Sticky Teriyaki Beef Jerky (Oven or Dehydrator)

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A snack-shop style teriyaki jerky you can actually make at home: lean eye of round sliced paper-thin, soaked overnight in a real teriyaki brine of soy, mirin, sake and brown sugar, then slow-dried and finished with a reduced glaze brushed on at the end. The double hit of marinade and glaze is what gives it that lacquered, faintly sticky surface and deep sweet-savoury chew instead of the flat salty flavour of most homemade jerky.

Ingredients

• 2 lb beef eye of round or top round, well trimmed

• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup mirin
• 1/4 cup sake or dry sherry
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 4 cloves garlic, grated
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/4 tsp curing salt (Prague powder #1), optional

• 1/2 cup reserved strained marinade
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Freeze the beef for 60 to 90 minutes, until the outside is firm and the centre still gives slightly. This is the single biggest factor in getting even slices, and even slices are what make jerky dry at the same rate.
2. Slice the chilled beef 1/8 to 3/16 inch thick. Cut with the grain for classic chewy, tear-apart jerky; cut across the grain for a more tender, snappy bite. Trim away every bit of fat and silverskin as you go — fat does not dry and will turn the batch rancid within a week.
3. Whisk all brine ingredients together in a large bowl until the brown sugar dissolves completely, about 1 minute. If using curing salt, whisk it in now (it is optional but gives the cured red colour and extra safety margin for long storage).
4. Measure out 1/2 cup of the brine and refrigerate it separately for the glaze. Add the beef strips to the remaining brine, separating them with your fingers so every surface is coated. Transfer to a zip-top bag, press out the air, and refrigerate 12 to 24 hours, flipping the bag once or twice.
5. Drain the beef in a colander for 10 minutes, then lay the strips on a bed of paper towels and blot the tops firmly with more paper towels. Surface moisture is what makes jerky steam instead of dry — get them tacky, not wet.
6. Set oven racks in the upper and lower thirds and heat the oven to 175°F, or its lowest setting if it does not go that low. Line two sheet pans with foil and set a wire rack in each. Arrange the strips on the racks in a single layer, not touching, with a little space for air to move. (Dehydrator: load trays the same way and set to 160°F.)
7. Dry for 2 hours, then rotate the pans top to bottom and flip each strip. Prop the oven door open 2 inches with a ball of foil or a wooden spoon to let humidity escape, and continue drying.
8. While the jerky dries, simmer the reserved 1/2 cup brine with the 2 tablespoons honey and 1 teaspoon soy sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes, until reduced to a thin syrup that coats a spoon. Cool. It will thicken further as it sits.
9. After a total of 3 to 4 hours in the oven (4 to 6 hours in a dehydrator), start testing. Pull a piece, let it cool for 5 minutes, and bend it: finished jerky cracks and shows white fibres at the bend but does not snap in two. If it is still floppy or squeezes out moisture, keep going and check every 30 minutes.
10. When almost all pieces pass the bend test, brush both sides of every strip with the glaze and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Return to the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until the glaze is set and tacky rather than wet.
11. Cool completely on the racks, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Pack loosely into a paper bag or an unsealed container for 24 hours to let residual moisture equalise between pieces, then transfer to a zip-top bag or jar.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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