Manatee has three foods that he eats every single day: jerky, frozen blueberries, and spinach. Jerky is his go-to on-the-go food that he always has in his car. In his profession, he does a lot of driving and doesn’t always have time to stop and get lunch. Jerky gives him the protein he needs to stay full and isn’t messy to eat.
I even started keeping some in my car. I learned quickly that it was no appropriate to eat while working at the specialty cooking store, but on the road, it was perfect. And then I looked at the list of ingredients.

Lots of chemicals.

This did not jive with our clean eating lifestyle, but I knew I couldn’t ask Manatee to give up his protein lifeline.

So I did what any good wife would do, I bought him a kitchen gadget so he could make it himself.

I was a little nervous about getting it for him. I had been adamant about not receiving any gadgets for Christmas. What would he think?

Well apparently, he was going to ignore my wishes and had gone out the day before Christmas to try to find me a dehydrator. Luckily, he didn’t find one.

I thought maybe I would get to make the jerky, but oh no. This is Manatee’s baby. It took some coaxing but I finally persuaded him to share his recipe and here it is…

Manatee’s Turkey Jerky

2-3 pounds boneless turkey breast
1/2 bottle terriyaki sauce or marinade*
1/2 bottle of liquid smoke
1 cup soy sauce
2-3 tablespoons fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup Sriracha**


*I implore you: check the ingredients list when you buy the terriyaki sauce. So many of them include chemicals or high fructose corn syrup. Avoid those like the plague!
**We like things spicy. You may want to tame this down. 

  1. Remove the skin the turkey breast.
  2. Slice the turkey breast into thin slices, about 1/4 inch slices.
    If you have made beef jerky before, you can slice turkey a little thicker.
  3. Combine terriyaki sauce, soy sauce, liquid smoke, Sriracha, and black pepper in a gallon ziplock bag.
  4. Let marinate for 8 hours.
  5. Place turkey slices on racks of dehydrator. Discard leftover sauce.
  6. Dehydrate on medium for 8-10 hours.
    Tip: After 2 hours, flip the turkey slices over so that it doesn’t stick. Every few hours, rotate the racks from bottom to top.
    These tips are not a huge deal so if you can’t do them, don’t worry about it.

 

Recipe Review: This is a great, healthy snack perfect for road trips and plane rides. Store jerky in the refrigerator.

I tried doing some quick research on dehydrating in the oven. I can tell you there is a lot out there but have not done it myself.

Have you ever made jerky? Any tips for making it in the oven?

What’s your favorite on-the-road snack?

 

 

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