Dateline: November 10, 2020 Beef Jerky

I had wanted to try to make beef jerky for a while.  The idea was sparked by perusing the Modernist Pantry website and seeing vinegar powder and soy powder!  So I ordered some along with hot sauce powder.

Easy Teriyaki Jerky, I followed their weights and measures, but added 2 t of hot sauce powder to the mix. After marinating for the 8 hours, I put the flank steak slices into the dehydrator.

I set it to 160°, and let it go for the suggested 6-8 hours.  I did get up a couple of times during the night to check on it, and munch a little.  The first taste was quite spicy, but as the meat dried, it became less prominent.

In the morning, I packaged it up into containers!

Ended up trading one container for some koji spores.  A neighbor makes sake! And gave another container away to a friend.  That left one container to enjoy.  I will definitely make this again.  

What did I learn?  

I sliced the meat too thin.  I cut the flank steak against the grain on the bias, which made lovely, almost, paper thin slices, which when dehydrated, were less satisfying.  So next time, a little thicker.  I did like the bias cut.

The marinade in the recipe is quite good, not too salty.  When measuring things out, 60 g of soy powder looked to be a ridiculous amount, but it was perfect.  The white vinegar powder left no doubt about what it was.  It could be smelled across the room once the bag was opened.  This is perfect for adding tang but not hydration.  

Hot sauce powder is hotter than expected.  Will use judiciously going forward in other dishes.