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This week I was not feeling creative and tried an already established recipe that had good reviews already.
Alton Brown is a chef that you might have seen on the Food Network, he is in many of their shows. He has a recipe online for some jerky that is actually dried using a box fan and air filters. I can not recommend the air filter and box fan drying technique, but the jerky recipe sounded pretty good. (When making homemade jerky it is very important that you raise the temperature of the meat to 160° F to kill any bacteria. If drying without heat, place the jerky after it has dried in the oven at 225° F for 10 minutes to kill any harmful bacteria still remaining)
Many of you already know that I am not a fan of honey when it comes to making jerky, but with only a tablespoon, I gave it a go.
I decided to smoke this jerky since I was not about to use air filters and a fan. I had a weekend trip planned to visit my parents in Corpus Christi, TX and thought I would bring my Masterbuilt Smoker along to make some jerky. I packed the truck with my smoker and Fiance and enjoyed the 4 hour drive south to visit the folks.
The recipe turned out pretty good and was a hit among my family. My parents dog Lucy even tasted and approved of the jerky, even though she really isn’t that picky. I did add some extra red pepper flakes and used mesquite wood chips. I love the smokey flavor you get from smoking jerky, it is so much more flavorful than adding liquid smoke.
I hope you enjoy this Alton Brown’s jerky recipe!
Ingredients
Lean Beef
- 1 lb eye of round
Marinade
- 2/3 cup worcestershire sauce
- 2/3 cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 cup mesquite wood chips ( If using a smoker)
Instructions
- Pick you favorite type of beef and trim all visible fat. Place the meat in the freezer for 1-2 hours to partially freeze. This makes it easier to slice equal width pieces.
- While the meat is in the freezer, add the worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and honey in a container. Stir the ingredients well to allow the honey to evenly disperse. Add the remaining ingredients, stir, and set aside.
- Remove beef from the freezer and slice against the grain between 1/8"-1/4" thick.
- Add the sliced beef to the marinade and stir well to evenly coat. Set in the refrigerator and allow to marinade for 6-24 hours.
- When finished marinating, remove meat from the refrigerator and pat dry with paper towels.
- Add additional red pepper flakes before drying. Dry the jerky using your favorite method.
- Jerky will be finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half. Allow to cool for several hours before storing in an air tight container.
Nutrition
Visit Jerky Making Method for more in depth information on all types of drying methods.
I've made Alton's recipe many times; it's fantastic. When I've made it I've gone the Blowhard 3000 (box fan + furnace filters) route every time and it's turned out fantastic. Not at all worried about getting sick because there's enough salt in the brine (it's definitionally not a marinade - marinades are acidic and tend to use a lot of oil whereas brines are salty and don't use much if any oil) to murder any germs that would ever consider moving in.