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1
In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix together all of the basting sauce ingredients and set aside.
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2
In a large mixing bowl, combine all the jerky ingredients.
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3
Using your clean hands, mix the jerky ingredients together VERY well.
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4
Get in there and really squish it up!
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5
I find it's best to rinse your hands under very warm water about every minute while mixing the meat, shaking off excess water (rather than towel drying).
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6
Not only warms up your hands, but adds a bit of moisture to the mix, which makes it come out of the jerky gun more smoothly.
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7
You want to hand mix for about 8 to 10 minutes to get the flavors well distributed.
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8
Load your jerky gun with the meat mixture.
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9
I like to use a large rubber spatula to push the meat down as I load.
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10
Squeeze out strips of jerky mix onto your dehydrator trays until all the mix is used up.
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11
There's always going to be a bit of meat mixture left in the nozzle tip of the jerky gun.
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12
No worries!
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13
No waste!
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14
Unscrew the jerky gun and pull it out.
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15
Pinch off small pieces of the leftover meat mixture (see photo) and flatten it to the same thickness as your jerky strips.
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16
Fill in the small empty spaces on the dehydrator trays.
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17
These little pieces are what you'll be taste-testing during the drying process since dehydrating times can vary.
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18
Gently brush the top side of the meat with the basting sauce.
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19
Dehydrate at 160F for 75 minutes.
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20
Wash your hands very well.
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21
Gently turn over all the jerky.
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22
Brush on more basting sauce.
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23
Rotate your trays and continue dehydrating.
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24
Continue dehydrating another 3 to 4 hours.
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25
The time is variable depending on your dehydrator and moisture conditions.
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26
Every hour, remove one of the small test pieces of jerky from the dehydrator.
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27
Allow it to cool completely (about 30 minutes) so the basting sauce can become less sticky and eat it.
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28
When you're happy with the dryness and texture, your jerky is done.
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29
Mine is generally done, to my liking, in a total of about 6 hours of dehydrating.
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30
Turn off the dehydrator and unstack the trays leaving the jerky on the trays until completely cooled, at least 30 minutes.
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31
It must be completely cooled before packaging!
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32
I usually wait 1 to 2 hours before packaging.
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If you prefer a strong pepper kick to your jerky (this is mild), as soon as you unstack the trays, while the basting sauce coating is still a bit sticky, sprinkle with coarse ground black pepper.
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34
When completely cool, package in airtight containers.
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35
I like to vacuum seal about 6 pieces to a bag with my FoodSaver.
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But you can use ziplock bags or any food container with a tight-fitting lid.
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37
This batch here is being shipped to an out-of-state granddaughter, so vacuum packaging is the ideal method.
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38
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: If you're lucky enough to know a hunter, deer and elk meat make excellent jerky and, ground, can be substituted for the ground beef in this recipe.
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39
The Morton Tender Quick Meat Cure is available in many supermarkets in the spice section near the salt.
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40
It's also available at Amazon, though more expensive.
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41
The meat cure retards spoilage, although this jerky tends to get eaten up pretty quickly.
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Should you choose to not add the meat cure, add 2 teaspoons of salt to the recipe.
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43
Here's another tasty ground beef jerky you might want to try:
