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You will have a hard time finding anyone who does not like Beef Jerky. People buy jerky from the store all the time as they are delicious and healthy. But health-conscious people might want to make jerky at home, avoiding the storebought kinds filled with preservatives and artificial sugar. Making beef jerky at home is very easy; one does not need to be a Masterchef to make a batch of jerky; anyone can do it. Continue reading this article to have detailed instructions on how to make homemade beef jerky in simple steps. 

Slice The Meat: Depending on the type of jerky you love the most, you can cut the meat in small or large sizes. The trick is to put the beef in the freezer for at least 2 hours before slicing them up. Freezing the meat allows one to cut the slices easily because the meat fibers get firm. The thickness of the pieces should be somewhere between 1/8 to 1/4 inch. If you think you are not good with the knife and cannot cut the pieces all by yourself, don’t worry; you can ask the butcher to do the job for you. Then, for paying a few extra bucks to your butcher, you’ll have the perfect slices ready for the preparation. 

Prepare The Seasoning: Take a bowl and mix Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, meat tenderizer, black pepper, brown sugar, onion powder, and garlic powder. Now, you must whisk the mixture until the sugar dissolves completely. Finding the right mix of these ingredients can be tricky at times; therefore, many people use packaged beef jerky seasoning instead of getting a bunch of different spices. The storebought variety works fine and saves a lot of time. 

• Once you get your beef seasoning in a bowl, it is now time to marinate the meat. Toss the beef slices into the bowl one by one and let the meat soak the mixture. 
• Leave the soaked jerky in the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours or overnight. You may cover the bowl with plastic wrap to make sure the meat stays juicy and fresh. 

Dry Out The Meat: Now it is time to get into the cooking process (or the drying out process). First, be sure to place aluminum foil on the baking sheet for easy clean-up. Now set the meat on the baking sheet without overlapping them. You want the meat to dry out completely, therefore be careful not to place one piece on top of the other. 

• Preheat the oven to 175°F and leave the meat for 3 hours. 
• Check up on the jerky to see the tenderness and dryness. If you feel the meat is still not dry enough, you can bake it for additional 45 minutes to an hour. 

The goal should be to turn the beef into a leather-like consistency (dry but tender). Ideally, beef jerky is chewy and soft a room temperature. Once you take the tray out of the oven, let the beef jerky cool down, and then, you may store it in an air-tight container for future use. For example, you may keep the jerky at room temperature for about a week. 

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