Teriyaki jerky made from ground elk meat is high in protein but low in cholesterol and fat. You can make this delicious snack easily using the oven in your own kitchen because you don't need a smoker or any other fancy equipment. Most if not all of the ingredients you'll need are already in your cabinet.
Instructions
1. Combine the Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the onion powder, black pepper, salt, brown sugar and garlic powder. Add a teaspoon of cayenne pepper if you like extra zesty flavor. Blend everything well.
2. Add the ground elk meat to the bowl. Mix it with the other ingredients by kneading it by hand, just as you would when making dough. Make sure everything is blended very well.
3. Spread a sheet of wax paper out on your working surface. Empty the meat mixture onto the wax paper and make a ball out of it. Flatten the ball a little and cover it with another piece of wax paper. Roll the mixture to a thickness of about 1/8 inch.
4. Cut the rolled meat mixture into strips with a very sharp knife. The strips can be any length and width that you want. Put the meat strips on a baking sheet in a single layer with just enough space between them so that they aren't touching each other.
5. Bake the meat strips at 150F for 8 to 12 hours. Crack the oven door open about an inch and leave it like that during the entire baking process. This will help to dry the jerky by allowing the moisture in the meat to evaporate and escape from the oven.
6. Check the teriyaki elk jerky often, beginning about eight hours after you started baking it. When it holds its shape, the jerky is done. It will be chewy. Don't overcook it because it will become very dry and it will crumble.
Tags: about inch, meat mixture, meat strips