For centuries, dragons and Vikings have been at war with each other. While Vikings caged dragons and catapulted boulders into the sky, Monstrous Nightmares swiped sheep from their pens, Deadly Nadders shot their tail spines at their attackers, and the Night Fury zipped through the darkness, a dangerous and invisible enemy. Had it not been for Hiccup and his gang of friends, taming dragons and revolutionizing their tiny island of Berk, the Vikings may have lost the battle. Berk went from dragon-hunting to dragon-loving within a matter of days. Now the dragons and humans live in almost perfect harmony. The only exception, however, might be that the dragons still steal the Vikings’ livestock sometimes. Afterall, most dragons have larger appetites than even the most famished Vikings. How can Vikings continue to befriend dragons without angry farmers revolting against these ferocious creatures? A ROCK (Recipe for One-of-a-kind Characters in the Kitchen)! Satisfy the hunger of any dragon (or Viking) with some savory, home-made beef jerky.
Beef jerky will take 45 minutes to 1 hour to make (excluding freezing, marination, and baking time) and will provide one large Ziploc bag of jerky. Collect the following ingredients for this ROCK:
- 5-2lb (680-900g) beef, lean cut*
Marinade
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar (or apple vinegar)
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 2 tsp granulated garlic (or garlic powder)
- 2 tsp granulated onion
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp turbinado sugar (or brown sugar)
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
Special Equipment
- Chef’s knife (or a sharp knife to cut raw meat)
- Ziploc bag (or discardable plastic bag)
- Scissors
- Kitchen hammer
- Tongs (optional)
Instructions
- Place meat in freezer for 30 minutes. This will allow for easier slicing since the meat will be firm.
- Remove meat from freezer. Identify which way the grain* runs. Using a sharp knife, cut the meat in thin, even slices (not thicker than 0.5cm). Cut against the grain.
- Take the scissors and cut the sides of the Ziploc bag so that a long, plastic rectangle is formed. Lay the Ziploc sheet onto a flat surface and sprinkle some water on it. This is to prevent the meat from sticking to the Ziploc sheet.
- Place 1-2 slices of meat onto one half of the Ziploc. Fold the Ziploc sheet so that the meat is covered with the other half (or sandwiched between). Take a kitchen hammer and pound the slices of meat a few times until the desired thickness is reached (about 0.25-0.50cm thick)*. Do not pound the meat so thinly that the meat begins to break.
- Marinade: In a large bowl, mix together the water, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger powder, granulated garlic, granulated onion, sugar, and salt until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add 1-2 slices of meat into the bowl. Mix with hands or tongs until completely covered. Repeat this as you gradually add slices of meat to the bowl. Make sure they do not stick together and that each piece is coated evenly in the marinade.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator. Let the meat marinate for 12-48 hours.*
- After the meat has marinated, remove the plastic wrap and mix the meat by hand or with tongs for a few seconds. If excess marinade remains in the bowl, drain it out.
- Baking: Preheat the oven to 200˚F. Prepare a baking tray with a wire rack on it.
- Place the slices of meat onto the prepared wired rack/tray. Spread the meat out and leave some space between the pieces. Bake for 5-6 hours with the oven door cracked and the convection fan on (if your oven has a fan). Flip the jerky halfway through bake time.*
- Store the jerky in a Ziploc bag or sealed container for up to a week.
Meat: The best cuts of meat for beef jerky are: top round, bottom round, Sirloin tip, or flank steak—any type of lean cut that is not tough and chewy. Too much fat will produce jerky with a rancid taste.
Grain: A meat’s grain is the muscle fibers of the meat. They should be faintly visible for lean cuts. Do not cut parallel to the grain.
Thinning the Meat: Do not pound the meat while frozen since this may cause your jerky slices to split when you pound them. Allow the meat to thaw to room temperature after slicing, unless you are in a warmer climate. The meat should not be frozen, but it should not be too squishy when you pound it.
Marination: If you let the meat marinate for longer than 24 hours, mix the meat up in the bowl so that the marinade doesn’t just soak into the meat at the bottom of the bowl. The longer the meat marinates, the more flavor it will have. The ideal marination time is 24-40 hours.
Baking the Jerky: When finished, the jerky should be dry. If the jerky is brittle and crumbling apart, then it has been overcooked. If the jerky is still juicy, let it keep baking for another 30 minutes.
Works Cited:
Burton, Jacob. “How to Make Beef Jerky with a Dehydrator” YouTube, 2 January 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj-xTmebJBQ.
“How to Slice Meat Against the Grain.” Blue Apron, 12 May 2022, blog.blueapron.com/how-to-slice-meat-against-the-grain.
Photo Credit: iStockPhoto