How to enjoy making home made beef jerky

How exactly can you enjoy making home made beef jerky?  By being the photographer.  Oh yes.  As soon as you hear those magical words, pick up a camera...QUICK!!  See, if you have an expensive piece of equipment in your hands and you tell them you are 'documenting' the experience, then they actually won't make you touch the ook.

Uncle Nate is typically besieged with 'can you make beef jerky....ppplllllllleeeeassssseeeee??????' every time we visit.  Something about Uncle Nate's jerky makes them all nutso!  I am not a fan of jerky, so I really can't say how delicious it is.  I'll take my kids word for it.

Of course, this visit was no different, so he obliged their requests, pulled down the dehydrator, went to the market and purchased something like 5lbs of ground beef.  All in the name of beef jerky.  This visit was a little bit different-they were finally old enough to HELP!  And willing too.  Me?  I grabbed the camera.

Step #1: Get your hands nice and gross while mixing the ground beef with the jerky spices and cure.  Doesn't it look so yummy?  Yeah, umm, I agree.  No.

Step #2:  Gross out your mom and others that are standing near by that want NOTHING to do with touching the mucky mess.  Now, give me a pair of latex, rubber,  or neoprene gloves and I would have had no problem 'digging' in.  No gloves?  No help.

Step #3:  Cram the jerky concoction into the fancy schmancy jerky press and watch the operator of said jerky press fill up the trays.

Step#4: Turn on the dehydrator and smell the jerky cook for the next 5 hours.  At least.

Step #5: Snag a piece fresh out of the dehydrator and pray you got the plain kind and not Uncle Nate's spicy green chili jerky.

Step #6:  Continue eating jerky until your stomach hurts, or it's bed time.  Whichever comes first.

Step #7: When preparing to leave Uncle Nate's house, beg and plead with all your might so he'll throw an extra few pieces into your 'to go' bag.

They haven't eaten it all up quite yet, but it's not going to last much longer.  Good thing Nate's visiting in November!!