Beef Jerky

     The other day I having a "Jones" for some beef jerky but didn't want store bought stuff because of A) price and B) all the preservatives and other chemical I can neither pronounce nor know what they do. Years ago I made jerky quite often on my food dehydrator (that I still do have) but didn't feel like finding all the pieces and parts and the racks are a pain in the butt to clean. So what to do?
     First I decided on my marinade recipe that I'll tell you in a bit. But for the hardware I turned to my trusty smoker. The grates for "Black Beauty" are a bit wide so I soaked bamboo skewers in water while I prepped all the other stuff. I'd found a couple of lean beef shoulder roasts at a fair price of $2.99 a pound and put them in the freezer just long enough to get them quite firm but not solidly frozen. The beef was a total of about 2.75 pounds and I sliced it on my mandolin for even thickness. My marinade was 8 oz of soy sauce, 8 oz of teriyaki sauce, 2 oz hot sauce and 1 tablespoon garlic powder. I let the meat marinade for about 2 hours in a zip top bag and then smoked it for about 6 hours.
     My smoker is a box type with 2 racks of about 14" each, a water bowl and fire bowl. While I prefer lump charcoal for grilling I usually use briquettes for smoking. My wood is a mix of oak and plum. It seems oak trees are almost always being cut down around here and my neighbor across the street had an old plum tree cut down last year so that's why I used that mix of woods. Just remember if using dry wood to always soak your wood first so it'll produce smoke and not flames.

     At the end of the day I had probably the same amount of jerky I would have gotten from the store for the same amount of money so the savings were rather insignificant I suppose. But at some time or another I'm sure I can find raw meat at a better price. The main thing is I had the pleasure of being outside on a lovely day and bagged up some jerky better than store bought without preservatives and all. My next batch I'll probably make a little hotter, perhaps by adding a spoonful of black pepper or pureed jalapeno. That's what makes cooking fun when I decide to do it, taking something pretty good and working to make it even better. Maybe a squeeze of honey for sweet & spicy?