Do you have a dehydrator?

Yes I do. My father gave it to me. He used to make excellent jerky in it all the time. BUt everytime he made it, he seemed to misplace the recipe as soon as he was finished!!

I also have a foodsealer so I can vacuum seal the bags for freshness.

This is the recipe that came with my dehydrator. I've never tried it. My dehydrator says for beef jerky takes 8-10 hours. Mine has two vents, and the top is set on 4, the lower on 3. I let mine dehydrate overnight, and it took about 10 to 11 hours, total, but I used ground meat (see below)

DEHYDRATOR BEEF JERKY

Most meats are suitable for making jerky, but leaner cuts such as Round, Flank, or Rump are preferred over Chuck and Rib. Pork should be avoided, and Chicken is best and safest when it is cooked first before dehydrating.

Have your butcher slice the meat to about 1/4" thick. Cut the slices into 1" strips. Be sure to cut across the grain. Excess fat and gristle should be removed. meats are usually easier to slice if they are partially frozen.

There are many spices that may be used for marinating. Salt should be used in moderation as dried meats become much more savory. Of course, the longer the meats are marinated and the more spices are used, the more flavorful the jerky will be. A little lemon juice will help maintain the red color of the meat. Vinegar cuts some of the gamey taste out of wild meats.

SOUTHWEST JERKY

1 tsp. pepper
3 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tsp. cumin
2 lbs. meat sliced

Combine ingredients and thoroughly mix together
This is a dry marinade so there is no liquid. Sprinkle
the spice mixture on the meat slices and work into
the grain withi your fingers. Cover and marinate overnight.
Dehydrate.

This is out of the book too, but I used it with ground round, which I just rolled really flat between wax paper, and froze, then sliced into strips and marinated. I had to put it back into the freezer to partially freeze it to get it to lay out in the dehydrator. I had to use a layer of paper towels to catch the grease, and help it dry. It made a nice skin, but seemed to take forever to get done! I tried it again in the oven at 150, and it did much better. I tried "rolling" some of them, but it just didn't work well. It wouldn't make a skin at all, and it was gooey inside, like it wasn't done.

CLASSIC MARINADE (Makes about 1/2 lb. jerky)

3 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp Liquid Smoke
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. Worchestershire Sauce
2 lbs. Round or Flank Steak (sliced thin)

Mix all marinade ingredients in bowl, pour over meat slices, thoroughly wet all sides of meat and layer in the marinating dish, cover tightly and marinate in fridge overnight. Rotate meat layers every couple of hours if you can. (this is why I did it during the day). Drain othe marinated meat and spread non-overlapping on dehydrator trays. (You can save the marinade for anotehr batch later). **For a chewy texture, slice the meat with the grain, or across the grain for a more tender jerky.

Good luck!

Here's a recipe for microwave jerky I've been dying to try.

Here is a link that might be useful: Microwave Beef Jerky

I tried several homemade jerky seasoning recipes and never found one I liked. We started using the High Mountain brand jerky seasoning that I found in the grocery store. It's pretty good. I usually use the hickory or original blends. The other flavors look good too.

Here is a link that might be useful: High Mountain Jerky

I use the Nesco dehydrator from Wal-Mart. Also the Nesco Jerky Spice Works, original flavor from Wal-Mart. I use hamburger, actually, deer burger. Here's my own made up recipe for 10 pounds of burger:

2/3 c. liquid smoke
2/3 c. worcestershire
2/3 c. soy
4-5 t. tobasco
4-5 t. garlic salt
4-5 t. salt
2 t. pepper
4 pkts. cure (comes in the jerky spice box)
4 pkts. original spice (comes in the jerky spice box)
8 t. Montreal steak seasoning

I combine all the liquids (first 4 ingredients) in a bowl, then pour evenly over meat and work it in really well. Then I combine the last 6 dry ingredients and pour them evenly over meat and work in really well. Refrigerate over night then use a jerky gun to pipe the meat onto the dehydrator trays. I give a quick sprinkle of pepper over each tray as I'm done with it. I use 8 trays and dehydrate on the highest setting for approx. 6 hrs. The jerky guns at Wal-Mart are o.k. if you're only making a small amount, but I've worn so many of them out, I finally bought a heavy duty one from Cabelas, and it's fantastic. But I usually make about 70 lbs. of jerky at a time. A little time consuming but easy and everyone loves it. And of course you can always just cut everything in half and do 5 lbs.
Katlan

I've been making this for years.

HatchÂs Jerky

3.5 fluid ounces Liquid Smoke (just under 1/4 cup)
5.0 fluid ounces Soy Sauce (just under 2/3 cup)
5.0 fluid ounces Worcestershire Sauce (just under 2/3 cup)
10 tbl brown sugar
1/4 cup horseradish
1 tbl garlic salt
20 shakes Tabasco

Marinate overnight. Pepper (optional) before dehydrating. Dry for 12 to 16 hours (1/4 inch thick) - depending on how Âdry you like it.

Thanks All for the response. Not quite sure what recipe I'm gonna try yet. I may cominbe a few of the ingredients listed to see what happens.

Wish me luck!!!

Thanks Again!!