• If you’re interested solely in the recipe, skip this bullet point and keep on reading. For those interested in sourcing nutrient-dense food, low-toxic household products, and discounts on brands that may support your AB journey, you may find value in my product guides. Head over to this page if you’d like to check them out. All are free (and always will be).

Prepare the dates.

• Soak the pitted dates (for the batter) in water for 1-2 hours to get them soft.

Cook the beef.

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
• In your cooking pan, cook the ground beef on the stove-top until done. Don't add any fat while cooking.
• Once the ground beef is done, drain out all of the fat.
• Transfer the cooked ground beef to a plate. Pat the beef dry with a towel to soak up as much of the remaining fat as you can.
• Transfer the ground beef to a baking sheet. Spread the pieces out in as thin of a layer as possible to promote even cooking.

Dehydrate the beef.

• Dehydrate the ground beef in the oven at 200 degrees for 3-4 hours. You may have to rotate the pieces while cooking. I usually swirl everything around with a fork every 30 min or so or when I remember. Pieces should be hard and crunchy when done. I typically keep an eye on mine at about the 2.5-hour mark.
• Once the beef is fully dehydrated, remove the beef pieces from the oven and let them cool.

Make the date-ghee-salt mixture.

• Heat up the ghee (or your fat of choice) on low-medium heat until melted. As soon as it melts, remove it from heat.
• In a blender, combine the soaked pitted dates, melted ghee, and sea salt (ASHLEYR for 15% off). Blend to form a paste.
• Note: if you go through tons of salt in your household like we do, check out this salt purchasing hack that will save you money + make things more efficient. We started this last year, and I'm so happy we did!
• Note: the ghee and the soaked dates probably won't fully blend. There will be some ghee in liquid form left. This is normal.
• Transfer the date-ghee-salt mixture to a bowl (liquid ghee included) and place it in the fridge until it firms up. I check it every 10 minutes or so. To speed up the process, you can place it in the freezer. When ready, the dates and the ghee should be the same texture and it will be able to be mixed into a creamy paste.

Make the bark.

• When the date-ghee-salt mixture is ready, mix it with the dehydrated beef pieces.
• Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Spread the bark across the parchment paper. Press it together to form a firm, thin layer.
• Place the baking sheet in the fridge for 1+ hours. Once the bark hardens, cut or break it into the size of your choice. Leftovers will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 4-5 days. Enjoy!