I can't knock a man's taste when it comes to jerky, everyone has a different flavor they prefer I suppose?
Call me a dinosaur, I still make and prefer simple, traditional jerky. Strips of good venison, not to thin, not to thick, salt, pepper and dried. No smoke, no oven, no marinade. Taste of salted, peppered meat, not dried hard where it breaks, but some tooth to it, requiring one to rip off pieces with what teeth ya got left.
I'm with you on the simple dried meat (no smoke), but I still like some more modern jerky (sweetened and smoked). Never heard of the marinade Jud got but am interested in how it turns out.
For the dried meat, I started using a carne seca recipe from Hank Shaw. Basically lime juice, salt, and dried chiles or paprika.
https://honest-food.net/carne-seca-recipe/I tried adding smoke, brown sugar, honey, and other spice but am back to about 1/2 Kosher salt, 1/4 pepper, and 1/4 paprika. I have made a bunch with just S&P but the little bit of paprika gives it a nice taste. Changes the flavor but it's hard to place.
