Dr. Pepper Beef Jerky

Beef jerky is a delicious snack, loved all over the world, in one form or another.

This is a basic recipe for some Dr. Pepper Jerky I make.

Ingredients:

 Flank steak or Bottom Round.  You want a cut that is lean inside and out, though you can trim the outside up. Ive always had good success with these two cuts, I will say that the Bottom Round is about half the price of Flank. Look at the cuts carefully, the less the fat, the better.

2lbs Flank or Round, lean as possible.
16oz Original Dr. Pepper or Imperial Sugar version if available.
Kosher Salt or Sea Salt
Fresh Cracked, Black or Malabar Pepper
1-2tsp Liquid Hickory Smoke


Steps

1) If you purchases the flank steak; Place on plate, cover with plastic wrap, and place in freezer.
If you purchased the round; cut in half, thru the midsection horizontally. Place both pieces on plate, cover and put in freezer. Let the meat sit in the freezer till fairly firm, but not solid. Usually a couple hours.

2) While beef in chilling; Combine Dr Pepper, Black pepper, salt and liquid smoke in a sauce pan.
Bring to light boil, then turn to low simmer. Reduce by 1/3 or 1/2.
No need to reduce any further for this recipe.   Set aside and let cool.

3) Once meat has firmed up nicely. Grab your sharpest Chefs Knife, needs to be sharp.
Now, find the grain of the meat, we want to cut along with it, not against.*
I usually cut my pieces between 1/4in thin and paper thin. But you're welcome to cut the slices a bit thicker if you like, will just take longer to dry.

4) Place meat in large zip lock bag and pour in Dr Pepper mixture.
Place in fridge and allow to marinate for a few hours, I do mine over night. Mix it around every couple hours for more even flavor distribution.

5) Once done marinating, take out of bag... pat dry. I will usually do another touch of cracked pepper and salt over the beef right before laying on dehydrator.

If you dont have a dehydrator, you can use your oven. I did it that way for years. Turn to lowest temp and crack open slightly with wooden handled spoon.

I dry mine out for 8-12 hours, I like mine a bit chewy and crisp.


*Now in the past I played around with cutting against the grain for jerky. It works, but tends to yield a more crumbly Jerky.  Just changes the texture. It is not bad, just different.