Homemade Oven Beef Jerky

Ingredients

• 900 geye of round, lean, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 3¼ tbsplow-sodium soy sauce
• 1¾ tbspWorcestershire sauce
• 1 tbspbrown sugar
• 1 tspgarlic powder
• 1¼ tsponion powder
• 1¼ tspsmoked paprika
• 1¼ tspblack pepper
• ¼ tspcayenne or chili flakes

Method

1. Trim all visible fat from the beef; fat goes rancid. Wrap it and freeze for 1 hour until firm, which makes thin slicing easy.

2. Slice the beef against the grain into strips about 3 mm (1/8 inch) thick.

3. Whisk the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, pepper and cayenne in a bowl or zip bag. Add the beef, turn to coat, seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

4. Preheat the oven to its lowest setting, ideally 80°C (175°F), with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Set wire racks over two foil-lined baking sheets.

5. Take the strips out of the marinade and pat them dry with paper towel. Lay them on the racks in a single layer, not touching.

6. Dry in the oven with the door propped open about 2.5 cm (1 inch) with a wooden spoon, swapping the trays halfway, for 3 to 4 hours, until the jerky is dry and bends and cracks without snapping.

   240 min timer

7. For safety, the meat must reach 71°C (160°F) inside: close the oven door, raise the heat to 135°C (275°F) and heat the jerky for 10 minutes.

   10 min timer

8. Cool completely on the racks, then blot off any fat. Store in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Storing and reheating

Keeps 2 weeks in a sealed jar in the fridge.