Old School Beef Jerky

 My Father made the "best" beef jerky in town. I still have the copy of the original recipe from his mother he used for well the better part of my life. When we knew he was making a batch well all I can say is you better get there fast. With 5 siblings the desire was overwhelming. 

Needless to say this little girl was on the charm dad list! 

He had a dehydrator that was older then himself I did try to borrow it once but prior to it blowing up my home I returned it with a "Thank you dad it worked sell! (Not) So I get the dehydrator and the old tattered paper with Grama Lois's famous words. The dehydrator is in the garage on a chair it is BIG and I decide to be the good daughter and clean the screens and give his machine a face lift. So out come the trays and they smelt like old meat and were white in color. So I scrub them and scrub them and scrub them to no avail they still smell. My small mind is wandering knowing no one has ended up with food poisoning it has to be ok Right????


Now keep in kind it took me two days to get the dehydrator cleaned out and I actually had to freeze the marinated meat.  I decided to just put cheese cloth on the screens. So in I bring this hugh machine I hit a wall and dented it almost dropped it on my foot but finally found a counter big enough.  I called my dad to ask him how long it took to make the jerky he said very matter of fact
"3 days dear"  Holy Shit Moly . Alright I will just plug the machine in and see how it goes but I am not leaving this machine alone for three days it may burn down the house. I turn it on it sounded like a helicopter just landed in my hall. It was so loud.

I gave up called a tow truck and sent it back to Dad's. Took out my little dehydrator and continued with the Jerky so here is the recipe and good luck to you. It is delicious.

This is my Grammy Lois's recipe and so there were no dehydrators at that time so you note it says dry outside or in the oven... Ok I have put the original recipe direction to dry below. But I put mine in the dehydrator I have and let it dry until it was no longer damp. I then let it sit for an extra day to make sure it was dry. Once done I put it into quart mason jars.

Sun Dried Beef Jerky (But you can use a dehydrator) 

2 pounds of lean beef
2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

Cut beef in strips 1/2 inch wide by 1/4 inch thick
approximately 4 to 6 inches long.









Mix salt, onion and garlic powers, pepper, Worcestershire and soy sauce.

Marinate 24 hours, stirring once or twice gently. I put mine in a large container so I can flip it over and all sides get marinated.






Once soaked up really good. I take the strips and drain them in a colander then out and on to a clean towel (you can use paper towel it just seems like such a waste oh unless you compost) them I put the racks of my dehydrator.


Dry in the sun or gas oven until quite dry and brittle. Store in covered jar or sealed plastic bag.

To dry in the sun:

Place cheesecloth over oven or BBQ grids and arrange meat across grids, without overlapping. Place over open end of foil lined carton or BBQ Grill directly in the sun. (Foil reflects heat) Cover with a fine wire screen to keep out the insects. Secure screen in place with wire or card so it does not touch meat. Cover drier or place meat under shelter at night so meat does not absorb moisture from the air.

To dry in Oven:

Temperature from pilot flame will dry jerky in about 4 days.
Cover oven grids with cheese cloth and proceed as directed