Beef Jerky

I have experimented with dozens of recipes throughout my journey with an autoimmune disease. I’ve focused on recipes that can be consumed by almost anyone, even with several food restrictions. I wanted to feature this one because it’s fairly simple and tasty.

What I found difficult was finding a snack that was a part of the autoimmune protocol (AIP) as well as SIBO and Candida friendly. Since red meat is a staple in the AIP diet I thought beef jerky would be perfect as a snack. The problem was that even though there were grass fed jerky options out there I found they had the typical jerky seasonings (i.e. garlic, onion powder, chili, paprika etc.) so I couldn’t partake.

I decided to try making the beef jerky with ingredients I could have. I thought to it would just be edible to me and no one else would enjoy it. But to my surprise, it was well received. It’s not the “typical” beef jerky and my husband and I think it actually tastes better!

What’s great about this recipe is that it only has 6 ingredients; meat, green onions, coconut aminos, garlic infused olive oil, salt and ginger. Since I didn’t have a dehydrator for years I made mine in my regular oven.

 

One thing to keep in mind is that the prep and cooking times are lengthy, but it’s only due to the marinating and dehydrating times. You don’t have to do anything per se. It’s basically a piece of cake.

Let’s start with a 2 pound rump or chuck roast. You can try other cuts, but make sure it has some marbling to give it good flavor. Put it in the freezer for at least an hour so it is easier to slice. Once nice and cold, cut 1/8″, or less, slices against the grain. The thinner the better.

Having a nice sharp chef’s knife makes it a lot easier, but as you can see from my photo it’s still possible without one.

When the roast is all sliced up, place it in a pan large enough so that none of the meat is too stacked on top of each other. This way the meat is allowed to soak up all the delicious marinade.

Add all the rest of the ingredients to a 2 cup measuring glass, or something similar, and pour over the meat.

Now chop up the bunch of green onions (for SIBO use the green parts only), sprinkle over the meat, cover and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.

 

When ready to cook go ahead and preheat your oven to the lowest setting. Mine goes down to 170 degrees. Grab a metal rack of sorts (I use a cookie cooling rack) as well as a broiler pan. Place the metal rack on top of the bottom piece of a broiler pan set or a 13 x 9 & 1/2 cake pan. That way the pan can catch the drippings without ruining your oven.

Line the marinated slices of meat side by side until the entire area is covered. Then take the green onions, that were marinating with the meat, and place them on top. This is optional, but I do it just for added flavor. Now go ahead and pop in the oven on one of the middle racks.  Then place a wooden spoon in the oven door to hold it ajar, like this.

 

Now all that is left to do is wait for the meat to dry out. This should take 8-10 hours depending on the thinness of the meat, your oven and what level of dryness you want your jerky to be.

RECIPE

Prep time: 30 mins                                                                                                                          Total cook time: 8-10 hours

• 2lbs rump or chuck roast
• 1 bunch green onions
• 1/2 cup FODY or Garlic Gold garlic infused olive oil
• 3/4 cup coconut aminos
• 3/4-1 tsp pink Himalayan salt (or any other type)
• 2 tsp ground ginger

1. Place roast in freezer for approximately one hour
2. Remove from freezer and, on a cutting board, slice into 1/8″ (or less) pieces
3. Put meat into a metal or glass rectangle cooking pan
4. Add the rest of the ingredients (minus the green onions) into a 2 cup glass measuring cup so you can measure the liquid ingredients as you go and…
5. it will make pouring it over the meat easier. Evenly pour over the meat
6. Thinly chop the green onion (green part only if following a low FODMAP diet) and sprinkle over the meat
7. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 12-24 hours
8. Preheat oven to approximately 170 degrees
9. Take a metal cookie cooling rack and set in over the bottom piece of a rectangle broiler pan set (or similar) to catch drippings
10. Line meat side by side to cover sheet then add those green onions that were part of the marinade on top of the meat, if desired.
11. Place pan in the oven with the door held ajar by a wooden spoon
12. Allow it to cook 8-10 hours with a few peeks into the oven to make sure all is well

Once the meat has been dried to your likeness, you now have delicious beef jerky!

I usually split up the completed batch and put half in the refrigerator and the other half in the freezer so it’s ready once the first half is gone.

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