Honey & Lemon Beef Jerky

This is a delicious marinade for beef jerky. The lemon juice tenderizes the meat but doesn't necessarily make it taste "lemony". Also, instead of the usual flank steak, I used the 1/4-inch sirloin slices usually packaged as "fajita beef" or "stir-fry beef". It's lean and saves on slicing time. In my oven it finished drying in about 6-1/2 hours at 180 degrees, but check after around 5 hours just to be safe.

• Ready In: 18 hrs
• Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 lbs  very lean sirloin beef, sliced 1/4 inch thick (the type packaged as "fajita beef" or "stir-fry beef")
• 1  clove garlic, minced
• 1⁄2 cup honey
• 1⁄2 cup soy sauce or 1⁄2 cup tamari soy sauce
• 4  tablespoons lemon juice
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Combine garlic, honey, lemon juice, soy sauce, salt and pepper, and marinate steak strips in this overnight in a plastic zipper bag.
2. The next day, cover oven rack beneath with foil for easy clean-up.
3. Preheat oven to 180 degrees F.
4. Place slices on a baking rack, prop oven door slightly with an oven mitt to allow humidity to escape, and dry meat on racks.
5. In my oven, the process took about 6-1/2 hours.
6. Check meat after 5 hours; it could take as long as 7 hours.
7. Blot any grease spots that may come up.