If you intend to save some money, you will not go wrong making homemade beef sticks. While beef sticks are an easier way of having a quick meal, buying from a store can be pricier. For those who buy large quantities, the best option is to make your own. Also, homemade beef sticks provide a better flavor, freshness, and you gain confidence in using various ingredients. Here is why you should consider making homemade beef sticks.
Benefits of homemade beef sticks
Another benefit of homemade beef sticks is that properly preserved ones have a long shelf life. Therefore, when you have a large serving on one day, you are assured of having more servings for a long time. For this reason, you should consider learning how to make homemade beef sticks, especially if your family is big.
But you should always think of several factors, such as your favorite kind of beef sticks and which ones you would like to like. This is because this snack provides various flavors and there are different ways of cooking them.
Cooking the beef sticks
There are different ways you can cook the beef sticks after preparing them. The most common ways are using a smoker, an oven, or a food dehydrator.
A smoker
The trick to smoking delicious beef sticks is to make sure that you apply a low level of heat to the meat. In this way, the meat dries out without cooking it. But you should keep a consistent temperature that is around 150 degrees.
If you have great barbecue smoking skills, then you just need to keep a close eye on the temperature. This is because if it gets too hot, you will require to remove the meat until it gets back down to a suitable temperature. This is the reason why you need to have a meat thermometer to check the temperature inside the beef.
An oven
There are a lot of similarities between cooking with an oven and a smoker. However, you should always put tinfoil on the oven’s bottom to make the cleaning process easier. The ideal temperature for cooking beef sticks in an oven is at 170 degrees.
You should consider leaving the oven door open for the first hour. Also, you can check if the beef sticks are ready after three hours of cooking. Ovens give you the flexibility to manage the temperature, making it easier to make homemade beef sticks.
A food dehydrator
This is also a simple process to do as you simply have to put the beef sticks in the dehydrator and then wait for the inside temperature to reach at least 160 degrees. The cooking begins when the right temperature is reached. At this point, you have to measure the time. The initial cooking stage usually takes about 8 hours and after this time, you can begin controlling the texture of your beef sticks.
It’s worth noting that there are various recipes for beef sticks that you also find at https://exchangebarandgrill.com/how-to-make-beef-sticks/. Contrary to popular opinion, it’s not such a complicated process, all you need is the right meat ingredients and tools. A lot might depend on the method you prefer to use but in most cases, they utilize the same kitchen tools and procedures.