I love beef jerky. And being on a low-carb diet, it would be the perfect snack for me. Just two problems: it's crazy expensive, and a lot of jerky has gluten (in the form of soy sauce). Being both gluten-intolerant and cheap had sadly put beef jerky off my radar.
However, after a recent conversation with a friend, I have been thinking about making my own jerky. The basic process is simple: take thinly sliced meat, marinade it, then bake it at low temperatures for a long time. It won't keep very long (due to not being soaked in the preservatives used by commercial jerky) but who cares? Jerky wouldn't last long at my house anyway.
I did some math and discovered that it is not going to be that much cheaper to make your own jerky versus buying the pre-made stuff. Meat is expensive, no way around it. The better the quality of the meat, the better your jerky will be. You will want to start with a cut like flank steak or brisket, which will run you around $5-$7/lb in my area.
Brining the meat in a marinade is an important part of the process. The marinade helps to soften the tough bits, and it also pre-cooks it a little bit. (Think of ceviche.) Not to mention, this is where all your flavor comes from. Alton Brown recommends a basic marinade of Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, honey, pepper, onion, and liquid smoke. Substitute gluten-free soy sauce and leave out the honey, and you've got yourself a zero-carb snack in the making.
After slicing the meat thin (freeze it first to make slicing easier) and marinading it, you can use a food dehydrator (if you have one) or just bake it in the oven at 200 degrees for 3-4 hours. This post recommends spearing the meat on a toothpick and hanging it on the oven rack during baking, to ensure air circulation.
Step four: nom!
Image courtesy Flickr/kern.justin
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