Road Trippin'

Well, we are just a few short days away from the big day.

We had our moving sale on Thursday and Friday. It was supposed to be today as well. But you know what? We ran out of things to sell! The Lord blessed us with many customers willing to purchase our treasures. We ended up with only a few odds and ends leftover which we will be donating to our local historical society for their annual garage sale.

We have wonderful friends and family who helped us out with our sale. Since we live in an apartment it was nearly impossible to have a garage sale at our home. Our friend Josh offered us his yard and garage right on the main drag in town. Jon's brother helped us acquire tables. Our friend Mike came by to help us take down tables last night. And, countless friends and family came by to purchase things. We couldn't have done it without every ones help.

In preparation of our trip, I made a batch of beef jerky. Unfortunately, Jon got into the bag. He ended up bringing it to the garage sale and sharing it with our helpers. By the end of the day the entire bag was gone. I wasn't mad though, I considered it a compliment. Besides, it was after all Jon's birthday. If he wanted to eat all my jerky then so be it, we'll call it his birthday gift ;)

So, I made my way back to the market to buy another sirloin roast. Jon decided we should make a double batch, so we bought two roasts. I found my meat slicer as we were cleaning out closets. I absolutely Love that slicer. It makes slicing the jerky quick and easy.

Jon has been told to stay out of this batch, we will see if I have any jerky for my road trip across country in a few days...

I will share my basic marinade recipe for jerky. But be warned, just like every good cook, I have my secrets that I just can't share. One of the secrets I won't share are the brand names of the ingredients I use. I admit I am a total snob when it comes to jerky. If even one of my ingredients is missing in the brand I prefer, jerky won't be made until the "right" brand is available.

Play with the recipe until you find a marinade that you like best. Once you get it right, people will be begging you for your recipe!

I have several variations of my marinade recipe for the different meats I dry- chicken, turkey, steak,bison, and venison. Again, don't be afraid to experiment. You will be rewarded for your bravery.

Here's to you and your culinary adventures, friend. Cheers!

Basic Jerky Marinade
Enough for about 3 lbs of meat

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
3 TBS liquid smoke
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 TBS brown sugar
fresh garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 TBS ketchup
1 1/4 tsp salt
hot sauce

Combine all ingredients together in a zip top bag.