I make a lot of jerky and my techniques change through the years. I used to marinade overnight and I sweetened the meat.

But these days I cut to size and dust with spices, letting it sit overnight covered in the fridge.

I have a tendency to go wild on the seasonings but this batch I stuck to iodized salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, chili powder and paprika.

I tend to make twice as many pork batches as beef jerky batches for some reason and very seldom chicken or fish.

This was a little over a pound of boneless beef bottom round steak, reduced in price because a bit short dated.

You can see I processed it after the sell-by date but it’s fine, I used the smell test. Heeding the date is more important for the pork.

Here’s my dryer, a Presto Dehydro on permanent loan from my old pal. I do give him samples. The unit’s fan whines so I use it in my garage.

Cheap meat like round steak is preferred because it has less fat marbling which does not properly dehydrate.

The cut off pieces that are not too fatty I put in foil after spicing to cook as foil wrapped meat with rice, potatoes etc, very little waste, zero cleanup.

The dryer came with four trays but by careful fitting I got everything on one tray, less wash up. The slices should not touch for proper drying. Dry until the slices bend but don’t break, they say.

Four hours or so is suggested but the unit seems to lose punch over the years so I let it cook for six hours or so, not very critical.

For food safety I cook at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for ten minutes in a toaster oven when finished drying.

The jerky comes out hot and a darker color. They should be dabbed with a paper towel while still hot to remove residual grease, then stored in the fridge after cooling. Enjoy.

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