Homemade Beef Jerky?

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rooloo77

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jan 7, 2009
Messages
11
Location
NC
Is this possible without a dehydrator or is it wishful thinking? Does anyone have a good recipe??

I love good jerky but it is so expensive!
 
You can make it in a regular oven, but you might have to tend to it more often. I just made some in my toaster/convection oven yesterday, and it turned out great!

Marinades are good, but some can produce sticky jerky. I didn't marinate my last batch, but I sprinkled it with salt, pepper, and garlic powder...
 
In ages past they just hung the meat out to dry in the sun. Personally I find the dehydrator much faster and more efficient, which barely keeps up with my speed of eating it.
 
I use the Alton Brown recipe that others referenced above, but I add a little Kikkoman Teryaki glaze to the marinade, and bump up the heat with dried red pepper. I always use flank steak, but I'm sure that there are other cuts that work just as well.

I use a dehydrator, and they are relatively inexpensive-I think I paid less that 30$ for mine. I load up the trays, rotate them every so often, and remove the product when its done to my liking.

In contrast, the pleated 3M filters that Alton uses aren't the 99 cent variety-I think they cost around 10$ each!
 
I thought it was neat how he did it, but I wonder can you re-use the air filters over and over again? If not I think it would get expensive over time. He also said once dried to store it in an air tight container for 2 to 3 months. I am assuming he means you can store it for up to 2 to 3 months that way.. cause I ain't waitin that long to eat it, and once we start eating it, gone in a day or two!! LOL.
Also, I am not sure but I think the filters he was talking about I have seen around here for around $6, does anybody know for sure which he used and how much? Cause at $6 that is too much, but $.99 wouldn't be as cost prohibitive.
 
I used different filters than he used. I am not sure what kind mine were, but they worked. They were blue and flat. There was the occasional strand of "filter" on the meat after it was done, but those were easily removed. I did reuse them as well.

Yes he meant that you can store them that long, not that you have to. Mine lasted about 2 days.
 
I think I should look into a dehydrator... although.. I do have a box fan handy LOL. Is this very cost effective? Seems it would be compared to a small package here that costs around $5.
 
Buck and I found it to be much more economical to make our own jerky. Also, we thought the commercially-produced jerky was a bit too salty for our taste. Making our own allowed us to control the salt. We've had our dehydrator for so long it's probably paid for itself. Although, I did see one like ours at the Salvation Army thrift store a while back. It was only $2. Almost bought it.
 
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