Yesterday I finally wandered my fat azz into Huntsville and gathered ‘makins’ for Jerky and Kimchi. The meat ‘Top Round’ was $3.87 ($4.06 with ‘surcharge’) a pound at the commissary; it’s a little over $7 ($7.63 with tax) at Wallyworld. I bought just under 15 pounds so I saved about $45 on the meat. The marinade spices I use were .98 at the commissary and $1.38 at Walmart I saved 4 or 5 bucks.
The Napa cabbage ended up being $1 a pound at the International Market vs $4 at Walmart so another $18 saved.
OK, here is the secret to great jerky: McCormics, Kikkoman, and time. While I usually make four varieties, this go-round I made three varieties with each variety having two different ‘bites’. So I’ll end up (actually the kids and grand kids will end up) with 6 types of jerky; two versions each of Mesquite, Chipotle, and Mojito Lime. The fourth type I normally make is the ‘Honey Sriracha’.
I place the large slabs of beef in the freezer for 20 minutes or until they are about to freeze on the exterior most surface. This makes them so much easier to cut. I cut slices between 1/8 and 1/4 inch across the grain and throw them in a gallon freezer bag with the spices and Kikkoman to marinate for at least 12 hours. Drain them, space them out on the dehydrator racks and let them run at about 145 degrees for 4 hours.
Do yourself a favor and stick with the Kikkoman.
The X-rated (X=extra hot) jerky was made using a different heat source for each of the flavors: For the Mesquite I added cracked Super Asian pepper from my garden that I dehydrated last year. For the Chipotle I used a fermented Asian/Cayanne hot sauce blend I worked up a couple years ago (better now than then!).
For both versions of the Mojito I pealed and sliced fresh lime to go into the mix. the X version of Mojito was supercharged by adding a couple of diced fresh Habaneros. Remember if you play with the habs, they don’t play fair.