Yesterday I finally got around to making some homemade chicken jerky. It was very easy and turned out pretty good for a first try. Just like the sweet potato chews this is probably much faster with a food dehydrator but the giant cupboard in the garage where I keep my kitchen gadgets is approaching maximum capacity and an oven seems to do the job just fine.
The instructions are as follows:
- Pre-heat oven to 210 degrees
- Cut boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces into 1/4 inch (or preferred size strips)
- Lightly grease a cookie sheet with olive oil to prevent sticking. I covered the cookie sheet with foil for easier clean up and brushed it lightly with some EVOO.
- Place chicken strips in a single layer on the cookie sheet as spread out as possible.
- Place cookie sheet on middle rack of the oven and check on the strips after about thirty minutes. (The “recipe” I found online said 20 minutes, mine were not even CLOSE to being jerky at 20 mins).
- Continue checking on the strips every thirty minutes until they are firm and look chewy. I had VERY small strips and pieces, it took about 3 hours and 30 minutes.
The pieces did harden up a bit after I turned off the oven too.
I’ve stored them in the refrigerator because I’m not sure how long they will last at room temperature without any preservatives.
Chile absolutely loved them and I don’t have to worry about any recalls !
