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WORLD FAMOUS BEEF JERKY
Soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Brown sugar
Crushed garlic
Hot pepper sauce (Tabasco or other)
Red cooking wine
Jamaican Jerk seasoning or A−1 sauce
Start with several pounds of very lean beef roast. You should choose a roast
with visible grain, if possible, and little or no fat. It needn't be very
high quality, and in fact, tougher cuts seem to actually work better. Mix a
marinade with some or all of the following: Mixing the sauce is largely a
matter of taste. The result should be close to 3 parts soy sauce, 1 part
Worcestershire, 1 part brown sugar and the rest as desired. It should be a
very strong salty, spicy and slightly sweet solution. The rest of the
ingredients depend on your taste, and the list is by no means exhaustive.
Adding red wine will decrease the saltiness and/or dilute it if you get it
too spicy without affecting the flavor greatly. You should not use more than
about 30 to 40% red wine, however, since the saltiness is necessary to
preserve the meat. Don't get too hung up on the recipe, it is good just
about any way you fix it. With a very sharp knife, slice the uncooked roast
with the grain (usually lengthwise down the roast) into strips about 1/8
inch thick. Thinner will make the jerky spicier and crisper, thicker, up to
about 1/4 inch will make it easier to slice, but increases drying time. Trim
fat once again, and put the slices in a large Ziploc bag with the marinade.
Squeeze to remove as much air as possible, and have a helper seal the bag.
Let soak at room temperature for at least an hour. Remove the strips and
place in a dehydrator. Spread them in a single layer on each rack, and
sprinkle with great quantities of black pepper on one side. Dry on high (145
degrees) in the dehydrator, or turn your oven temperature selector until the
light just comes on (the lowest setting possible) and dry on a rack in the
oven. In the oven, prop the door open about 3 inches at the top. Drying time
is about 8 to 10 hours, but can take twice that long for thicker pieces.
Bending should splinter some of the outside fibers when done. It should keep
at room temperature for a couple of weeks, and will actually get better in a
day or two as the moisture content becomes more uniform throughout.
WORLD FAMOUS BEEF JERKY
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