Update – 2015 San Diego Fair 1st Place (also won 2014)
I’ve been experimenting with smoking meats (mostly fish and beef) for some time now. Through much trial and error I have come up with a pretty good beef jerky recipe. Some say the best they ever had, so I thought I’d let an officially sanctioned organization give it a try and entered my concoction in the 2014 San Diego Fair. Guess what I took first place! Here’s some proof, the process and the recipe (well most of it). I can’t give up all my trade secrets, plus most of the fun is in the experimentation. 😉
How to make this award winning beef jerky.
Meat
- 5lbs of Top Round/Beef Round London Broil steak
- Trim all fat off
- Wrap in plastic wrap and put in freezer for a 1-2 hours to make firm while cutting.
- Cut across grain in 1/4″ wide or a bit less strips
Marinade
- 60oz teriyaki sauce
- 2tsp garlic powder
- 2tsp onion powder
- 2tsp black pepper
- 4tsp brown sugar
- 4tsp Tabasco hot sauce (regular flavor)
- 4tsp fresh finely grated ginger
Mix all ingredients thoroughly. I use an immersion blender. It also picks up some of the ginger fibers which is great b/c they look like hair in the finished product. You could also strain the marinade.
Put the meat into the marinade making sure all the meat is covered. You can add a little water if needed. I use container that I can shake up and rotate. I soak the meat for minimum of three days all the way up to a week. If you need to do less, you probably can get by, just make sure you shake up more often.
After marinading, I pour the meat in a large strainer to get most of the liquid off of it. DO NOT rinse with water.
Lay the meat on your smoking/drying rack without overlapping. Let sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours with a fan blowing over it. This will form a pellicle (film that traps in flavor).
Slow smoke for 1.5-2hours with your favorite wood chips (I used apple, alder, cherry, hickory – I don’t use mesquite as I think it’s too strong). Keep the meat in the smoker under low heat to continue to dry it out. I make sure I’m at 165 degrees or hotter but not much more. I smoke for two hours and then keep it on heat for another 4 hours depending on the outdoor temperature. I know it’s done when it just starts to snap instead of bending. With my smoker I rotate the racks from bottom to top and turn 180 degrees to get even smoke and drying.
After that I let sit at room temperature for 12 hours with a screen over to continue to dry out.
Enjoy!