Using a Food Dehydrator to Produce Beef Jerky

Turning meat into jerky is on the list of oldest techniques of preserving meat. While any meat can be turned into this tasty snack, beef is one of the most popular. It's not only tasty, but it’s healthy too. While getting the meat dehydrated, excess fat is removed together with the moisture and that’s why this is more healthy than beef that’s not dehydrated.

Though there are many ways of making beef jerky, using a food dehydrator is probably the most popular technique to do it. Since you’re utilizing a device, you do not expose the meat in the open compared to sun-drying. Food dehydrators have come a long way, and the modern ones have perfected the air circulation process which enables even drying even with a big batch of meat. When your food dehydrator comes with an automatic power-off feature, it is easy to dehydrate the meat in a set time and not be concerned about overcooking the meat.

Dependant upon your dehydrator’s capacity, you can actually dry roughly 10 kilos of beef jerky if you desire to. When drying out a big batch of meat, the most important thing to remember is to place the beef properly. They shouldn’t overlap to ensure that they cook evenly. In addition, you have to make sure to cut them in more or less the same size so that they cook at the same time.


Here’s a suprisingly simple recipe for making smoky honey-glazed beef jerky:


You will need 2 1/2lbs beef, 3 finely minced garlic cloves, 1 cup of soy sauce, ¾ cup of honey, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke and 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice.

Begin with slicing the meat into thin strips. Be sure that you cut them in roughly the same sizes. You may also freeze the meat before slicing. This makes it simpler for cutting them into thin slices. Proceed with putting all the ingredient into a plastic bag (preferably a zip lock) or a bowl. Add the meat and then mix. Close the bag or cover the bowl and marinate in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours. Marinating allows the meat to absorb the taste, making the jerky more flavorful.

Dry the meat according to the instructions on the food dehydrator’s manual. Generally though, it'd tell that you place single layers of meat on the trays and turn the machine into its lowest setting. Allow the meat cook for a few hours. Again, consult the manual for this to know how long it takes to cook meat.