HOMEMADE BEEF JERKY

If you love to snack on beef jerky, you will love this recipe for homemade. It’s SO delicious!

Our son has always loved beef jerky. Whenever we went to the store it was always his request. When he joined the Marine Corps and was deployed to Afghanistan, it was his number one request. Have you seen the price for a few ounces of this stuff? It’s crazy expensive! I was talking with a Marine dad and mentioned this to him. He gave me his recipe because his family loves it too! Thanks, Steve!!

A funny story….when our son was deployed, I put homemade jerky in ALL of his boxes we sent. Yes, I’m one of those moms and I sent at least 2 packages a week to him. On one mail delivery, his SO was standing near him when he opened his box. When he saw the jerky he asked if it was homemade. He made our son let him try it HAHA! From that day on, every time the mail truck came, he would stand near Zach and wait for his share of the jerky! I had to double the recipe so there was enough to share.

This is such an easy recipe. I’m really surprised more people don’t make their own. The hardest part is slicing the beef…seriously! You want the meat sliced about 1/4 inch thick. I have two meat slicers. One is electric but is a pain in the derriere to get out and clean. The other is a manual slicer that I purchased at a thrift store for $7. Why would anyone sell this for such a small amount? Apparently, they had put the blade on backward and thought it didn’t work! It’s one of my most prized kitchen tools.

Any type of beef or venison can be used for this recipe. The prime cuts would be Eye of Round or London Broil, but for this recipe, I used a chuck roast and it was great. You will need to trim as much fat and white film from it as possible, but even if some remains the jerky will still be delicious.

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the sliced meat and mix well. Refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, spread the beef strips out, single layer, on the trays of your dehydrator. If you do not have a dehydrator, you can spread them out on cookie sheets and use your oven on the lowest setting possible to make the jerky. I’m sorry I can’t tell you how long for the oven because I’ve never made mine that way. You will need to adjust your time depending on the lowest temperature your oven will allow.

Place the trays in your dehydrator and set the temperature for 140 degrees. It will take 5-6 hours to dehydrate them. You do not want them to be brittle. As soon as they are dry and can be bent without breaking, they are done.

Print Recipe

HOMEMADE BEEF JERKY

A wonderful snack that everyone loves! Homemade Beef Jerky is simple to make and you will never buy store-bought again. If you like Spicy Beef Jerky, just add more Tabasco or other pepper. This can also be made using venison.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time5 hours hrs

Total Time5 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: beef, homemade jerky, jerky

Author: Debbie

Equipment

• Dehydrator

Ingredients

• 3 pound chuck roast (may use eye of round, venison, or another cut of meat) Slice the meat in 1/4 inch slices.
• 2 tablespoons Morton's Tender Quick
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon Tabasco Sauce or other hot sauce of your choice
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 cup soy sauce preferably Tamari

Instructions

• Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix well, cover, and place in the refrigerator overnight. The minimum marinating time you want is 4 hours but the longer you leave it, the more flavorful the jerky will be.
• Spread the meat slices in a single layer on the dehydrator trays.
• Dehydrate at 140 degrees for 5-6 hours until the meat becomes bendable but not brittle.
• Store in Food Saver bags or Ziploc bags. Do not refrigerate.

Notes

The Tender Quick in this recipe acts as a preservative for storage. It contains sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate, so be aware if you are avoiding these items.