Spicy Teriyaki Beef Jerky

My nephew Tyler and I make beef jerky together.

Remember Tyler?

The nephew that I watch the Tour de France with?

That's the one!

He's home from college at the University of Oregon and came over the other day to make beef jerky!

Ty's a lot of fun.

He's chatty.

I love that he's chatty.

He's funny, too.

We laughed all afternoon as he told stories about his life.

Here he is laying out the marinated beef on the dehydrator trays.

Here's the kind of beef we used:

This is the beef I usually buy for jerky, top round roast from Costco.

This time I also bought a beef brisket because a friend told me they always make it with brisket and they thought it was the best, so I thought I'd try it.

I cut the brisket in half, then took the fat off the one side.

Well, I took it off both sides, but it's on one side of the meat.

We like it cut across the grain.

This is the top round roasts cut into pieces, wrapped in plastic wrap for chilling in the freezer.

That makes it easier to slice thin.

Chill the meat in the freezer for at least a half-hour before slicing.

If you like the meat really thin, freeze it until it's almost solid, it'll make slicing it thin easy.

Marinade:

1 cup soy sauce
1 cup sugar
1 cup mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine)
1 scant tablespoon chile flakes
1 scant tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon grated garlic
1 chopped jalapeño pepper

Put all ingredients into the blender and blend until the sugar is dissolved.

Note: Double the amount of marinade and it will be enough for about 5 pounds of meat as shown in the photos above.



Slice the meat however you like it--we like it sliced on the thin side, across the grain--when you buy jerky at the store, they slice it with the grain so it's chewier.

Slice the meat--whichever way you prefer--and put it in a zippered plastic bag with the marinade using about 3 cups of marinade per 2.5 pounds of sliced meat.

Squeeze all the air out of the plastic bag, zip it, lay it flat and refrigerate overnight or at least a few hours before dehydrating.

Here's Ty showing you how to lay out the meat on the dehydrator trays.

Lay out the slices close together, but not touching.

I dehydrate the meat in an Excalibur dehydrator with the blower turned up to the highest setting.

5 lbs. of meat will fill up the whole dehydrator, maybe more--depending on how thick you slice the meat.

After 2 hours, I turn the slices of meat over, it's not really necessary but it keeps the meat from sticking too much to the plastic mesh on the trays.

Then check it every hour or so and turn off to cool once the meat has reached the desired dryness.

It's done!

When cooled, put into an airtight container.

I refrigerate it after a few days since I like the jerky a little softer, that means there's more moisture in it.

If you have any left, that is.

Itadakimasu!

***

Ty is on the right.

Colin, his brother, is on the left.

Hayley, Ty's sister is next and then my son Rick.

We all went to Loyola Marymount University to help Colin move-in.

Colin's a college freshman!

Hayley's a little sad.

Both brothers are away at college.

Don't worry Hayley, they'll be home before you know it, then you'll be off to college!

Colin and mom Nancy.

Colin only wanted to take what he needed to college, and Nancy wanted him to be well equipped with all sorts of do-dads.

Moms are like that.

When his bed was all made and all his stuff put away, that's when they decided to reconfigure the room.

Then we all had lunch in the Lion's Den cafeteria.

Colin and his roommate Chris have known each other since they were 5 and played ball together.

They're finally going to the same school--and roommates!

This is Chris & his mom Jenny.

The moms are so cute!

They both shed a few tears to have their boys away at college.

Moms are like that, too.

We'll be seeing each other at baseball games, I'm sure!

Study hard, Colin!



***

Cuts of meat that work well for jerky include: top round roast, brisket and flank steak. Portion the meat into pieces that will be easy to cut whether you prefer cross grain cuts or pieces cut with the grain. Freeze or partially freezing the meat makes it easier to slice.

Marinade:

1 cup soy sauce

1 cup sugar

1 cup mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine)

1 scant tablespoon chile flakes

1 scant tablespoon black pepper

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1 teaspoon grated garlic

1 chopped jalapeño pepper

Put all ingredients into the blender and blend until the sugar is dissolved.

Note: Double the amount of marinade and it will be enough for about 5 pounds of meat, it's about 3 cups of marinade to 2.5 pounds of meat.

Marinate the sliced meat overnight or for several hours, drain, and lay the pieces out flat on dehydrator trays. I use an Excalibur dehydrator.

Dehydrate on high for several hours, turning them over after about 2 hours, then checking them every hour or so until they reach the desired dryness. Drying time varies with humidity, it took mine about four hours but has taken up to 6.

I like to make it a little on the moister side, not too brittle, so I put it in an airtight container in the refrigerator after a few days if there is any leftover.