Teriyaki Deer Jerky

This isn't what you could call a traditional deer jerky recipe, but it is a firm favorite of my friends and family.

The teriyaki style seasonings add just a bit of sweetness to the jerky recipe, and the black pepper and soy sauce help give it that piquant/salty flavor that so many people love.

You can make this jerky from any other lean meat too, it doesn't have to be venison.

In the off season, I turn out several batches of teriyaki beef jerky to help hold our taste buds over until the next fall, but my favorite is still venison.

Recipe

5 lbs of well trimmed, lean deer meat that has been thinly sliced (about 1/4 inch thick)

1 tablespoon Kosher salt

1 cup dark soy sauce

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon fine ground black pepper

1 teaspoon prague powder #1 or Instacure #1

Combine all the ingredients except the meat in a large nonreactive bowl, mix them well, and let them sit for 10-15 minutes.
Add the meat strips to the marinade and mix everything together, making sure all the meat is well coated.
Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate the meat/marinade for at least 12 hours, stirring it occasionally.
Once the 12 hours is up, dry the jerky by your favorite method.

I like to dry my jerky in my meat smoker, but find that I prefer the taste of this variety without any smoke flavor, so I don't generate any smoke at all.

If you use the oven for drying, You may want to start the process at a little higher temperature (around 150 degrees F.) for the first hour or so, then reduce the heat to the oven's lowest setting to finish.

The jerky is going to drip a bit before it dries, so you will be well advised to use a drip pan of some sort. That's assuming you don't enjoy cleaning ovens any more than I do.