When I decided to do a pairing with “Prey,” I knew I wanted to make something from the era in which the film was made, so my mind went to jerky.

Of course, I did use modern technology (an air fryer) to make this vegan, gluten-free mushroom jerky. The soy-free recipe makes a whole pack of jerky, roughly 1-3 “servings” depending on how hungry you are.

Ingredients
1 6-ounce package sliced portabella mushrooms
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 tablespoon basil, freeze-dried or fresh (chopped)
1 tablespoon mint, freeze-dried or fresh (chopped)

Instructions
Put the mushroom slices in an air-tight container and add the oil, basil and mint.

Seal and shake the container so the slices are covered in the marinade. Put the container in the fridge for 4-24 hours.

Once the marinating time is over, place your mushrooms on racks in your air fryer. Drizzle any remaining marinade over the top.

Run the air fryer for 7 hours at 135°F on the dehydrate setting.

You can also do this on a baking sheet in your oven at a low temperature if you don’t have an air fryer.

If there is any moisture remaining, blot it out on a paper towel.

Eat the jerky as is or enjoy it in tacos.

The Easy Route
One quick way to make this easy is by buying pre-sliced mushrooms like I did for my second recipe test.

Of course, many brands also have premade mushroom jerky on the market for you to purchase. Know of a premade basil mint mushroom jerky? Please share those details in the comments.

The Pairing
I am not a “Predator” franchise fan, but I am a “Prey” fan.

For me, this is a fantastic prequel that does a lot better storytelling with the protagonist than any of the previous films combined.

“Prey” centers around Naru (Amber Midthunder), a Comanche woman who might be the only one who can stop the predator monster that was dropped on her tribe’s land.

On top of facing off with the predator, Naru has to confront the sexism of some of her tribe members, the threat of European colonizers and the everyday predatory animals her people come across like bears.

Midthunder is absolutely captivating as Naru in this breakthrough role. Her performance in this deserves to be held up to Ripley in the “Alien” series and all the other fiercely badass women in the sci-fi horror genre.

I highly recommend checking this high point of the “Predator” franchise out if you’re looking for an excellent horror film. In addition to an English version, there is a Comanche language version (with English subtitles) available to watch on Hulu, which I highly recommend checking out.

If you decide to make mushroom jerky and/or watch “Prey,” let us know! Tag us in your Instagram posts & stories, threads, TikToks and/or tweets: @veg_out_recipes. We’re also on Bluesky as @vegoutrecipes.bsky.social.