Peppered beef jerky
If you like spicy jerky, my peppered jerky will be right up your alley. Today, I used lean cut organic Angus beef round steak for this recipe, with a dry rub marinade. The jerky was completely done in about five hours; some of the pieces were done dehydrating in three hours. So you can start the beef jerky early in the morning and it will be done some time before lunch.
Beef jerky is a wonderful meat snack to have on hand. It can simplify your meals when you're going hiking, camping, fishing, traveling, working, or when you're just sitting home relaxing. It's also nice to have on hand should the power go off and you get the munchies, but have no way to cook.
My peppered jerky recipe is very simple to make and the best part is that it doesn't take an entire day to prepare it.
Ingredients:
2 pounds of lean beef, cut into slices (I used round steak)
2 teaspoons of cumin powder
4 teaspoons of ground black pepper
2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
2 teaspoon of garlic flakes
2 teaspoons of onion powder
2 teaspoons of seasoning salt
2 teaspoons of mesquite seasoning
Instructions:
In a spice bowl, combine all the seasonings. Season both sides of the beef well, then rub the seasonings into it. Allow the meat to marinate for at least thirty minutes to one hour.
Trim any fat off the round steak. Slice the meat into the size pieces that you want your jerky to be. I cut mine into fairly big strips because once the meat has been dehydrated it will shrink. This step can be done before you season the meat. Today I did it afterwards.
Place the beef on the dehydrator trays. Space the pieces out and do not overlap any of them.
Set the dehydrator temperature to 160-180 degrees F. After three hours have passed, begin checking the beef jerky. Flip the pieces over if needed. Some of my jerky was completely done in three hours, while the rest needed more time to finish.
The jerky should still be somewhat bendable, but the meat should all feel dried to the touch. The internal temperature of the jerky should be read at 160 degrees F with a meat thermometer when it's finished. If you are using a thicker cut of beef, the dehydrating time will be longer.
Transfer the peppered beef jerky into an airtight container when it's done. The jerky will keep for about two months and longer if it's kept in the freezer, or vacuum sealed.
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