The Epicurious Wanderers!

Bourbon Chilli Jerky

Well it’s supposed to be cooler here tomorrow so might be an ideal day for brewing and jerky making.  

With that in mind and after a visit to the butcher I now have just over a kilo of beef marinating ready to go in the smoker tomorrow. Been wanting too use some of my bourbon in a jerky for a while now so have come up with the following recipe for this batch.  If you’re not a bourbon fan then you can dilute with water half and half or substitute the bourbon for some other spirit.  Dark rum would also work well with this mix.  But hey, experiment, after all it’s your jerky and you need to make what you want to eat.

 

 

Ingredients:

1kg beef (top round or blade)

Marinade
¼ cup bourbon (or other spirit!)
2tsp chilli flakes (more if you like it hot!)
2 tsp liquid smoke, hickory
¼ tsp Pink curing salt
1 tsp molasses
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cracked black pepper
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

Directions

Trim all visible fat from the beef and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
While the meat is in the freezer, combine the bourbon, Chilli flakes, liquid smoke, Pink Salt, molasses, brown sugar, black pepper, soy sauce, & worcestershire sauce in a blender or whisk in a bowl. Mix well.
Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼” strips with the grain and tenderise with a meat mallet. Cut against the grain for an easier chew.
Add sliced beef to the mixture and marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator.
After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade.
Dry with your favourite jerky making method. I’m going with my Hark Big Boss Gas Smoker for this batch.
The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half. About 6 hours at 110C, but make sure you check it!