The first one is the recipe for the beef jerky my Mom always made us for Christmas. My brothers and I would look forward to this every year and it was gone faster than a squirrel climbing a bird feeder.

You’ll need a dehydrator and food slicer…you could do it in the oven and have the meat sliced at the grocery store, but I prefer to do things at home and the food dehydrator is far more efficient than the oven. I try to use oven roasts when they’re on sale and make all three recipes in one batch. When all is said and done, it’s about a 70% reduction from a pound of beef once it’s finished.

Note: Mom’s instructions say to soak the meat for a few minutes, but I’ve found that soaking the meat overnight in the mix distributes it more evenly. The thickness of the slice is whatever you prefer, I like them thin and a little crunchy.

Mom’s Traditional Beef Jerky (as written on the index card)

  • 2/3 c Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 oz Soy Sauce
  • 1 T Maple Syrup
  • 1/4 t Onion Powder
  • 1/8 t Garlic Powder
  • 1/4 t Ground Pepper
  • 1/8 t Liquid Smoke
  • 1/3 c Water
  • 3-4 lbs Thin Sliced Lean Beef
  • Soak the beef in the liquid a few minutes and cook for 12 – 16 hours in a very warm dehydrator.

Spicy Stuff

This name was adopted from the folks I work with and only has three ingredients.

  • 1/3 c McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning
  • 2/3 c Water
  • 3-4 lbs Thin Sliced Lean Beef
  • Soak the beef in the liquid a few minutes and cook for 12 – 16 hours in a very warm dehydrator.

A1 Jerky

As with the Spicy Stuff above, this only has three ingredients.

  • 1/3 c A1 Steak Sauce.
  • 2/3 c Water
  • 3-4 lbs Thin Sliced Lean Beef
  • Soak the beef in the liquid a few minutes and cook for 12 – 16 hours in a very warm dehydrator.
I’ve found that soaking the meat overnight distributes the mix more evenly. I also prefer a thinner slice, comes out like a meat cracker…but that’s personal preference. If possible, use real maple syrup instead of the fake stuff.