# MEGABITE's Peppered Beef jerky



## MEGABITE (May 21, 2004)

After getting some excellent beef jerky in the Hill Country over
the 4th of July, I got a wild hare and went and bought a
dehydrator at Wal-mart over the weekend and did 2 batches
of jerky, and man oh man it's good!

I started with about a 3 pound beef rump roast (the
leanest I could find).

Trim as much fat off of it as you can and cut it into strips.
(I did it across the grain this time but I might try with the
grain next time..I have read recipes done both ways). I
sliced it about 1/4 inch thick. You can make it
thicker but it'll take more time to dehydrate.

Tip: If you put the roast in the freezer for about an hour,
it sure makes it easier to cut. I sliced mine with my electric
filet knife I won at one of the gatherings (thanks Walkin' Jack!).
Sure made it easier!

Now the marinade:

(I tweaked the one I started with and ended up with
this one

6 oz soy sauce

12 oz worstershire sauce

4 OZ water

4 TBL liquid smoke

2 TBL garlic powder

2 TBL onion powder

2 TBL Morton's "Hot Salt" (it's new)

1 TBL Paprika

2 TBL cayenne pepper

ALOT of fresh ground black pepper to taste

a few dashes of crushed red pepper (the one you sprinkle on pizzas)

mix it up and pour it in a gallon zip lock and add the meat.

Marinate overnight in the fridge (or at least 8 hours). Flip the ziplock
over periodically.

Now, the FSIS says you need to bring the meat up to 160 degrees
to kill any bacteria (even though the food dehydrator dries it at 155
degrees I decided not to skip this part). So put the meat on a
pan in the oven for awhile until it's 160. It's hard to tell since the
oven's lowest setting is 200 degrees and a meat thermometer
doesn't work very good on meat that thin. You'll have to guess
when it's done. LOL

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/jerky.htm

After it comes out of the oven, pat it dry really good with some paper
towels and liberally coat it with fresh crushed black pepper on both
sides. Smash the pepper into the meat so it will stick.

Spread the meat out on the dehydrator racks and set the machine to
155 degrees. You should have some good jerky in 4-8 hours (depending
on how thick the meat was, how much humidity in the air, and how
much juice you soaked up when it came out of the oven). make sure
you rotate the trays.

let me know how it turned out! Since jerky goes for about $25-$30
a pound and up, the price of the dehydrator ($40 Wal mart) will quickly
be absorbed, plus it's fun!

MEGABITE
[email protected]


----------



## MEGABITE (May 21, 2004)

Made some more this past weekend (friends gobbling it up). DEFINITELY cut the meat WITH THE GRAIN!

MEGABITE


----------



## herefishy (Jul 9, 2004)

To save yourself some time in the future, you might be able to get the butcher to slice it for you at the market. I've had mine at kroger sute some sirloin real thin for me. Sounds good, gonna have to give it a try sometime.


----------



## Gary (May 21, 2004)

*Bro*

Ive gotta try that. Im a beef jerky freak. How much was the dehydrator?


----------



## Blue Water Ho (May 21, 2004)

Thats funny you said this, I just found my dehydator and thought to myself { Im gonna make jerky this weekend}. Thanks for the recipie, Illgive it a whirl.......................later,Dave


----------



## StinkBait (May 31, 2004)

Also, you can buy Hi-Mountain seasonings/cure at Bass Pro. Its the best premade i have found so far. So no one uses any cure, just baking? They say the cure keeps it from spoiling during the couple of hours that the meat sits at a temprature between room temp and 155d. I received a dehydrator for christmas, i have made at least 50#'s (raw meat) of jerky. I absolutely love the thing, i have coworkers here at work that i occasionally sell to for 15$ a pound. I like the process of making the jerky and i am not out to make money because i sell so little, all said and done i wlk away with about 5-6$ in my pocket


----------



## MEGABITE (May 21, 2004)

The Dehydrator is $39.95 at Wal-Mart. You may have to experiment with the recipe until
you get it like you like it. That's what I did. Here's a good site with more info...

http://www.greatjerky.com/beefjerkyrecipes.html

Tell me how it turned out, or better yet, bring some to the gatherings! hehe

MEGA


----------



## VJER (May 21, 2004)

*Jerky recipe...*

My jerky recipe is as follows:

1 bottle Liquid Smoke
Refill the bottle with with soy sause and add
2-3 Tbls Tiger Sause (advailable at Krogers)
2 Tlbs Worhchestershire Sause
Garlic Salt
Course Ground Black Pepper
Cayanne Pepper (Optional)

I like to use Eye of Round when it is on sale. Very lean and consistant sized slices. I will use anything on sale that is lean. As someone said earlier, Krogers will slice your meat for you. I have them use a 15 setting on their slicer. It is less than a 1/4" in thickness. 3 1/2lbs of meat will make one dried pound of jerky.

After mixing all the liquids, I place my meat in the mixture and let it soak for no more than 20 minutes. I get my trays ready and start placing the meat on the trays. After placing the meat on the trays, I sprinkle on the garlic salt and course ground black pepper. For those who like it even hotter, I will use the cayanne pepper.

I always use the max setting on the dehydrator and let it go for 8hrs or so, rotating the trays every hour unless I have fewer than 5 trays, then it is every 2 hours. I have been making jerky for about 5 years or so and have (so far...knock on wood) never had a problem with bad product.

Try this method along with any of the others and you will that overnight marinating is not necessary. Also, wear some kind of glove, or you will smell your hands for a couple of days, especially when you go to sleep...LOL


----------

