There's lots of ways to make jerky. You can make jerky from strips of meat cut from whole muscles, or you can make jerky from ground meat. I make ground jerky in sheets using stainless screens, then when it's dry I cut it into strips with kitchen shears. You can dry jerky in a food dehydrator, or in an electric oven set at 200* or lower. I hang the strip jerky from tooth picks on the top oven rack with a drip pan on the bottom rack. There are lots of recipes to choose from, so I would recommend starting out by making a few small batches of each type, then decide which one(s) you like the best. A helpful hint: partially freeze the meat before slicing it into strips.
I like sweet jerky, so my favorite merinade recipe has 1C brown sugar, 1/2C honey, and 1C maple syrup in it. It also has 2Tbs curing salt, 2Tbs fresh ground black pepper, 1-2Tbs of liquid smoke, 1tsp onion powder, and 1C soy sauce. Feel free to experiment on how much of each ingredient you use. Mix everything up in a glass dish and soak the meat strips for 48 hours stirring occasionally. I've also used those dry sprinkle on jerky cures you can buy at the store, but I'm not very impressed with the taste.
I have an uncle who (I swear) makes jerky while he's butchering a deer, by hanging all of the thinner strips of trimmings on the fence in the back yard with a little salt & pepper sprinkled on. Tastes like road kill - not recommended.
