Easy to make and great to pack for most any outing - Beef Jerky

Here is a basic Beef Jerky recipe, with nutrition facts:

Basic Beef Jerky Recipe
1½ lb Lean boneless meat
¼ c Soy sauce
1 ts Worcestershire Sauce
½ ts Onion powder
¼ ts Pepper
¼ ts Garlic powder
¼ ts Liquid smoke
Vegetable oil cooking spray

Preparing the jerky:
Freeze meat until firm but not hard; then cut into 1/8 to 1/4-inch-thick slices. In a medium-size glass, stoneware, plastic or stainless steel bowl, combine soy sauce, Worcestershire, onion powder, pepper, garlic powder, and liquid smoke. Stir to dissolve seasonings. Add meat and mix until all surfaces are thoroughly coated. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or until next day, stirring occasionally; recover tightly after stirring.

Drying and Storing the jerky:
Depending upon the drying method you're using, evenly coat dehydrator racks or metal racks with cooking spray; if oven drying, place racks over rimmed baking pans. Lift meat from bowl, shaking off any excess liquid. Arrange meat strips close together, but not overlapping, on racks. Dehydrator and oven drying: Arrange trays according to manufacturer's directions (if using dehydrator) and dry at 140-degrees until a piece of jerky cracks, but does not break when bent (8 to 10 hours, let jerky cool for 5 minutes before testing). Pat off any beads of oil from jerky. Let jerky cool completely on racks; remove from racks and store in airtight, insect proof containers in a cool, dry place. You may also freeze or refrigerate the jerky, however keep in mind that cold jerky will collect moisture from the air when taken out of cold storage.

Makes about 3/4 pound.

Storage time:
Up to 3 weeks at room temperature; up to 4 months in refrigerator, up to 8 months in freezer. Per ounce: 94 calories, 12 g protein, 1 g carbohydrates; 4 g total fat; 28 mg cholesterol, 398 mg sodium


I like to vacuum seal small bags to stuff in my pockets for camping, hiking, fishing, and road trips. Also, I find dropping the above dry ingredients and experimenting with other spices will allow you to create your own unique jerky. I like Everglades Seasoning, both regular and hot, on my jerky. I also like course ground black pepper, as well as course hot red peppercorns. You can also add things like brown sugar and honey to your marinades.

If you are thinking about turkey or fish jerky's, there are different recipes for those.