Recipe Redux: Homemade Honey Beef Jerky

By Megan Kian

This past January I spent a few days with some close friends in Arizona. As we trekked through the beautiful “red rocks” that comprise Sedona, we scrounged up energy for a three-hour hike from the jerky we had bought in a town nearby. Beef jerky is easy to make, a great source of protein, and low in fat. This month’s Recipe ReDux focused on the use of maple syrup and honey, a great excuse to make some delicious homemade honey beef jerky!

Ingredients:

• ½ lb. flank steak
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
• ½ cup honey
• 1 lemon, juiced

Directions:

1. Trim as much fat as possible from the steak.
2. Cut the steak into thin strips and place them into a plastic freezer bag.
3. Add the salt, pepper, honey, liquid smoke, and lemon juice to the bag. Shake the bag in order to evenly distribute the ingredients on the strips of steak. Keep the bag in the refrigerator for 24 hours or at least overnight.
4. Once the steak has marinated, place the steak strips evenly on the racks of a dehydrator. If you don’t have a dehydrator you can put the steak on a piece of aluminum foil and use an oven.
5. Dehydrate the jerky at 160 degrees for about 4-5 hours or until dry, but chewy. If using an oven it may take longer for the steak to dehydrate.

Never heard of liquid smoke? It’s a form of seasoning that adds a smokey flavor to food. You can find it with condiments like hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce.