Jerky

So I was preparing a London Broil today to marinate yesterday, and I realized it was too large to fit in the container I had to marinate it in.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized how unlikely it would be for RM and I to eat the whole roast before it went bad.  At first I thought I should cut the meat in half and re-freeze the half I wouldn't use, but then it occurred to me that we don't really have much along the lines of snacks in the house, and I decided to make jerky for that purpose.  I haven't made jerky in years, and the last time I made it I used venison. So I browsed the internet for a recipe and sort of mixed several recipes together to come up with this one:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons liquid smoke (hickory)
1 tablespoon Splenda brown sugar*
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon meat tenderizer
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika

*you can use two tablespoons of regular brown sugar in place of one tablespoon of Splenda brown sugar

Instructions:

Cut meat into thin strips (this is easier if it's partly frozen).  Mix ingredients, then pour marinade over meat in a bowl or Ziploc type bag, and let marinate covered in refrigerator for 8-16 hours (shorter for milder flavor, longer for stronger flavor)

Place meat strips between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound until 1/8 inch thin.

Arrange meat strips on a dehydrator tray and set dehydrator at 155 degrees F.  Turn meat strips after an hour.  Let dehydrate for 4-8 hours, until jerky breaks when bent in half.

If you don't have a dehydrator, you can use your oven.  Here's how:
Place meat on skewers.  Place baking sheets on lower rack to catch any drips (oven racks should be far enough apart that meat strips hanging on top rack don't touch baking sheets).  Arrange skewers on top rack so meat strips dangle between the metal rack bars.  Set oven to 175F, crack oven door, check meat every hour or so until done.




Results:

The flavor is excellent.  RM loves it, and I really like it but it is a little strong for my taste.  I marinated mine for 16 hours, but next time I think I will only marinate them for 10 or 12.  Otherwise this recipe is great, and I will definitely be using it again.  I'm so grateful to my (soon to be) father-in-law for giving us his old dehydrator, since it is easier and faster than the oven method and very versatile!  We'll be dehydrating apples in the next couple days.  I've never done that before so I'm really looking forward to it!

Update 1/2/13: I made the jerky again with the same recipe, but using only 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, and I marinated it for only 8 hours.  The flavor is still great, but you taste the flavor first, and then the heat hits.  I find this to be much preferable.