Teriyaki Beef Jerky

Beef jerky can be a great snack but have you ever looked at the ingredients on the packaged variety in the stores? You’ll know every ingredient in this home made teriyaki beef jerky. Why? Because you’ll be the one making it, silly. :)

In preparation for Super Bowl XLVII, I prepared a bunch of game-day recipes, leading up to the game, to choose my favorite to add to our Super Bowl menu. For an even larger selection of course my cookbook, Pigskin Paleo is always an option.

That’s one of the things I enjoy the most about cooking, I know every ingredient, the quality of the ingredients and the process the ingredients went through to make the food that I’m about to put into my body to use as fuel. We used to buy jerky for a quick snack until I realized every single bag had added sugar among other corn and soy products that just aren’t necessary. Here’s an example of one of the varieties I used to buy.

I played around with a few different jerky recipes and this one, by far, was our favorite. On the first round I still had some leftover soy sauce and rice vinegar in the cabinet so after I used them up on the first trial I replaced them with Coconut Secrets raw Coconut Aminos and Eden Selected Ume Plum Vinegar and the small change of these less harmful ingredients didn’t add any major difference to the taste.

If you don’t have 2 pounds of flank, feel free to cut this recipe in half (but be sure to keep all those garlic cloves if you do). ;) Can’t find any flank? You can also use skirt.

I prepared a half batch for the week, when Jeff’s snack tooth comes-a-callin but this would be a great snack to set out and serve at a super bowl party or any party for that matter. Plus you can make it ahead of time by a few days, let it sit in the fridge and then pull it out to serve when guests start to arrive.

Want some other ideas of what to serve at your Paleo party? Pick up a copy of Pigskin Paleo and you’ll be fully stocked with plenty of Paleo options. :)

Already got a copy? Or maybe it’s not in the budget right now, no worries. I’ve got a nice sampling of quick and yummy Paleo recipes available at your fingertips.

Yield: 30-40 jerky strips

Ingredients

2 pounds grass-fed flank steak, cut into thin strips
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon coarse ground sea salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
8 cloves garlic, minced
3 teaspoons Coconut Aminos
1 teaspoon rice vinegar or Eden Selected Ume Plum Vinegar

Directions

Using kitchen shears, cut flank steak into thin strips. Then go back and cut each piece in half again.
Add beef to a gallon size zip lock bag along with all the remaining ingredients. Seal the bag and mix the ingredients around to evenly distribute across all the meat.
Let meat marinate for 1 hour or overnight.
Turn oven to lowest setting, mine starts at 200°F so I leave the door open. (Typically this would be done in a dehydrator but since I didn't own one at the time, this process works well as a replacement. If you do have a dehydrator, set your temp to 160°F and let'er roll.)
Remove the marinated meat from the bag and transfer each piece to a drying rack on top of a cookie sheet.
Cook or dehydrate the meat at the low setting on the oven for 6-8 hours.
Test the consistency of the meat. If dried to the consistency of your liking remove and store in the refrigerator. If it's not fully dehydrated keep in the oven and check on 30 minute intervals.
Transfer to a container and store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Enjoy! :)

Teriyaki Beef Jerky