Beef Jerky in the Oven

There are loads of ways of making beef jerky, so many marinades, methods and opinions.

I'll put the video here if you just want to follow that.

This is how i like mine. I generally do it in a dehydrator, but unfortunately after 8 long years it has given up, so back to doing it the original way i remember... in the oven.

You need the following.

A good hunk of beef. I usually get a brisket, about 2.2lbs, or 1kg from the butcher.

It is a good piece of meat that has the muscle going across the grain. In my opinion the better way.

A sharp knife.

For the marinade

Light Soy Sauce

Worcestershire Sauce

Liquid Smoke

Garlic Granules

Hot Paprika

Pepper

Honey

An oven that can be put on a low temperature, or operate well at the lowest level.

Cut the beef into strips.

Anything up to 1/4 inch i would say. I do mine a bit thinner, as it lessens the drying time and i like it like that.

You get quite a lot out of 2 odd pounds of beef.

The Marinade.

You don't have to if you don't want to, but it's always good to add a bit of flavour.

My favourite is

Soy Sauce.

Worcestershire Sauce.

Liquid Smoke. Up to you if you want to do this, but if you haven't got a smoker, use this in a small quantity.

Hot Paprika

Garlic Granules

A bit of Pepper

Honey

It's a good mix of pep, Salt, Umami, Sweet, well i think you get it.

Make sure it's coated well and jam it in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight. again up to you, but i find a couple of hours is more than enough.

When you get it out lay a couple of pieces of tissue paper down and lay the beef on it.

Use another piece of towel to pat it as dry as you can.

Lay it onto a rack if you can, so the air can circulate properly around the meat. I used a pizza tray here for the overflow, as i couldn't find a suitable rack.

Put it in the oven and leave it slightly ajar. Make sure it's about 100 degrees Centrigrade. Thats a good heat that will dry rather than cook.

Check on it whenever you have a minute until done.

Mine usually takes around 4-5 hours.

The image shows checking at about the halfway mark and then the finished product.

depending on the thickness it can take longer. when it feels dry to the touch and leathery, that's where i'm happy with it.