"Beef Jerky"

Beef jerky can be tricky.  I tried it once a few years ago, and gave up on the first try. The meat reduced down to less than 50% of its original purchase weight, it was dry and crunchy.  Not what I wanted.

A few nights ago, at a Christmas party, a friend brought some in he had smoked on his Traegar smoker, and it was delicious!  After picking his brain, I decided it had to be tried again.

Use meat low in marbling, it won't render down to less than what you purchased.  He also used a jerky packet purchased at one of the local stores where barbecue supplies are sold.

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs of carne asada (I bought mine at Costco for 4.98/lb . . . cheap in comparison to the jerky you buy at the grocery store).
• 1 pkt "Jerky Cure & Seasoning" (about $6.00 - contents good for 15 lbs of meat).  I was surprised at how many flavors are available. For this first attempt, I went with "Mandarin Teriyaki."

Preparations:

Follow the directions in the packet which include cutting the meat, mixing the ingredients, the curing the meat overnight in the fridge, then cooking it the next day. I smoked it at 200 degrees in my Traegar for about 2 hours.

I'll be sharing this with my son, son-in-law and daughter, and there will be plenty left over to enjoy during the Seattle Seahawks football game.