A friend in New York convinced me to come visit for the weekend to go to an all day party with some of his friends. I knew we would be needing some sustenance since we were planning on drinking all day. I have wanted to make beef jerky for awhile since I saw it on good eats, but felt that in Bermuda it wouldn't work because of the humidity. I thought jerky would be perfect for this past weekend as a snack throughout the day.
I wanted this to be spicy, so I used 7 habeneros. It didn't end up as spicy as I wanted because I took out all the seeds.
These slices were actually way too thick.
Marinading overnight.
This is the makeshift drying rig I made. Alton uses air conditioning filters, but some people on the reviews mentioned using adjustable screens from Lowes.
Because of the thickness of raw meat and the homeadeness of the dehydrator, it took a long time for me to dry the beef. I kept cutting it in half to make it dry quicker.it ended up taking about 52 hours. The back porch was about 35 degrees so i wasn't worried about the meat spoiling.
Finally it dried out perfectly.
In a bag ready for the trip.
This is how a gangster eats jerky.
Such a fun day guys!
I made this recipe, but for my marinade it was worcester, smoked paprika, soy, shallots, garlic, habeneros, and honey.
I am certain the jerky was quite enjoyable. Even so, was there any heat step applied in the manufacture of this tasty snack? :: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/Jerky_and_Food_Safety/index.asp
Hello Chris
There was no heat involved in this jerky, but I was very comfortable with the end product. The meat was marinaded in a salty brine for 8 hours first, then was dried out in refrigerator-like conditions on my back porch. This allowed all the moisture to be released from the meat before it had a chance to spoil.
I heard next year Hoboken is instituting a $2,000 fine for open containers of beef jerky.
Any easy way to cut meat very thinly- which you may already know- is to throw it in the freezer for 30 min first- slightly stiffened makes easier cutting. :)