Homemade Beef Jerky

As part of my 25 Before 25 list, I am cooking and baking 25 of the recipes that I have pinned on Pinterest. Here's recipe number one! This recipe comes from the Homesick Texan, although I adapted the recipe slightly to what I did! If you haven't checked out her site, you definitely should! I didn't use the beef partially frozen, and I also realized I only did about half the amount of meat required, so it turned out extra spicy!


Beef Jerky
Source: Homesick Texan
Ingredients:
2 pounds of boneless beef top round, fat trimmed
1 cup of Worcestershire sauce 
1/2 cup of water
4 garlic cloves minced
4 teaspoons of chile powder
2 teaspoons of chipotle powder
2 teaspoons of black pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cayenne

Method:
1. Slice the beef into long strips about 1/8 of an inch thick.
2. Mix all the other ingredients together, except for the cayenne.
3. Place the beef in the marinade and let it sit, refrigerated, for at least six hours.
4. After the beef has marinated, wipe off the excess liquid and pieces of minced garlic and place on foil-lined sheets with no overlap. Sprinkle meat with cayenne pepper, only a little bit!
5. Cook in the oven at 175 for three hours and then turn over strips. Cook for another 3 hours. It’s ready when it’s dry and has the texture of leather but not so dry that it’s brittle and snaps.

Notes: I ended up putting way too much cayenne on it, so next time, we'll probably sprinkle with black peppercorns. And, again, I only did half the amount of meat. It's a great recipe to leave marinating overnight, then cook in the oven while you're at home for 6 hours straight.