I’m on a diet. One day I woke up and suddenly all my clothes felt snug. I bought two pairs of jeans to tide me over until I lost the weight, but one day I woke up and those felt snug. I was at a crossroads—I could go buy even larger jeans or lose the weight. I opted for the latter.I’m not much of a follow-the-rules kind of person so the thought of adhering to a strict diet automatically raises my internal rebel. Tell me that I can’t have something and I’ll want it even more—that’s human nature. But after much research I learned that there was one diet I could follow—the South Beach diet.
I decided to go with South Beach because it seemed easier than the other diets—no counting calories, just eating as much as I want of the right kinds of food. And thankfully, the right kinds of food are things I love—fresh vegetables, lean protein, low-fat dairy, eggs and nuts; forbidden during the first two weeks are sugar, fruits, breads, alcohol and fatty protein. I admit that it’s been difficult seeing the tail-end of the summer fruit at the market and not being able to indulge, but thankfully there are plenty of fresh vegetables to keep me and my stomach satisfied. And I’ve had some great support during these past few days with my blog buddies Kalyn, the guru of all things South Beach and Karina, the guru of all things gluten-free, both of whom are also doing South Beach right now.
One of the tenets of phase one is to eat a couple of snacks a day, with one of the acceptable snacks being beef jerky. I couldn’t remember the last time I had beef jerky and it’s not something I’d ordinarily buy but it appealed to me—that is until I looked at the label. All the packaged jerky had sugar in their list of ingredients and since this is not allowed on phase one, I realized that I’d have to make my own batch of beef jerky.Do you know how easy it is to make beef jerky at home? No, seriously, it’s one of the easiest things I’ve ever done. Not to mention it’s very impressive. Casually mention that you’re making beef jerky and everyone’s eyes will get wide and they’ll say, “Really? Cool!” and then of course they’ll ask you for a piece.
Now, I say this after ruining my first batch and instead of making beef jerky making beef crackers (which actually aren’t all that bad, just not what I was expecting) so there is a bit of trial and error involved with the drying portion of the beef-jerky-making program. But even so, the flavor of the botched batch was spot on and the best beef jerky I’d ever tasted.
And that’s the main reason why you want to make you own beef jerky (or if you prefer, turkey, chicken or salmon jerky): flavor. You have complete control over how the jerky will taste; in my case, I was looking for something that was super spicy because that’s what I enjoy.
Starting with a basic marinade that’s made up of Worcestershire sauce, water, garlic, salt and pepper, you can layer it with other flavors, such as chile powder, cayenne, chipotle, Chinese five-spice powder, ginger, liquid smoke or whatever you desire.I’ve already lost a couple of pounds, so here’s hoping I’ll be able to fit into my nice clothes in time for my brother’s wedding in a few weeks. Thankfully, I have homemade beef jerky to help me meet my weight-loss goal.
Beef jerky
Ingredients:
2 pounds of boneless beef top round, fat trimmed, partially frozen
1 cup of Worcestershire sauce (I used Whole Foods brand because other brands have high-fructose corn syrup in the ingredients)
1/2 cup of water
4 garlic cloves minced
4 teaspoons of chile powder
2 teaspoons of chipotle powder
2 teaspoons of black pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cayenne
Method:
1. Slice the partially frozen beef into long strips about 1/8 of an inch thick.
2. Mix all the other ingredients together, except for the cayenne.
3. Place the beef in the marinade and let it sit, refrigerated, for at least six hours.
4. After the beef has marinated, wipe off the excess liquid and pieces of minced garlic and place on foil-lined sheets with no overlap. Sprinkle meat with cayenne pepper.
5. Cook in the oven at 175 for three hours and then turn over strips. Cook for another 2-3 hours. (depending on the heat of your oven—some are hotter than others). It’s ready when it’s dry and has the texture of leather but not so dry that it’s brittle and snaps.
Keeps in the refrigerator for three weeks.
- Follow RecipesDream
- Follow @us
