With football season coming on strong, including the return of Monday Night Football and tailgating parties, it is a good idea to start stocking up on those game-watching essentials: beer, popcorn, and beef jerky.
It is possible to make all three from scratch, but beer and popcorn are the obvious choices for store-bought snacks. The beef jerky, on the other hand, has several possibilities for homemade crafting. Originally intended as a high protein chew for pioneering trailblazers (who did not take their refrigerators with them-LOL), jerky has become an economical and very easy and portable snack to make that guys just love.
Below is a quick recipe for a tasty guy- and crowd-pleasing jerky snack:
Oven Baked Beef Jerky
2 pounds off-cut beef (e.g. top round, eye of round, flank steak)
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
½ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ancho chile powder
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Trim excess fat from meat, and then freeze trimmed meat for 2 hours. Thinly slice against the grain in long strips about 1/8 inch thick. Place strips in one gallon Ziploc bag. Mix all wet and dry ingredients together and pour into bag. Massage bag so liquid covers beef strips inside. Refrigerate up to 24 hours, but no less than six.
When ready, spray oven rack with non-stick spray and move rack to middle position of oven. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. When temperature is reached, remove marinated strips from bag, pat dry, and arrange directly on the rack, leaving space between each strip. (It’s a good idea to place a baking sheet underneath the meat to catch any drippings and avoid a mess.)
Crack open the oven door with a fork to prevent the meat from steaming. Cook this way for five to six hours, being sure to turn the meat several times. When done, the jerky should look leathery but tear easily. You must cool jerky completely before storing in plastic bags to prevent molding.
Beef jerky for football parties and tailgating gatherings is so easy to make that even Grandma couldn’t make a recipe any better!
Happy Cookbooking,
Matilda
