Worcestershire Beef Jerky

1. London Broil (Top Round) makes a very tasty jerky. Strips need to be cut between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. NO THICKER THAN THAT.
2. How you cut the meat determines the final result. Evenly, thinly, and against the grain are key.
3. Marinate, marinate, marinate. What you put the meat in and how long you leave it there for really determine the final result. Marinating under 12 hours is not going to get you the taste you want. You have to let the meat take in the flavor. You can’t rush it. You have to pay attention. Move the meat around while marinating and turn the bag repeatedly while it marinates. A ziploc bag is a great thing for marinating as it is pliable and the meat can be moved around without opening the bag.
4. Be careful with salt. Salt seems to be the first thing that gets soaked up into the meat. You can’t take it out once it’s in. Too salty = bad. Use garlic POWDER and onion POWDER, not the salt versions.
5. Taste and smell your marinade. If it is tasty before adding the meat, the jerky will turn out great.
6. Marinate in the refrigerator. No one wants food poisoning.
7. A food dehydrator is a good investment. The oven can be used but it is harder to get a great end product and it takes longer.
8. When a recipe says it’ll take 5 hours, start checking it at an hour and a half. Timing depends on temperature, thickness and moisture, not what a cookbook says.
9. Don’t be afraid to move the meat and the trays around. Also, don’t be afraid to remove the thinner pieces that are done before the thicker ones. No one is perfect when cutting meat into strips. Check often!
10. And finally, don’t ever put meat in the dehydrator and go to bed, thinking it will be done in the morning. If you do this, you will get over dried jerky that will most likely be inedible. After all that marinating time, it is really sad to have to throw it out!

What if I don’t have a Dehydrator?

I get asked a lot if you can make jerky in an oven. Of course you can!

Prepare and marinate the meat exactly as above but instead of putting it onto dehydrator trays, preheat the oven to the lowest temperature it will preheat to. Usually this is 170 – 175 degrees F.

Position the racks to the upper-middle position.  Line two large baking sheets with foil and then place a wire cooling rack onto each. This allows the meat to have some air flow.

Lay the marinated beef strips out onto the wire racks and bake until it is dryer and considerably less spongy than it was going in. Much like a dehydrator, it is important to pay attention to the meat by moving the jerky around and rotating the trays.

Feeling the jerky with your fingers is the best gauge of done-ness. Cooking times vary upon the thickness of the meat and this process can take anywhere from 2-5 hours. Enjoy!

So how do you make Worcestershire Beef Jerky?

Beef Jerky is so simple to make. It can be made in the oven, but we prefer to use an electric food dehydrator.

Guidelines for using an oven are included below, just in case you don’t have a dehydrator and want to give this recipe a try.

Beef Jerky begins with a lean cut of meat, cut into strips. We use London Broil, which is a fancy name for a smaller beef top round roast (eye of round). The meat should be lean and not contain bones.

We use between 1 – 2 pounds at a time, sliced into strips between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick, any large fatty parts removed.

You can cut it yourself or ask the supermarket butcher to do it for you. Cut against the grain to make the jerky more tender. Once cut, set it aside until the marinade is ready.

In a Ziploc bag, combine the marinade ingredients until they are all blended together.

Add the meat and push it around to get it well coated.

Place the bag into the refrigerator and marinate the meat for at least 12 hours, moving the meat around in the bag and flipping the bag occasionally to ensure that all meat gets flavored.

Remove the meat from the marinade and lay it out onto paper towels. Use other paper towels to blot off excess marinade from the tops of the strips.

Lay out on dehydrator trays, leaving space between for air flow.