Homemade Sweet and Hot Beef Jerky Tutorial

I'm a beef jerky addict. No. Seriously. To the tune of about 20 bucks a WEEK at one point. After becoming aware of the dangers of store-bought jerky (the kind that are pumped full of preservatives, MSG, sodium, and nitrates), I decided to only eat my own homemade jerky. I will never go back.

Homemade Sweet and Hot Beef Jerky

Ingredients

1lb Thin Cut Chuck Steaks
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbs Liquid Smoke
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp steak seasoning
2 tsp red pepper flakes

Step 1



Using a rolling pin or meat mallet, pound out each steak to about 1/8 of an inch thick (this is why I buy thin cut, they are pretty thin to start with and doesn't take much pounding).

Step 2

 In a bowl, combine all the liquid and spice ingredients. Put the pounded out steaks in a Ziploc bag, pour marinade over top of the meat. Seal and massage the bag to distribute the marinade and steaks...get all the pieces coated. Let marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours, up to 12 hours.

Step 3

Place marinaded meat in a single layer on your dehydrator trays. Dehydrate overnight, 10-12 hours. 

Step 4

Enjoy!! Makes great gifts!

Comments

danikent said…
Curious, would it be possible to replace the soy sauce.with anything or just leave it out? I love jerky but can only have tiny amounts bc im allergic to soy :(
carol said…
I have never made jerky although I have been telling my husband I would really love to try to make some deer jerky. Hopefully that will happen soon! :) That being said, when I read danikent's question I immediately thought of Bragg's liquid amino acids. It is supposed to be very "soy like" but healthier. I dunno -- maybe not a good idea but I thought I would throw it out there. Maybe some one else could comment?
Unknown said…
Danikent and Carol, this got me thinking so I googled it. Here is a link to a recipe to make your own natural replacement for soy sauce!

http://www.cookinggodsway.com/soy-sauce-substitute/

And if you want it vegetarian I'm sure you could swap out the beef or chicken stock for veggie stock. Good luck!
This is a wonderful beef recipe. I would love tp try it. Thanks for sharing it.
This actually looks pretty easy. May have to add it to our list of projects for this month :)
Anonymous said…
Use chicken broth or stock as a substitute.
Unknown said…
Vegetarian BEEF jerky? just asking?
Unknown said…
Use pineapple juice rather than brown sugar Cut up hot pepper and cook in the pineapple juice.
Andy said…
Bragg's is great, but it can bring on a very strong and salty flavor. You may want to dilute a little bit with water, apple juice or broth. I always through in some organic raw apple cider vinegar as well.

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