Homemade cumin beef jerky

The production of beef jerky is still very energy-intensive. Needless to say, if you want it to become dry, you must dry it in the sun. This process is very time-consuming and labor-intensive, and requires great patience. You can also make beef jerky at home, but the steps are more complicated. When you have nothing to do, you can make it for fun, which gives you a sense of accomplishment. The beef needs to be cut into moderate thickness, otherwise it will be very hard to chew after it becomes beef jerky.

1. Cut the beef against the fiber into slices about 1.5 cm thick.

2. Use the back of a knife to lightly chop both sides of the thick slices, then cut into small pieces.

3. Add all the spices except curry powder into the pot.

4. Heat over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally with a spoon, turn off the heat and let cool.

5. Pour the cooled seasoning into the beef, mix well, and let it stand for more than 1.5 hours.

6. Pour the marinated beef into the bread bucket and put it into the bread machine.

7. After turning on the machine, select the Bake/Stew/Cook button, select dark color, and run for 30 minutes.

8. After running for about 15 minutes, open the lid and stir the beef with chopsticks so that it can be heated and absorb the sauce more evenly.

9. When finished, open the lid, use heat-insulating gloves to carry out the bread bucket, use a spoon to scoop out the soup in the bucket, and pick out the star anise, peppercorns, ginger slices, and red peppers.

10. Put the bread bucket back into the bread machine, select the stir-fry function, and fry for more than 45 minutes.

11. When there are about 8 minutes left before cooking, add cumin powder.

12. Cover the lid and continue. Wait for the program to end before opening the lid. Take it out and let it cool. You can eat it directly or let it air-dry for a while.

Tips

1. When cutting beef, cut horizontally against the fibers and chop lightly with the back of the knife. This will make the beef softer. If you like a drier texture, you can omit this.

2. The longer the marinating time, the more flavorful it will be. You can marinate it in a cool place for a longer period of time.

3. Stir-fry for 45 minutes until the beef jerky is dry. At this point, the beef jerky is dry but not very hard. If you like it dry and hard, you can extend the stir-fry time or select the stir-fry function after the program ends, and then set some time to stir-fry until it reaches the desired degree.

Tips

1. Be sure to use the lowest heat and slowly stir-fry the dried beef strips. Don't be in a hurry and stir-fry more often. Fry as dry as possible. Just be careful not to get it blurred.

2. Steamed fish soy sauce is actually similar to light soy sauce, but it is not as salty and has some umami flavor. I actually added steamed fish soy sauce because I happened to have no light soy sauce at home.

3. I bought ready-made braised sauce, but you can actually make it yourself by adding soy sauce and sugar. If you don’t like it too sweet, you can reduce the amount of sugar.

4. If you don’t like it too sweet, you can put less sugar in the last step. In fact, the color in the fifth step is already very good. Sugar color only makes the beef jerky look better in color. Sugar also mainly acts as a sticky substance, allowing the sesame seeds and cumin powder to be better wrapped around the beef jerky.

5. If you like spicy taste, you can also add chili powder in the last step.

6. When done, you can spread it flat on a plate in a single layer to dissipate heat and cool, allowing the surface of the beef jerky to dry naturally. Then put it in a zipper bag and seal it for storage.