Trim all visible fat from the beef, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
While the meat is in the freezer, combine the soy sauce, worcestershire, water, cane sugar, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and curing salt in a bowl or ziplock bag and mix well.
Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips against the grain. Slice with the grain for a chewier jerky. Or skip the freezing phase and use a Jerky Slicer for even sliced strips.
Add sliced beef to the mixture and marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator.
After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade.
Pat dry the strips with paper towels.
I used my Masterbuilt Smoker to make this batch of jerky, with the instructions in the body of this post. You can also use a Pellet Grill to smoke jerky.
If using a Pellet Grill. Set the temperature to 200F and let smoke for 3 hours. Start checking if it's finished and continue until done.
The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half. Allow the jerky to cool for 5 minutes before performing this bend test. If you bend when it's warm, it will seem like the jerky is not finished when it actually is resulting in over drying.
Notes
Marinate meat for at least 6 hours for the best flavor. 24 hours is recommended
Applewood and Hickory wood works great for making jerky
You want a clean blue smoke If a white smoke is coming from the smoker, increase the temperature of the smoker. This white smoke can create a bitter taste within the meat.
Visit my Making Jerky with a Smoker page for more detailed instructions on how to make jerky in a smoker
Start early and grab a couple beers to pass the time during the smoking stage!