Beef Jerky

Beef jerky is delicious.

Homemade, it's relatively healthy (much healthier than store bought), and is much less expensive.

This recipe uses a few simple ingredients and can be made in a dehydrator or the oven.

We make this Beef Jerky to go in lunches, have as snacks, bring on road trips, snack food for camping, and as gifts to others around the holidays!

The taste is customizable too. Feel free to change the ratios, include / leave out liquid smoke, make it spicy or plain, and make it tough or tender.

Making homemade beef jerky is incredibly affordable compared to buying it from the store! I love saving money by making things at home. It's a rewarding feeling and I control all the ingredients.

Bottom line: This recipe costs about $20 to make at home. To buy the same amount of beef jerky at the grocery store, it would cost you $50.

I will break it down.

• 2 1/2 pounds of eye of round: $7 a pound, $18 total

• Marinade and seasoning ingredients: $2

Here are some of the ingredients used in store bought beef jerky:

• hydrolyzed corn protein

• yeast extract

• maltodextrin

• flavors

• citric acid

I don't want those ingredients anywhere near my food!

One more thing: If you don't have a way to easily slice the eye of round in your house, try asking the meat department from your grocery store if they will help with that.

We have a cheap meat slicer we use, but it takes time and we have to clean it after each use. I would happily let the meat department slice it for a small fee.

The Recipe: Beef Jerky

Hands on time: 1 hour Total Time: 13 - 15 hours

Yield: 2 1/2 pounds delicious beef jerky

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds of eye of round roast, sliced to about 1/4 inch thickness

garlic powder

onion powder

black pepper

crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

1/4 cup liquid smoke, optional

Instructions

1. Season each slice of meat liberally with onion powder and garlic powder. Season with black pepper if you prefer a spicier beef jerky.

2. In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, optional liquid smoke, and a teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Add 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.

3. Add meat to marinade ensuring marinade fully covers meat. Let it sit for 8 hours or overnight.

4. DEHYDRATOR METHOD: Carefully arrange meat on a dehydrator and dehydrate. Every hour or two, move the trays so it cooks evenly. You can flip the pieces halfway if you wish. Cooking times vary depending on the thickness of your meat. We cooked ours for 4 hours.

5. OVEN METHOD: Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Adjust the racks to the upper positions. Place wire cooling racks on top of each cookie sheet. Lay meat in a single layer. Bake until meat is dry and firm but still pliable, about 3-4 hours, flipping halfway through

6. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for one month.