The Best Homemade Beef Jerky Recipes

THE BEST HOMEMADE BEEF JERKY RECIPE

Steps:

• Slice the meat between ⅛ and ¼ inch thick with the grain. (If the roast is too thick to slice easily, cut it in half horizontally before slicing.)
• Make the marinade: In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, meat tenderizer, black pepper, red pepper flakes, onion powder, and garlic powder. Whisk until evenly combined and the sugar is dissolved.
• Add the meat to the marinade and toss until all of the pieces are evenly coated. Cover with plastic wrap or transfer to a large ziplock bag and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours or overnight. Toss the meat (or flip the bag) once or twice to be sure the meat marinates evenly.
• Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil for easy clean-up. Place a wire rack over each pan. Preheat the oven to 175°F and set two oven racks in the centermost positions.
• Arrange the marinated meat on the wire racks in a single layer. Bake, rotating the pans from front to back and top to bottom midway through, until the meat is dried out, 3 to 4 hours. To determine if the jerky is thoroughly dried out, take a piece out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature. It should be dry to the touch, leather-like in appearance, and chewy but still somewhat tender.
• Store the jerky inside an airtight plastic container, Ziploc bag, or airtight glass jars. Properly dried jerky will keep at room temperature for about one week. Refrigerate or freeze for longer storage.
• Note: Pop the meat in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours before slicing; it will be easier to cut.
• Note: Meat tenderizer contains bromelain, an enzyme that breaks down meat tissue. You can find it in the spice section of your supermarket. (I use McCormick.)

BEST BEEF JERKY

Steps:

• Place beef brisket in the freezer for 1 hour to make slicing easier.
• Place brisket on a flat work surface. Slice on the grain into the thinnest possible strips, about 1/4-inch-thick.
• Place beef strips in the bottom of a large bowl or container. Pour in teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, corn syrup, liquid smoke, brown sugar, sesame seeds, garlic powder, honey, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Mix well until beef is evenly coated and submerged. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
• Remove beef and pat dry using paper towels. Place beef in a single layer on the trays of a dehydrator machine. Cook at 155 degrees F (68 degrees C), or according to manufacturer's instructions, until dry and firm, yet slightly pliable, about 5 hours.
• Leave beef out in the air to cool until dry; the longer you leave it out, the drier it will get.

HOMEMADE BEEF JERKY

Steps:

• Whisk Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, paprika, honey, black pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and onion powder together in a bowl. Add beef to bowl and turn to coat beef completely. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator, 3 hours to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 175 degrees F (80 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack over the foil.
• Transfer beef to paper towels to dry. Discard marinade. Arrange beef slices in a single layer on the prepared wire rack on the baking sheet.
• Bake beef in the preheated oven until dry and leathery, 3 to 4 hours. Cut with scissors into bite-size pieces.

DOC'S BEST BEEF JERKY

Steps:

• Place beef strips in the bottom of a large bowl. Pour soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, brown sugar, salt, pepper, meat tenderizer, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika over beef. Mix to assure all the meat is evenly coated. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
• Remove meat from bowl and place between two pieces of plastic wrap; pound to 1/8-inch thickness.
• Arrange the meat strips on the tray of a dehydrator and dry at your dehydrator's highest setting until done to your liking, at least 4 hours. Store in an airtight container or resealable bags.

THE BEST TERIYAKI BEEF JERKY

Steps:

• Flash freeze beef for 20 minutes on cookie sheet during ingredient mixture.
• Mix ingredients in extra large bowl with whisk until completely blended.
• If beef is more than one inch thick, slice across to create equal thickness.
• Cut beef between 1/8 - 1/ 4 inch thick slices, in addition to trimming as much fat off the meat as possible.
• Incorporate beef into ingredients to cover.
• Marinate beef overnight.
• Pat dry beef slices and skewer beef onto bamboo, ensuring small space between slices for thorough dryness and leaving one inch on each end.
• Hang beef skewers across oven rack so beef hangs freely.
• Cover entire oven rack with skewers of meat.
• Place aluminum foil on oven rack #2 at very bottom of oven to help catch drippings.
• Set oven to lowest temperature (170 degrees in my case) and leave door ajar on hinge, letting beef sit for approximately 5-6 hours or until dry.
• Check beef a few times throughout to ensure it is not actually baking, but simply drying out.
• Once finished,
• Let beef skewers rest for 10 minutes after drying, and then remove skewers from oven rack and let sit on tray until cool.
• Remove beef strips from skewers and store them in an airtight container.