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The key to great tasting jerky is how to prepare the meat,the brine that is used ,and the way it is dried. whether it be beef,elk,deer,moose or turkey this system for making jerky always tastes great and leaves you coming back for more.

Step#1 Take the meat you are going to use and trim as much of the fat off as possible,cut into one inch strips and as thin as you possibly can,this will cut down on the drying time.

Step#2 In a large bowl mix the following ingredients, half a cup of soy sauce,three quarters of a cup of Worcestershire sauce,half a tablespoon of garlic powder,one teaspoon of lemon pepper,a fourth of a cup of non-iodized salt,half a cup of white sugar,two drops of liquid hickory smoke flavoring, fourth a teaspoon of black pepper,half a teaspoon of all season salt and one quart of warm water ,mix well.

Step#3 Place meat stripes into the brine stir and put into refrigerator for at least twelve hours. This will allow the meat to soak in all the flavor of the brine,the brine can be reused about three times.

Step#4 After the meat has soaked, take it out of the brine and lightly rinse it off with water ,this will keep your jerky from becoming to salty.

Step#5 Place the strips of meat on the racks of your smoker. I prefer to smoke jerky rather than to use a dehydrator for a smoker adds the extra flavor that is needed for this great tasting jerky,and also it does not come out as tough. There are several types of wood chips you can purchase,alder,apple and hickory,I prefer alder to use in this method.

Run three pans of chips one after another at the start of smoking your jerky,this puts more of the smoke flavor into your meat while it is still raw and starting to cook. After running three pans of chips cook the meat in the smoker for about twelve to fifteen hours or until jerky appears to be done.

Step#6 After the jerky has finished cooking remove it from the racks immediately and put it into a gallon or quart glass canning jar with a tightly sealed lid before it has a chance to cool down. By doing this it will allow the jerky to sweat back out the oils from the smoke and give it a delicious flavor. Keep jerky in the jar until you can see the oils that have sweat back out, this usually takes about twenty four hours. Know it is time to eat and enjoy this great tasting treat!

Learn more about this author, Rodney Schwencer.
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