Making the best beef jerky

The 2 most important things that you need to make the best beef jerky is an electric outdoor smoker and 5 lbs of roast beef.  I have a Luhr Jensen "Little Chief" smoker and it works wonders.  The next thing to get is wood chunks from the store.  There are a few different kinds of wood chunks that can be purchased from Walmart or outdoor sports stores.  I like to use mesquite, it adds the best flavor in my opinion and it's what I recommend.  The roast beef should be presliced into 1/4 or 1/2 inch strips.  It depends on how thick you like it but I always go with about a 1/4 inch.  You can slice the roast beef yourself but it is a task not for the faint of heart.  I enjoy slicing it myself because it adds that much more joy in the creation process.  Okay, so you got an outdoor smoker, check.  Then you got the roast beef all sliced up into 1/4 inch fillets, check.  And then you purchased mesquite wood chunks, check.  Now it's time for the flavor.that will knock people right out of their socks!  Please feel free to differentiate any way you want on the recipe although I don't recommend it.

It's important to have all the ingredients I list here "if" you want spectacular beef jerky, okay?  Good, here is the list of things you will need:

1.  5 lbs. of rump roast or regular roast beef

2.  1/3 cup of sugar

3.  1/4 cup of salt

4.  1 cup of soy sauce

5.  1 cup of red wine

6.  1 cup of tap/bottled water

7   1 cup of herb and garlic marinade

8.  1/2 tsp. onion powder

9.  1/2 tsp. pepper

10.  1/2 tsp. garlic powder

11.  1/2 tsp. tabasco

12.  1/2 tsp. chili powder

Add all these ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisk until it is all dissolved and mixed well.  Put the 5 lbs. of 1/4 inch sliced beef into the brine and squish it all around until the brine is covering the beef in the bowl.  Put plastic over the bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. 

Okay, now you should have had your beef slices in the brine for at least 8 hours. The next step is to find a dry, well ventilated area for your outdoor smoker to do it's job. DO NOT use the smoker indoors or in a poorly ventilated area. I know it sounds crazy but the thing produces lots of smoke which could be very hazardous if not used properly. Okay, safety lesson over now get your bag of wood chunks and put a little amount in the little pan that came with the smoker. I have a top loading smoker and my wood chunks pan slides into a slot in the bottom. Fill the little pan about less than halfway, too much chunks won't burn very good. Slide it into wherever it goes in your model and plug the smoker into the power. Arrange all the beef slices onto the racks of your smoker and insert it in but make sure that it has a drip plate so nothing drips onto the pan or burner. That could cause unwanted results. Okay, then once the smoke has started, you wait until the first batch of wood chips you put in is fully burned away. Fill the pan less than halfway 2 more times and then let the smoker sit for a minimum of 12 hours. Okay, so that's do the wood chunks 3 times (one pan after the other) and then let the meat stay in there but DO NOT UNPLUG!! 12 hours is the minimum recommended time to let the meat cure but I like to go 18 hours sometimes to make sure. You will be able to tell if it needs more time. When it's all said and done, pull it out of the smoker and store it in paper bags, you can use plastic but for some reason it doesn't seem as fresh to me as when you use paper. Give some to everybody you know and tell you made it! They won't believe you so you may have to video document the process! Thanks for checking out my recipe and I hope it turns out as well as mine has!