But I don't make myself meat that often (when I'm not at home with my parents), because whenever I go the butcher shop, I feel like I'm on a strict deadline to use up this meat before it goes bad. So often, to quell my meat cravings and not have to worry about it going bad, I'll make myself some beef jerky.
I've always loved beef jerky ever since I first picked up a random packet in a gas station. But making jerky at home is so much tastier and more cost effective than buying it in a store. And you can make it in whatever flavor you want, as opposed to the limited "plain", "peppered", and "teriyaki" that you can get in the store (though that doesn't mean I don't love making teriyaki jerky).
And while it doesn't have preservatives and therefore won't store as long as the store-bought version, that has never been a problem for me.
Oh, and since I apparently have no planning skills, I totally forgot to take pictures until they were all done, so you'll just have to imagine what it looks like in production (though, to be honest, it doesn't look too appetizing. It's just a pile of meat strips covered in spice paste).
Chili-Lime Beef Jerky
.5 pound flank steak
Juice from .5 limes (unless it’s a particularly un-juicy lime, then use the whole lime)
3-4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chili powder
.5 tsp cumin
.5 tsp smoked paprika
Sprinkle of red pepper flakes
Large pinch of sait
~ 1/8 tsp pepper
Heat your oven as low as it will go.
Trim any excess fat off the flank steak, then, slice it about as thin as you can manage. Don’t be fooled by those “jerky nuggets” you might see in gas stations, jerky needs to be thin in order to dry out properly (also, those things just seem gross). It is also important to slice with the grain of the meat. This is specifically why we are using flank steak for this. It has a nice long grain that, when cut along, creates a fantastically chewy piece of jerky.
Put the beef slices in a bowl. Over these, add all the lime juice, Worcestershire sauce and the spices. Stir to completely coat the meat in spice mix. Let rest for about 10 minutes (or longer, it doesn’t really matter. Just make sure to put it back in the fridge if you let it rest for like a half hour).
After the meat has rested, lay the slices out on a wired rack in a backing sheet. The rack allows for maximum airflow around the jerky, and the pan catches any drips that might occur.
Place the rack in the oven until the jerky is completely dried (this can take many hours. I often leave jerky to dry overnight) You don’t wan to see any pink, everything should be a deep brown and stiff (but not burnt. If your jerky is cooking, your oven is too hot, and you should prop the door open with a wooden spoon to cool it down some).
Store in an airtight container (if your jerky is particularly fatty, you might want to layer it in paper towels).
Variations:
There are countless other flavors of jerky you can make. You're only limited by your imagination (and of course appetizing flavor combinations). Also, it's really easy to make two different flavors of jerky at the same time (as long as you can keep straight which is on which pan). Just split up the beef once it's sliced, season differently, and dry them together on separate pans (or, if you like surprises, just put them together haphazard on each pan).
Other variations that I make often are:
Teriyaki - make or buy teriyaki sauce and coat your slices in it, letting sit for about 15 minutes before drying. These might take longer to dry, since they're covered in wet teriyaki sauce, and will also be sticker as a final product.
BBQ - same as the teriyaki ones, but with BBQ sauce
Curry - (Disclaimer: I've never made this before, I just thought of it, and I totally wanna try it). Coat your beef slices in curry powder and lime juice, and dry just like the chili-lime ones.
If you think of any other great variations, tell me so I can try them out. That way I can have a giant selection of jerky to fit my every mood.
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Back to music for this post. I want to share some of my favorite bands that I genuinely feel like few people had heard of (and if this makes me sound like a hipster, I don't care. It's not the first time I've been called a hipster, and to be honest, the title kinda fits. So whatever). They range from bands from my friend's high school, to small bands acquaintances of mine have written reviews of for their local paper (gotta love Facebook for getting the most out of those incredibly tenuous friendships).
First, is an indie-folk band called The Novel Ideas. They are a product of Newton South High School, which impresses me, since my high school only every produced kinda crappy punkish bands (not what I'm interested in). The Novel Ideas encapsulate feelings of innocence and romance and summer in their songs so well, it's a joy to listen to them.
Second comes a band called The Lisps. I learned of them after I saw their show (I'm not sure how to describe it other than just "show") called Futurity. It was about an American Civil War soldier corresponding with Ada Lovelace, trying to create an analytical engine to create world peace. The soundtrack to this show was fantastic, with elaborate steampunk set pieces being used as percussion. They ended the show with this song, Singularity, which is when I fell in love.
Last up comes Spiral Beach, a smallish band from Toronto. I've never seen them live, and definitely want to rectify this situation. From what I've seen and heard, I believe their live shows are amazing. But even without seeing the live experience, I can still say they are a great band. They have no lack of energy, and every song is brimming with attitude. Check out this performance of Raising the Snake at the old location for Sonic Boom.
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