Beef Jerky

I've been making beef jerky off and on for about a year now and have done a lot of experimenting to find what works.  It's still not perfect, but it's getting pretty good!  Here is what I've learned so far.  If you've made jerky a few times some of these are probably obvious.

1) Don't over marinade.  I started out marinading overnight, but the flavor was always way too strong.  I've been lowering the time each time that I use marinade and this last time I only marinaded for 1 hour.  I think this is just right.  You can definitely taste the marinade flavors, but it's not overpowering.

2) Don't over dry.  5 - 6 hours seems to be just about right for me.  Any longer and it starts to get crispy.  When you take it out it will seem like it might not be done, but when you let it sit overnight it will firm up and finish drying out.

3) Cut against the grain.  when you're cutting up the meat make sure you cut against the grain instead of with the grain.  That way when you take a bite it will break off instead of tearing long ways.  This makes a huge difference in your enjoyment in the jerky.

My basic recipe is about a half cup of apple cider vinegar, a few shots of worcestershire sauce, some soy sauce or just sea salt, a cup or so of water (enough liquid to cover the meat, and whatever spices you like - usually pepper, red pepper flakes, onion powder, and either garlic powder or minced garlic.

Although not paleo (unless you make your own), another great recipe is to marinade the mneat overnight in BBQ sauce.  The taste is amazing.

You can see the minced garlic on this one.  Also, it looks like I cut with the grain instead of against the grain...