Okay, first a little bit about the beef. Cheap and thick meats seem to work the best. Before the Powell trip Andrea and I made up a batch with a two inch thick Angus™ top sirloin (equivalent to USDA PRIME) and we both agree it wasn't as good as the $1.95 a pound brisket made right along side it. The best bet is to look for a sale and buy a ton. Cuts that range in thickness from 1.5" to 2" are the best and the leaner the better. And always remember that this stuff dries to a fraction of its original weight (you'll be lucky to get 16 ounces of jerky from four pounds of cow.

1) Pop the meat in the freezer for two hours but pull it out before it freezes solid (unless you have a heavy duty electric slicer). Slice, with a sharp 8"-10" chef knife, 1/8" thick and 10" long strips are the best. Slice with the grain of the meat and trim away as much of the fat that you can.

2) In the largest bowl you have, whisk together the soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, worcestershire sauce, Liquid Smoke, Tabasco, red pepper flakes, cayenne, coarse black pepper, chili powder, garlic powder and curry powder.

3) Lay the beef strips one-by-one into the bowl, making sure that each gets a good coating of the cajun mixture.

4) After all the meat is placed in the bowl, cover with cellophane and put the whole shebang in the refrigerator and allow to marinate overnight (8-12 hours).

5) If you have a food dehydrator, super! Load it up and switch it on for 18 hours. If you don't, no worries, just line the bottom of your oven with aluminum foil and hang the strips vertically over the metal racks (it should look like some macabre smokehouse in there). Turn the oven on to 200º F. and leave the door ajar (about 1") to let the moisture escape. Check the strips for dryness after about 8 hours but don't be surprised if you need ten or twelve.

6) Remove the jerky and place, what you don't eat, in a Ziplock™ or other air tight container.

7) Oh, and the beers?! You should have drunk them all by now.