Step 1

Cut meat into 3/8 inch thick slices across the grain. Obviously you don’t have to measure every piece – just eyeball it. I tend to err on the thick side as I like my jerky chewy rather than brittle.

Step 2

Having a super sharp knife, with a quick sharpener handy really speeds this process up. It’s no fun sitting at the table sawing meat all day. Get your knife sharp and get it done!

Step 3

Toss meat with marinade ingredients in a large bowl.

Step 4

Cover meat with a plate and weight it down so that the juice cover it. OR, (and this is preferable) put the meat and marinade in a large, zip-top bag. Squeeze all of the air out so that the meat has no choice but to be covered in the juice (what little there is).

Step 5

Refrigerate overnight.

Step 6

Arrange jerky on air bake pans, cookies sheets, or hang over the (clean) oven racks themselves.

Step 7

Turn oven on to 150º and place jerky in center of the oven. If you’re using air bake trays, or the oven racks, you might want to place a jelly roll pan or something underneath to catch any stray drips.

Step 8

If your oven has a fan-bake setting, use it. The more airflow you can get, the faster your jerky will dry.

Step 9

Bake/dehydrate for 8-12 hours or until dry. If using cookie sheets, you’ll need to turn jerky over every few hours.

Step 10

Store in an airtight container.

Step 11

Enjoy – slowly!