Place meat in the freezer for 1-2 hours to make slicing easier.

Combine together remaining ingredients for marinade and set aside.

Remove the meat from the freezer and trim the fat from the outside.

Slice in ¼ inch strips with the grain. As you slice, remove any fat (marbled fat does not need to be trimmed out).

Cut into somewhat equal sized pieces.

Add sliced beef to the marinade.

Marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours (overnight or 24 hours is even better).

Drain excess marinade off the strips of meat and pat dry.

Lay the strips across mesh trays or hang in smoker.

Dry at 100-130°F with no smoke to dry the surface of the meat (approximately one hour, turn over half way through the drying process if jerky is on trays, and not hanging).

Start smoking and raise the temperature to 160°F and smoke for 2-4 hours using Mesquite Flavor Bisquettes, depending on the size of the strips.

Rotate the jerky strips if necessary throughout the smoking process to ensure they dry evenly.

Jerky is ready when a few muscle fibers fray when bent. If you want your jerky to last longer, then smoke until it snaps when bent.

Recipe by: Lena Clayton