good a quality meat as you can afford and have the meat sliced really thin. Beef jerky is a great way to preserve your protein for a snack. This video will show you how to make better beef jerky.

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs. lean meat
• ground (beef or venison)
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 3 teaspoons curing salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1/4 ground
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 cup soy protein concentrate or non-fat-dry milk
• coarse black pepper

Directions:

1. Grind the lean meat twice through a fine (1/8") meat grinder plate.
2. Combine the ground meat and remaining ingredients in an ample-size mixing bowl; mix/knead well.
3. Do a taste test by frying a quarter-size patty. Although the patty won't taste exactly like the finished product, sampling will help determine if you need to add more salt or spice.
4. Place a gball-sizedsize piece of ground jerky mixture between two pieces of waxed paper. Lay two 2" wide x of 3/16" thick strip of cardboard on both sides of the ground jerky mixture.
5. Use a rolling pin to flatten the meat to the thickness of the cardboard. Remove the waxed paper and repeat the procedure. You may also cut the rolled meat into jerky strips or squares.
6. Layer the jerky on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Separate each layer of jerky strips with more wax paper so the jerky strips don't stick together. Refrigerate overnight to cure.
7. Next day, remove the cured jerky strips from the refrigerator and place them on 1/2" mesh racks or dehydrator trays. Dry the jerky strips in an oven, smoker, or dehydrator in the usual manner until the jerky reaches the desired degree of dryness, at which time it is ready to eat. Store the remaining dried jerky in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze for up to a year.