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A little spice makes this chili garlic jerky POP!
I make these spicy ribs about once a month that have a good amount of chili garlic sauce and I Love Them! I decided to use that same chili garlic sauce in this jerky recipe. It really makes this jerky worth trying.
I also used a different cut of meat while making this. I still used top round, but it was already pre cut by my butcher. It was actually labeled "Top Round - Milanesa". Milanesa is a dish that is prepared in South America which was brought over by the Italians in the late 1800’s which consists of breaded thin sliced beef, pork, chicken, veal…. that is fried or baked. When I say this meat is sliced thin, I mean REALLY thin... Paper Thin!
Since it is cut so thin, I only marinated this for about 4 hours and it only took 3 hours to dehydrate. That's some quick jerky making guys!
So if you are in the mood for some spicy and garlicy (is that even a word?) jerky, go get some meat and get to work. Alright, I'm heading back to my glass of tea and jerky. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Lean Beef
- 1 lb Top Round - Milanesa
Marinade
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
Optional
- ¼ teaspoon Curing Salt (Prague Powder #1)
Equipment
Instructions
- Add soy sauce, water, cane sugar, chili powder, red pepper flakes, and chili garlic sauce in a bowl and mix until sugar has dissolved.
- Place slices of top round milanesa in the marinade and set in the refrigerator for 4-12hrs.
- After meat has finished marinating, remove from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels.
- Dry with your favorite jerky making method. A dehydrator was used when making this recipe. The slices were placed on dehydrator racks so they were not overlapping or touching. Dried for about 2 hours at 160 degrees.
- Jerky will be finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half. Allow to cool for several hours before storing in air tight containers.
Nutrition
Bella S. says
This jerky is really delicious! I especially like the very thin pieces; they seem to soak up a lot of flavor. This is the first jerky I've ever made and I don't feel the need to change anything at all. Will definitely use this backpacking and out exploring. Thanks so much!
Will says
Glad you liked in Bella! This jerky is definitely a winner.
Lynn says
Thanks for this post!
I really love the thin jerky and was wondering if this cut of beef is sliced with or against the grain? It looks like it's sliced with the grain. And how thin do you ask the butcher to slice it without it breaking?
Will says
This is a sliced beef that the butcher normally already has sliced at your local supermarket, It is called a Milanesa cut. It's made for a dish that is flour coated and fried. It also is great for jerky! Each butcher might slice it differently, but this was with the grain in 1/8" or so. If asking the butcher to slice it, I would choose 1/8" to 1/4".
CaptainPlonk says
Always ask for against the grain, this way you are not chewing through the muscle fibres and will be more tender.
Markus says
First time using the dehydrator for jerky and this was delicious! Toss up between this and Rig Hand. BOTH were really good! Great resource, thanks!
Will says
No problem Markus!
Kenny says
stunningly good! first time jerky maker and this is awesome. thanks for posting the recipe and method!!!!
Will says
No problem Kenny. Good to hear it came out tasting great!