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western style beef jerky recipe
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Western Style Beef Jerky

Simple ingredients and meat sliced with the grain for a "tug."
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Prep Time15 minutes
Active Time3 hours
Marination Time16 hours
Total Time19 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb London broil

Western Beef Jerky Marinade

  • 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp Evaporated cane sugar or dark brown sugar
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp granulated garlic

Instructions

Slicing and Marinating Jerky

  • Take 1 lb of lean beef and cut against the grain. Slice so that the strips are 1/8-1/4" thick.
  • In a bowl combine the marinade ingredients in the specified quantities. Ensure the powders and sugars are well combined.
  • In a non-reactive container or ziplock bag, add your marinade and sliced jerky. Massage the marinade into the beef.
  • Put in your refrigerator to marinate for 2 hours; Ideally, you'd marinate overnight for 16+ hours.

Dehydrating the Beef Jerky

  • Set your dehydrator to 160-165F.
    Place your beef jerky in your dehydrator. Ensure pieces aren't touching or overlapping.
  • Allow the jerky to dehydrate for 3 hours and then start checking for doneness.

Testing Beef Jerky for Doneness

  • After 3 hours take a few pieces of beef jerky out of the dehydrator and allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes.
  • Once cooled, bend the jerky.
  • If at the bend you notice a "spider webbing" – it's done. If at the bend you notice the jerky is rubbery and has hues of red/pink, it's not done.
  • At most it should take around 5 hours.

Storing the Jerky

  • Once done, place in a ziplock bag with the top open and allow the jerky to aerate for 30 minutes. Once aerated zip the top and store in a cool, dry, dark place.

Notes

If you like spicy jerky, use 1 tsp of Cayenne. 
If you don't want to make your own teriyaki sauce, use 1/2 cup of your favorite name brand one.