For every 1 lb of venison

4 Tablespoons soy sauce
4 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 Tablespoons of tomato paste
1 Tablespoon liquid smoke
1 Tablespoon mustard
1 Tablespoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion salt

cut meat into 1 inch wide by 1/8 thick strips, and put into container with all the ingredients. mix thoroughly and make sure all meat strips have a nice coating. Store in the refrigerator for at least 12 hrs prior to dehydrating or going into the oven.

also, longer it marinates the better, i like a minimum of 12 hours in the fridge. i also use a dehydrator, and it only takes about 2-3 hours in there to get done.

To: PBR8SEC

That's a good question! I think it comes down to personal preference in the end. Also important is how long or in what conditions you are storing it in as well. I've always gone by the "bend" test, which basically is that you don't want it to retain the bent form after you've bent it. It should have some spring to try and retain its form. The more moisture that is in your jerky the greater the chance that bacteria will form. Depending on how you store your jerky(does it ever really get stored?) having a "wet" jerky might be fine. Usually the venison jerky I make gets demolished within 48 hrs. I'm sure that with the recommendation on the dehydrator it would be safe to dry it for less than the recommended period. Honestly the three hours might be fine. Every dehydrator is different, but I usually run mine at about 4hrs +.