Homemade Jerky

Homemade jerky, how hard is that to make?  Well it’s not hard, it’s easy folks, let me explain…

You don’t need a smoker unless you really want the smoke flavor. All you need is an oven.  I use both, it depends on the weather and what I’m in the mood for.  The last batch was purely ‘oven made’ due to cold temperatures.  If you use a smoker follow the manufacturer’s directions but DO taste test, it’s easy to over smoke meat.  Today’s blog is simply oven jerky.

Cut your beef, venison, turkey or whatever meat you desire into small strips.  I used venison.

Marinate at least 24 hours (up to 48 hours) in a seasoning on your choice.  Cover well with saran wrap and tuck in the edges to prevent drying out.

Here are some of my favorite marinades/seasonings…

The above pictures are seasoning packages for 15 pounds of meat.  I personally use 10-11 pounds of meat, that way the meat is flavored much better.  I also use about 3/4 of the cure packet that comes with each kit.  You don’t need the whole thing unless you actually do cure 15 pounds of meat.  The following picture is a smaller package of seasoning, which is for 5 pounds of meat, here I would use about 3 pounds of meat and slightly less cure than the whole packet.  I have not used one of these kits yet, it’s a new product. 

After marinating, place meat on cookie sheets and bake at 200 degrees for 45 minutes with a dishcloth in the door for slight ventilation.

After that, check every 15 minutes to 1/2 hour.  Different size strips of meat require different cooking times.  Remove cooked pieces from tray and add new pieces to be cooked.  If any grease is on the jerky, pat dry with a paper towel.

Try not to eat all the jerky in the cooking process.  You know by tasting every batch.  Not that I do that, I’m just sayin…don’t you do that 😉

Package in ziploc bags or for longer storage seal jerky in a food vacuum sealer.  They may be frozen that way also.  I personally don’t freeze any because it doesn’t last that long!

Experiment with flavors and add your own spices, etc.  It’s hard to mess up jerky.  Overcooking would be the only thing you could really go wrong with.  That’s why I say to check the pieces of jerky often.  Jerky seasoning and cure is found at hunting/fishing supply stores, major grocery stores and online.

Did anyone besides myself notice the photographer’s name on the first two jerky kits?  As I was proofreading I noticed that.  Whew…what a childhood that would have been! 😉

Have a great weekend everyone! xoxo