Not jerky per say, but with a pellet grill set on the lowest setting and a chuck roast, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the versatility of mustard, especially a course variety. The smoke seems to neutralize the acidic bite of mustard and leaves a complex savory complement to the natural sweetness of low and slow smoking.
My favorite base/marinade right now is 8-10 garlic cloves and a bundle of green onions all minced and sautéed lightly, then add a cheap beer and as much dark brown sugar as will saturate.
My go-to is Alton Brown’s version with some extra crushed red pepper added.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/beef-jerky-recipe-2103581
I don’t dehydrate it his way (I have a dehydrator), but the recipe is great if you don’t like the sweet stuff that so many people make.
Pretty standard here. Salt, pepper, ghost pepper flakes, chili flakes, liquid smoke and occasional teriyaki.
Curious to see what others are doing though!
Bold move with the ghost peppers
It comes around and causes pain quite a bit. But I’m not a smart man so I keep adding it. 🤣
There’s a jerky I get every time I swing through a region overseas that uses Sichuan peppercorns and lots of chili flakes/seeds. Spicy and numbing, really tasty and can’t really find anything like it back home
I do this sometimes and it is fantastic. Make sure to toast and grind your Sichuan peppercorns for optimal flavor!
And pay the extra dollar or three for good peppercorns which have been hand sorted. The cheaper ones have lots of stems and seeds that you don’t want and it’s a real pain sorting them out yourself. You just want the husks.
Numbing?!
Yeah, it’s a different kind of spicy where it’s a tingly numbing spice instead of just heat.
I wouldn’t call it spicy because it’s just so different, but it is something everybody should try. Very unique. I started growing my own a year or two ago (looks like I’ll be getting some this year for the first time!) and I’m eager to try them fresh.
Ah yeah, I meant that the peppercorn gave a numbing taste along with the chili’s that give a spicy taste.
A jar of chili crisp!
of all the homemade jerky I’ve had, nothing hits quite like black pepper.
Coming back to add that I’ve made a bloody mary version before that was pretty good. I don’t remember the recipe I used because it was a while ago and I was just winging it, but it involved tomato (paste maybe?), worcestershire, horseradish, Tabasco, crushed red pepper, black pepper, celery salt… Maybe a bit of lime juice?
It’s been way too long. I really need to pull out the dehydrator.
Honestly, look up Biltong recipes and give them a shot.
