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1
Trim every trace of fat from the beef. Place the trimmed piece in the freezer for 30–45 minutes, until the surface is firm but the interior is not frozen solid. Slice across or with the grain — 3–5 mm thick, uniform throughout. Against-the-grain slices will be more tender; with-the-grain slices will be chewier and tear in long strips. Both are correct. The slices are ready when each is even in thickness from edge to edge.
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2
Combine soy sauce, Worcestershire, brown sugar or honey, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne in a non-reactive container. Add the beef slices, ensuring every surface is coated. Cover and refrigerate for 12–24 hours. The marinade must carry sufficient salt — drawn here from the soy sauce — to inhibit bacterial growth during drying. At the end of marination the slices will have darkened evenly and absorbed the liquid perceptibly.
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3
Remove the slices from the marinade and pat each one dry with paper towels. Arrange in a single layer with no overlap on dehydrator racks or on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. No piece should touch another. The surface of each slice should appear matte and slightly tacky before drying begins.
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4
Dry by one of three methods: in a food dehydrator at 65 °C for 4–8 hours (the modern standard); in a low oven set to 80 °C with the door cracked for 4–6 hours; or by traditional air-drying on racks in direct sun and moving air in an arid climate. This step is where the dish lives or dies — any residual moisture invites mould and renders the product unsafe for storage, while over-drying produces slices that snap rather than flex. Begin checking at the 4-hour mark.
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5
Test each slice by bending it. Finished jerky flexes and shows a network of small surface cracks at the bend point; it does not snap, and it does not feel moist or yielding at the centre. If any piece snaps cleanly, it is over-dried. If any piece feels soft or damp, return the batch for a further 30–60 minutes and test again.