How to Beef Jerky

Everybody loves to eat beef jerky, and you can have fun making home made beef jerky in your oven with this simple but surprisingly delicious recipe.

Things You'll Need

• 4 pounds beef
• 1 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbs liquid smoke

Instructions

1. Select lean meat and trim visible fat. Round and flank steak are ideal, but I also use cross-rib because it's cheap. Slice the meat into 1/4" thick strips, or you can ask the meat cutter at the super market to slice the meat.

2. Mix the soy sauce, pepper and liquid smoke in a large mixing bowl, then add the sliced meat to the sauce. Mix the meat and let sit for 15 minutes.

3. 

   Arrange your oven with one rack at the top and one rack at the bottom. The bottom rack will hold the drip pan and the meat strips will hang from the top rack. You can cover the drip pan with aluminum foil for easy cleaning.

4. 

   Hang the meat using hooks. You can bend small paperclips so you can hook the meat on one end, and hang onto the rack on the other end. After the meat are all hung on the top rack, heat the oven to 175-185 degrees F. Close the oven door but keep the door slightly open by sticking a chopstick in the door. There needs to be a small opening to allow moisture to escape.

5. Total oven time is about 8 to 10 hours, depending on the temperature of your oven. I can almost guarantee that everyone who tastes this recipe will be surprised at how simple it is. Enjoy!