Easy Beef Jerky

by Gustus Vitae October 10, 2018

Yield: Plenty for 4 people to take on a camping trip for few days

Time Estimate: 28ish hours, including 24 hours marinating.

Storage Notes: Enjoy immediately after allowing to cool. If stored in zip lock baggies, enjoy within 4 days.

Difficulty: Easy.

We love beef jerky when we're out and about - it's a tasty, protein-rich snack, and, irrespective of how much healthier it is/isn't than devouring a family sized bag of goldfish, certainly seems like the better choice. We've been fans of Butcher Box for a while now, and when we got a beautiful cut of top round in our latest box, we knew just what to do with it.

The two keys to making really delicious jerky are the quality of the beef (sorted) and giving it plenty of time to marinade - we give ours a full 24hrs, allowing the thin strips to tenderize and gather all the flavors of the marinade.

Ingredients:

2 Lbs top round
3 Tbs Red Cayenne Sea Salt
3 Tbs Taste of Provence
1/2 Cup diced green onions
1 1/2 Cups low/reduced sodium soy sauce
2 Tbs fish sauce
2 Tbs marin

Directions:

Inspect you cut of beef, and trim off any excess fat.
Wrap beef, and put in the freezer for a little over an hour - you want it to firm up so you can cut thinly, but not to freeze.
While the beef is chilling, finely dice green onions, and all with all other ingredients to a large bowl, mixing well to combine.
After a little over an hour, remove beef from freezer.
How you cut is up to your personal preference: generally, going against the grain results in more tender jerky, going with the grain for a style that's more on the chewier side.We prefer going with the grain, but if you're unsure, just go 50/50 for your first time.
Add thinly sliced beef to marinade, and mix, ensuring that meat is evenly coated. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Remove from fridge, drain, and pat dry the beef slices - this will make the dehydrating process faster and save you a mess too.
On the lowest setting (ours is 160F), dehydrate for 4-5 hours. If you're like us, some bits will be a bit thicker than others, just allow them a bit more time than the finer cuts.
Allow to cool, and enjoy - Happy Trails!