🐮 please see part two if you already have not 🐮
This version is beyond whatever commitment I have shown before – I am working on the same recipe for a third instalment now, I can’t believe it! Although I can communicate the unmistakable Marmite taste now, I know what Jerky can be like when it’s good and feel that the Marmite is just a little bit lonely and in need of a tart in it’s life, that and a little more heat.
I decided to use another well known British stalwart: Lee & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce to help out, it possibly drawing more people toward the recipe as it’s so widely liked.
INGREDIENTS
- Beef: 395g (~4oz)
- Marmite XO: 2 tablespoons (heaped)
- Orang Peel (dried): 3 tbsp
- Liquid Smoke (Stubb’s): 1½ tbsp
- Black Peppercorns (ground): 2 tbsp
- Worcestershire Sauce: 3 tbsp
Method: One part liquid, the second powder; I mix the two separately. something I should probably have revealed before, but thought it obvious. First I massage the liquids into the meat slices, beginning with the main protagonist – Marmite, which is a lot of work, but as soon as I add something with viscosity like the Worcestershire Sauce the whole process eases up (I’d recommend doing this in a large bowl). Not forgetting the smoke water of course, which I bumped up by 50% this time around.
Separately (beforehand actually), I would blitz the Orange Peel in a blender, then add in freshly cracked Black Pepper from a mill, blend the two yet further so the aromas are released and entwined.
After the meat is thoroughly coated with the liquids the obvious move is to then add the powder mix, which can just be sprinkled right in, it’ll naturally coat everything like a sugary Haribo sweet (candy) nice and evenly, it’s also the part of the process that mops up all of the remaining juices to leave a nice labour free “drying” process..
A 50% increase of a single tablespoon of liquid smoke is not going to tip the balance towards pulling out the paper towels for the “drying process”, neither will an additional 3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. Although a little wet, nothing that an extra hour during the drying process can’t handle. So it was straight onto the skewers with these ones, nice and easy!
Besides, I don’t want it too wet or it may end up removing the orange peel “bark” that goes quite the distance from grounding, saturation, through a lengthy drying process and then into your mouth, for such a delicate high tone flavour.
TASTE
The taste was like sherry for a non-drinker, if you could imagine. It left a burning smell in my nostrils, I put this down to the extended drying time as I accidentally slept in (I let it cook overnight, so it’s not torturous for me during the day).
I completely overdid it with the black pepper, I therefore conclude that my measurements before were off, it’s way too overpowering, one decent tablespoon is enough!
The Worcestershire sauce is nowhere to be seen! Between the hardness of the bark and the attention seeking pepper corns I can’t taste the one thing I set out to bring into this batch!
MEAT CONSISTENCY
After an unexpected 10hrs drying time it gave me a new insight into “bark” exterior as the jerky had become crispy on the outside, even all the way through on some of the more slender pieces!
However, for that crisp crunch before the chew, the flavour of the delicate orange peel was sacrificed, perhaps there is a happy medium, or perhaps I need to use an oil to infuse the flavour, with the sprinklings of orange peel for decoration only?
The pieces split apart like a dry twig in Autumn, the outside was very knobbly, everything was tough and provided a frightening amount of chewing resistance. As a result however, the pieces weren’t sticky to the touch, everything was bone dry.
CONCLUSION
I guess this is where dedication sets in of flies away, as batch after batch of the same recipe only slightly tweaked begins to wear thin. The biggest mistake was not the toughness of this batch, having accidentally let it dry out an extra three hours longer than the last, but the heat from the cracked black pepper – it much too much for me!
The Worcestershire Sauce is obviously lacking and it makes me think about how I used it in previous other recipes and realised that I would need half a cup or so, it needs to be in a pool of the stuff or it won’t take into the meat, what was I thinking?!
I would definitely like to try it again to see if the Worcestershire works with the Marmite or not, that being the main ingredient I need to focus on now..
ukbeefjerkytryouts 
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