Although I have hunted game for a good part of my life, I am a fisherman first. This means that the annual stocking of the freezer with fresh venison, moose and caribou meat, is not a regular event. But, I do like jerky. And, if the wilds of my mind or the depths of the forest will not provide, then making Beef Jerky will do just fine. The best part is you don't need a smoker to make great Beef Jerky.

I'm a self taught outdoors man. No family secrets have been passed down to me. This self initiated learning is both good and bad. On one side, I have to work harder to obtain information. On the other side, I have developed an ability that allows me to see opportunity where others see frustration. Mrs. Shaw makes an ideal matriarch of meat-a-yonder. She has provided for me endlessly.

Unlike most Beff Jerky makers, I do not own a dehydrator. I use my oven to make Beef Jerky. Most of the old timers did the same. People buy smokers for technique more than for convenience. Most of us just do not realize that we can make Beef Jerky in our oven. Any oven or gas grill will do just fine. The problem in using a grill is keeping the temperature between 130*F and 140*F. When using an electric oven, making Beef Jerky is made easy because it does that work for you. I love using my electric oven as a smoker. Like I said before, you could use your outdoor grill, but keeping the temperature in the 130*F range is much more difficult. The 130*F to 140*F range is the sweet spot. The Beef Jerky is not too dry, not too moist, after an eight to ten hour smoking.

What about the flavor. If you are a purist, this Beef Jerky technique will not work for you. But, if you are the average guy flipping through the Cabelas' Wish Book, then this is just fine. Let's face it, most of the flavor from smoked meats comes from the marinade it is soaked in before smoking. Even Cabela’s pushes additional seasonings and marinades for smoked meat.

Let's get to the task at hand.

Here is what you need:
4-5 lbs of lean meat (select grade if you can find it)
16-24 ounces of sauce
Toothpicks
Tin foil
1 onion
2 ounces of minced garlic
Your favorite seasoning (i.e. ground rosemary)

If you are going to make Beef Jerky, you are going to have to find a good supply of lean beef. By lean, I mean a lean cut of beef. Your best bet is to buy round. Something like an eye of the round roast or top round for London broil. I find these to be low enough in fat to provide adequate shelf life. I like shooting for several days unrefrigerated shelf life. This way you can put it in the truck for a healthy snack or take it on a weekend trip to share with friends. My friends and I have friendly Beef Jerky competitions on occasion.

Now, here is the conundrum. Usually, the longer the shelf life, the higher the salt content. For those of us with a blood pressure problem, this can be an absolutely bad thing. So, I freeze the jerky and take it out as needed. I'll explain more later. I have found that by keeping the beef as lean as possible it helps to extend the shelf life without adding too much salt. (use select grade beef if possible. It is cheaper than choice grade beef and leaner to boot)

So, we have discussed the smoker, we have discussed the meat, what about the flavor? What's your flavor? Think about the best food you have ever had and try to replicate the flavor. I like Asian cuisine, and I go to the local Asian market to stalk up on treats (sauces) before I start my jerky process. What's your flavor?

Do you like the barbecued pork at Jim's house every summer? Ask him what he uses to flavor it. Do you like a burnt ribs or burnt onions? Burn a bunch of onions and incorporate them into your seasoning/marinade. I know some of you are expecting me to say use liquid smoke, but I have never found a brand that does not taste like crap. What ever your seasoning is, you want everyone around the house complimenting the aroma. If your jerky sauce smells good, your jerky will taste good!

Now for the fun part.

Take the meat. That lean mean meat you found at Shaw's or Stop and Shop. Cut every piece of visible fat and gristle off. You don't want your jerky to be a Slim Jim. You want it to melt in your mouth, chewy but palatable. Hey, some people have dentures you know!

Slice the meat into strips. Try to keep all product less than one half of an inch thick. If you buy an eye of the round roast, see if the butcher will slice it to 3/8" or better yet 1/4" steaks. The thinner it is, the easier it is the dehydrate (smoke). Cut them into manageable strips. Not just manageable for the process, but manageable for the mouth that you intend to put it in.

Mine are longer and more prominent strips. Maybe yours should be smaller little tidbits. You're in control. Make them the way you like. They will be a reflection of who you are, a reflection of your personality; but just remember, they will shrink!

Once the meat is cut up, mix in the smoking/marinade sauce. Some people use a seasoned rub on their jerky. I find it too dry. I use a sauce. Barbecue sauce works well with a few additives. What do you have in the fridge? Spice it up with something you absolutely like. Add a little Tabasco. Add a little crushed garlic. Taste it. If it sucks, start over again. You will perfect it. Once you have reached perfection, it is time to add the raw meat.

Take your meat from the fridge. I assume you refrigerated it while working on the sauce. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Want something really good. Grind up some rosemary in a coffee grinder and rub that on. Hmmmm! I can't wait until it is ready. This article is getting harder and harder to write. My mouth is beginning to salivate. Enough! Back to business at hand!

Okay, you have seasoned the meat; your sauce is ready, mix the two together in a big bowl. Mix them well. Your pieces will want to stick together before they are fully covered with sauce. It is very important that they are all covered with marinade sauce and allowed to sit over night. The flavor penetrates the meat this way.

So you have done your prep (mixed the meat), smelled the roses (the sauce), it is now time to sleep on it. Kick back, have a brew and think of the good to come!

GOOD MORNING! My how time flies!

It is time to get dirty, roll up your sleeves and get down into the mud, the mud of making jerky.

Take your bowl out of the fridge and open your oven door. You might want to cover the door and bottom of the oven with tin foil or a towel. The hanging process can get messy and it will make the clean up easier. Now, take some tooth picks out and start picking through your meat. My oven is configured to take two levels of jerky. Most will. I hang the longer pieces from the top rack and shorter pieces from the bottom rack.

When stacking the top rack, remove the bottom rack. The sauce will drip at times and cover things up. I even got some on my elbow at this stage. Don't ask me how, but I did. Place the toothpick around 1/4" from the top of the meat. Sometimes the pick will get stuck in the meat after the smoking process is done. You have to throw out the top edge. Usually the toothpicks come out if the meat hasn't been over smoked.

I wiggle my toothpicks to break through the meat. I then try to get the toothpick positioned from the bottom side of the rack. Less messy this way! It does not always works. Developed your own technique. Hey...you are the one cleaning up.... not me! Oh, I spray the racks with PAM to aid in clean up. Now start loading and loading and loading and loading and....I never said it was going to be easy. Now, you know way they get five bucks a bag for this XQ%#.

While I'm loading the top I rack with meat, I'm also sorting. I place the small pieces to one side and save them for the bottom rack. This way I have enough space to smoke two levels. Get the picture?

Once this hanging process is done, most of the hard work is done. You can clean the dishes, mop the floor and change cloths if you were particularly messy. The next think to do is start the oven. Don't forget to remove the tin foil at this stage. It may be covering the bottom element. Place the dial at 130* if it will go that low. If not, place it on its lowest setting. My digital control would not allow me to go lower than 170*, but I like to smoke at just a little lower than 140*F if given the chance.

Now, prop the oven door open. This will let the moister that is in the meat run free. It will also let the oven run slightly cooler. I propped my door with a wooden spoon. Not such a good idea, use metal spoon if you can. But don't prop the door open too much. If you do, make sure to raise the temperature accordingly. Raise it ten degrees for each inch of opening. I prop mine open one half inch. It does not take much to let the moister out. Now watch how the meat starts shrinking. This is what is critical to the smoking process. You must rid the meat of its moister. Dry meat equals good jerky with a longer shelf life.

Now the time has come to let the meat smoke for eight to ten hours. Keep you eye on it! The actual temperature in your oven can be higher or lower than the temperature set on the dial. If you are unsure, place a meat thermometer on one of the racks to gauge the progress and adjust the temperature accordingly. Make sure your jerky is hard, but not so hard that it will crack a tooth. You want the jerky to rehydrate in your mouth. There are two benefits to this. You get to savor the flavor and it's too hard to eat all the jerky in one sitting. If you have done this process right, you will be tempted to eat it all in one sitting.

So, here you are, you are watching the temperature and the jerky. You want it to be done. Don't rush it! Good things take time! (at least that is what my wife says) If you are patient enough, and careful enough, the rewards will be worth it. By careful, I mean try to make sure the inside of your oven is in the 130*F to 140*F range. By patient! Do not rush the process. You are looking for the dryness that makes you say this is smacking. You'll know it when you attain it.

Once you have reached the proper doneness, turn the oven off and let the jerky rest. Give it an hour or two to come down to room temperature. What's the rush? You can sneak a few at this point. Just be careful. It may be all gone before you can put it away. You see what I mean? This stuff can be addicting. Who needs Oxycontin? You have beef jerky.

Now sit back, empty the Jerk, and place it in a storage container in your fridge. If you let it cool down to room temp before attempting this, it will not sweat in the container. But leave the lid cracked a little just in case.

Have fun chewing! And make sure to share some with friends.

The extended version of this article includes the Jerks freezing tips. If you are going to freeze this stuff, it is a must read. But let's get real; you're going to eat it in one or two sittings. All that matters is how strong your teeth are.

Happy hunting and have fun fishing!

Here is a little on the aspects of freezing jerky. First, it will freeze up just fine. What you want to control is the way you defrost it. This part is critical. Like all of us, you probably have good intentions when you put items in the freezer. You know that you are going to use them in a timely manner - LOL. Well, at least you intend to.

If items are stored too long, they will freeze dry. We have all seen it, ice crystals in the frozen vegetables or freezer burn on the meat. This is all caused by moister that leaves the frozen product.

When you defrost your frozen jerky, you must pay attention to any crystals that are present in the package. Remove them physically if you can. A 1/4" grate works well for this. I use the type of 1/4" grate used to put fried food on. Just place the jerky on it and shake the crystal through. Desgard them. Dry the rack. And place the jerky on it. Now, place the jerky and rack in your refrigerator to thaw and dry. I say dry because some ice crystals are most probably still attached to the jerky.

Allow the jerky to dry fully before removing from the fridge. This will usually take several days. Don't eat it all at once!

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