Can I make beef jerky without a food dehydrator?

Alton Brown, on his show, Good Eats, made jerky using a box fan to dry out the beef and a clean cotton furnace filter to hold the jerky on the fan. Here's his recipe: Beef Jerky Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005 Show: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ea/0,1976,FOOD_9956,00.html">Good Eats</a> Episode: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ea/episode/0,1976,FOOD_9956_38734,00.html">Urban Preservation II: The Jerky</a> 1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank steak 2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce 2/3 cup soy sauce 1 tablespoon honey 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons onion powder 1 teaspoon liquid smoke 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes Special Equipment: 1 box fan, 4 paper air-conditioning filters, and 2 bungee cords Trim the flank steak of any excess fat, place in a zip-top bag, and place it in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours in order to firm up. Remove the steak from the freezer and thinly slice the meat with the grain, into long strips. Place ...  more

Tips on good jerky... First of all you want the leanest cut of meat possible...with beef it is usually the bottom or top round roast. Cut the meat in strips...typically across the grain so once dried it is a little easier to chew and break apart. Some like it with the grain...kind of a personal tase issue. You want to cut in pretty uniform thickness so they dry at the same rate...I would recommend ~1/4 inch thick. If you freeze the meat for an hour or two...not so it is completely frozen but very cold it will be easier to cut and handle. Season the meat with the seasonings and curing powder. Typically you will let it sit in a ziplock in the fridge for 24 hours. Make sure all of the meat is well coated. The commercially available seasoning kits are pretty good or you can make up your own and by the curing powder seperately. Lay the meat out on cookie sheets or preferably a rack and put it in your oven at the lowest temperature. Approx 200 degrees or lower...should take between 1-2 ...  more

This website: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://microwebtech.com/" target="_blank">http://microwebtech.com/</a> has instructions of how to make it in the oven! Pictures, lots of recipes, and letters from beef jerky "fans" are also on the site! This website: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/misc/jerky.html" target="_blank">http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/misc/jerky.html</a> has some good pictures of how to cut "along the grain" of the meat - extremely important when you are making jerky! This site has a lot of good tips in general, and also talks about the different kinds of seasoning methods. This website: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_31151,00.html" target="_blank">http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_31151,00.html</a> has a recipe and instructions of how to construct your own sort of dehydrator using air conditioning filters, bungee cords, and a box fan! Sounds like they are ...  more

get out your favorite beef jerky recipe, turn on oven and try and aim for a constant temperature of 145 ° F and dry for at least 7 hours.. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/he176w.htm" target="_blank">http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/he176w.htm</a> *NOTE: Temperature is very important when making jerky. The USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline's current recommendation for making jerky safely is to heat meat to 160 °F before the dehydrating process to assure that any bacteria present will be destroyed by wet heat. Recent work at the University of Wisconsin demonstrated that the following time-temperature combinations are effective at killing E. coli 0157:H7 in jerky products. Although the lower temperatures are considered effective at killing bacteria, it is recommended that dehydrator temperatures of 145 °F or higher be used. Monitor the temperature of the dehydrator by placing the metal stem of a dial thermometer between dehydrator trays, or create an opening ...  more