Alright here it go's!

Remove all traces of visible fat from your piece (or pieces) of meat. Place the meat in the freezer for about 60 to 90 minutes, which will make it easier to slice thinly. Don’t wait until the meat is frozen solid, you just want ice crystals to start to form. It should be really firm but you should still be able to pierce it with the point of a sharp knife.

 

 

Slice the meat in long thin strips, going with or against the grain depending on your preference. Jerky sliced against the grain tends to be easier to chew and breaks more easily into pieces whereas jerky that is sliced with the grain will be a lot chewier and somewhat leathery.

Place your meat in a re-sealable plastic bag, or non-reactive container with fitting lid, and set aside.

 

In a large measuring cup or mixing bowl, add all the ingredients for the marinade and mix until very well combined. Pour over the sliced meat and mix everything around until all the strips are completely covered.

 

 

Place your meat in the refrigerator and let it marinate overnight.

 

 

VERY IMPORTANT! Before you go any further, cover the bottom of your oven with aluminium foil. Things are going to get messy!

Remove the strips of meat from the marinade and place them directly on your oven racks. No need to pat them dry, just let the strips drip a little bit as you remove them. If you have smaller pieces that will not fit on the racks without falling right through the cracks, arrange them on a cooling rack and place that rack right over the oven rack. You can even stack it right on top of an oven rack that already has meat on it: simply rest it on a few shot glasses or egg cups or other suitable small object. Don’t worry about it burning or breaking, we’re not going to turn the heat all that high.

 

 

Place your racks back in the oven, the higher the better, and set your oven temperature to 170F. If you have a convection oven, by all means, use that setting. Keep the oven door slightly open by sticking a wooden spoon or crushed aluminum can in the door. This will allow some of the heat to escape so the meat has a chance to dry without cooking.

 

 

Let the meat dry for about 3 hours, then flip it over and give it another 3 hours or so. Total cooking time depends a lot on the size and thickness of your strips.

 

 

Your jerky will be done when it’s dry enough that you can rip off a piece easily but not so dry that it’ll snap if you bend it.

Leave the jerky out to cool for a couple of hours, up to 24, then transfer to an airtight container or sealed plastic bag where it will keep unrefrigerated for 4 to 6 months - but I dare you to keep it that long!