Sugar-Free Paleo Beef Jerky

I'm going to admit something right now. I love Paleo....but I absolutely HATE hard boiled eggs. Gross! Something about that separated yolk just doesn't do it for me. So I have had to come up with other ways to get some quick, transport-friendly food to bring along. I made a big bunch of this jerky before we left for our summer vacation to Florida and it was awesome for the car rides!

I have yet to find a good jerky source that doesn't have gross chemical and preservatives in it, or isn't $152/pound.

Enter the best idea ever: MAKE YOUR OWN!

Seriously, this really is not very difficult at all, I promise! Plus you can season it however you want, and you can buy your meat in bulk so it's cheaper! We buy Flank steak from Sam's/Costco for about $4/pound. Have you ever bought beef jerky for that cheap? No way!

Ingredients

1) 2-4 pounds of lean flank steak or london broil

2) 1/4 cup of coconut aminos (to simulate the soy sauce taste)

3) 1 teaspoon of (all natural) liquid smoke

4) 1 tablespoon chili powder

5) 1 tablespoon onion powder

(You could add more spices if you want to, like garlic powder or cayenne but then it won't be 5 ingredients. It's delicious regardless!)

Instructions

1) Half-way freeze your steak. Trust me, this will make it a lot easier to slice.

Flank Steak, slightly frozen

2) Cut your flank steak AGAINST the grain into even thickness pieces.

3) Trim off any excess fat that you find, as it can make your jerky spoil quicker.

Sliced up

4) Throw your sliced meat into a ziplock bag or a container.

5) Mix together your coconut aminos, liquid smoke, and spices in a bowl. Add the spices to the bag of meat, close it, and then use your hands to incorporate the mixture evenly inside the bag.

The Spices

6) Let the meat marinate in the fridge for at least an hour. I usually leave it overnight or even up to 2 days when I forgot about it. Whoops!

....and marinate!

7) Take out your food dehydrator. Place your meat strips onto the trays, making sure they don't touch.

Post-cooking

8) Cook in the dehyrator on the meat setting (160 degrees) for 3-6 hours, until the jerky is the texture you like. I like my cooked ALL THE WAY, so I always do it about 5 hours. Just taste it after a few hours, and get it to where YOU want it to be.

9) Remove from dehydrator, and package however you want. I put most in the freezer, and grab a small individual serving out and it usually defrosts by the time I want to eat it later that day. Should store in the fridge for at least a week without spoiling.

And enjoy :)