But jerky is a fun snack to put in your pocket on a hike. And jerky is SO expensive. Plus I like to know what is in my meat.
Since we had just butchered beef last week, I figured it was a good time to see if I could make my own beef jerky. I chose to make the jerky with hamburger so it wouldn't be so tough to chew. I came up with my own seasoning recipe after looking at numerous other recipes. I left out the hotter spices like red pepper flakes so that my children would like it!
I mixed the seasonings with the beef and let it marinade in the fridge overnight.
The next morning, I cut parchment paper to fit the racks of my dehydrator. With my hands, I patted and squashed the meat onto the paper aiming for the meat to be about 1/4 inch thick. I dehydrated the jerky at 155 degrees for about six hours. I flipped the meat over half way through this time and also rotated the racks.
I have heard that you can dehydrate jerky in a low oven but have not tried it. Anyone know how that is done?
When the jerky was dry but not crunchy (it will harden a little as it cools) I took it out and cut it up with kitchen shears.The result was 2 lb of jerky. I figured that was $40 or $50 worth of jerky!
And everyone in the family claimed it was a winner. Guess I'll be making beef jerky again!
Hamburger Beef Jerky
5 lb ground beef
4 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
3 tsp onion powder
3 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp cumin
3 T brown sugar
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 T liquid smoke
Mix meat with all the seasonings. Use hands to mix well. Marinade in fridge overnight.
Press onto parchment paper with hands, 1/4 inch thick. (Or use a jerky gun.)
Dry according to your dehydrator's instructions. (I did it at 155 degrees for 6-8 hours.) Flip the meat and rotate the racks halfway through drying time.
Store in freezer for long-term storage.
Oh, Gina, how neat! You're my hero! I was given a jerky shooter, and been wanting to try this, but didn't have an acceptable recipe. It will be deer season soon, and I hope I can try this!
ReplyDeleteMy hubby loves beef jerky. I will have to try this recipe. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis is great, thankyou! I'll try on the weekend. My oven has a cycle especially for dehydrating, it does it at 80o C. ..but I still use the electric dehydrator.
ReplyDeleteWe love beef jerky but its too expensive for us to afford, and I don't like the ingredients. We just butchered our beef as well! Is ill have to try this, I am going to try it with deer burger as well!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much
Joy
Thanks for sharing this recipe. We, LOVE, LOVE jerky here. It is usually a request of everyone to have their own bag of jerky for Christmas. Notice I said they want their own. It seems grownups sometimes do not share well it comes to jerky. (lol) Anyway, I use the jerky mix from wal-mart. I will definitely be trying your recipe next time. Thanks again and God bless.
ReplyDeleteI know you butchered your own beef but since that option is out for me could you tell me please how lean your hamburger was compared to the supermarket ratios? Also how did you store it afterwards? Thank you so much I'm really looking forward to making this great recipe/
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how our beef compares with supermarket hamburger. But I have seen recipes specify 90% lean burger. I also have heard of people mixing turkey burger in with the beef.
DeleteI store it in the freezer. I just don't want to take any risks that I didn't get it dry enough for long term preservation!
Gina
This is such perfect timing for me! I've had a dozen people ask me in the last month if I make jerky, and my response has been, "I would, but I don't have a recipe." Problem solved!
ReplyDelete-dep31-
It looks really good. I like the idea of using ground beef as jerky. Years ago we made jerky strips in the oven, but it has been too long to remember how we did it, i just remember that it was easy, and we used teriyaki to marinade it in. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletePam
What kind of dehydrator is it?
ReplyDeleteMy dehydrator is a Nesco - Garden Harvest. But other dehydrators would work just as well.
DeleteGina
Have you tried this jerky to see if it's softer than the standard?
ReplyDelete- - Philippa
Phillipa -
DeleteI'm not sure what standard jerky is like but I have eaten jerky that was very tough to chew. This jerky is still chewy but not so much that my jaws get tired!
Gina
So interesting! This is a topic I know nothing about, but I do love jerky of any kind.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to try this--when we got our steer back from the butcher last week, we had 2 1/2 big boxes of hamburger (incidentally, here in New Zealand they call it "mince"). My boys have been begging for jerky, but I didn't want to sacrifice one of our few roasts, like I did from a heifer we did a year ago.
ReplyDeletedehydrate jerky in oven on lowest setting... No more than 140` i have done it comes out pretty good just dont make it too thin!!!! lol. you can also hang it over the racks in there if it is not too small. Thanks for your post will be getting parchment paper today since gb is on sale and it time to make winter snacks.
ReplyDeleteI love beef jerky and never attempted to make it at home. You just inspired me.
ReplyDeletei have made beef jerky numerous of times out of beef round and most of the time it has come out good enough to eat but not good enough i wanted to do the same one again then i had tried the ground beef and it was very greasy i was told to pat with paper towel but still did not do very much as i patted it a lot did not pay attention to how lean it was and i am looking to try ground beef again but this time use a leaner meat.
ReplyDelete