Beast Jerky
Updated: 4 days ago
I'm Jayne Smythe, coach and trainer with SalesBEAST, and on Saturday mornings I run along the water here in Florida while the pelicans quietly judge my pace. My running bag always has something to chew on afterward, and homemade jerky is my favorite. I started making it myself because the store bought kind kept surprising me with ingredient lists longer than my last contract.
Jerky might be the most underrated sales tool I know. It rides in your bag, survives a day of back to back meetings, and needs no fridge and no fork. When a client visit runs long or your afternoon turns into a string of calls, a few strips can carry you to dinner without a detour through a drive through.
The original post said this is fuel that lasts, and it does. It lasts even longer if you don't tell your coworkers where you keep it. Yes, it takes time, but almost all of that time is the marinade and the oven doing the work while you do something else. Start it Friday night and you're stocked for the whole week.
A quick word on slicing: partly freezing the beef for about an hour makes thin, even strips much easier to cut. Thin strips dry more evenly, so you get that dry but chewy texture instead of a mix of leather and raw middles. If the oven runs hot, check the first batch a little early. Store the finished jerky in an airtight container in the fridge, and grab a portion on your way out the door.
Ingredients
Makes 2 lbs (before drying).
2 lbs lean beef (top round or flank steak)
1/4 cup coconut aminos or low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
Directions
Slice beef into thin strips, cutting against the grain.
Mix marinade in a bowl. Add beef, coat well, refrigerate 8 to 12 hours.
Preheat oven to 175°F (or use dehydrator).
Lay strips on wire rack over a baking sheet. Bake 3 to 4 hours until dry but chewy.
Why This Fuels a Beast
Lean beef: Protein helps you feel full and supports muscle, and beef contains iron. A handful between meetings goes a long way.
Smoked paprika, garlic, and pepper: Big flavor with no sugar needed, which makes it much easier to choose this over a candy bar at 3pm.
Coconut aminos or low sodium soy sauce: Savory depth that lets you control the saltiness yourself instead of trusting a mystery package.
Apple cider vinegar: A little tang that helps the marinade work its way into the beef, so every strip tastes like you planned ahead. Because you did.
Richard, a great coach and an even more dedicated hunter, read this and informed me that venison jerky is the only real jerky. I told him the oven is preheated and the cutting board is all his.
Want more? Visit Jayne's Kitchen
Before you go: If you're making a batch this weekend, give the post a like, share it with your team, and follow SalesBEAST for more. Then tell me in the comments: what do you keep in your bag for the days when lunch never happens?
That's Beast Mode.
Jayne
Comments