SWEET & TANGY TROPICAL ARTISAN JERKY
makes 10 servings · total 44 hours · tested

Batch 1 of the artisan jerky pair. A wet marinade of soy sauce, canned
pineapple juice, ponzu and dark brown sugar, rounded out with
Worcestershire, smoked paprika, coriander and a little hickory smoke.
Sweet and tangy with a mild pepper-flake warmth. The weights are scale
weights for about 1,000 g of sliced beef.

INGREDIENTS
  -- Beef --
     1000 g   eye of round (trimmed, half-frozen, sliced 5–6 mm (1/4")
              across the grain; about 2.2 lb)
  -- Marinade --
      105 g   soy sauce (about 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp)
       94 g   canned pineapple juice (about 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp)
       83 g   dark brown sugar (about 1/3 cup packed)
       77 g   ponzu (about 1/3 cup)
       55 g   Worcestershire sauce (about 3.5 tbsp)
       22 g   Karo syrup (about 1 rounded tbsp)
       17 g   apple cider vinegar (about 1 generous tbsp)
       10 g   garlic powder (about 1 tbsp)
        8 g   onion powder (about 1 generous tsp)
        8 g   smoked paprika (about 1 generous tsp)
      3.5 g   coarse black pepper (about 1 tsp)
      2.8 g   hickory liquid smoke (about 1/2 tsp)
      2.8 g   MSG (about 1/2 tsp)
      1.7 g   ground coriander (about 1/2 tsp)
      1.1 g   red pepper flakes (about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp)

STEPS
  Prep
    1. Freeze the eye of round for 1.5–2 hours, until firm.
    2. Trim off all outer fat and silverskin.
    3. Slice across the grain at about 1/4" (5–6 mm) on the deli slicer.
  Marinate
    1. Whisk the marinade ingredients together.
    2. Coat the beef in zip-top bags and chill in the fridge for 6–16
       hours.
  Tray up
    1. Blot both sides of each slice firmly with paper towels so there
       are no puddles.
    2. Arrange in a single layer on the stainless steel racks, with gaps
       for airflow.
  Dehydrate
    1. Run at 63°C (145°F) for 4.5 to 5.5 hours. Two-stage option: 71°C
       (160°F) for 60–90 minutes, then 57°C (135°F) for 3–4 hours.
    2. Bend test: cool a test piece for 3–5 minutes. It should bend like
       soft leather with visible white fibrous tears along the crease.
       It should not snap brittle or feel spongy or wet.
  Condition
    1. Cool for 30 minutes on the racks.
    2. Seal in a zip-top bag or mason jar and rest in the fridge for 24
       hours, so the leftover moisture evens out into a tender, uniform
       chew.

EQUIPMENT
  - Cosori dehydrator with stainless steel racks
  - Deli slicer
  - Kitchen scale
  - Zip-top bags, paper towels

FOOD SAFETY
  USDA guidance for home jerky: the meat should reach 160°F (71°C)
  inside, either before drying (simmer the strips in the marinade) or
  after (10 minutes in a 275°F / 135°C oven). Drying at 145°F alone may
  not reach that. Keep it cool and airtight, and freeze anything you
  won't eat within a month or two.

STORAGE
  Keep sealed in a zip-top bag or mason jar in the fridge.

LICENSE
  CC BY 4.0: share and adapt freely, credit longproof and link to
  https://longproof.duckdns.org/recipes/sweet-and-tangy-tropical-artisan-jerky.txt
  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/