Beef jerky is a great snack for hiking, camping, and road trips because it is smoky, salty, and sweet just right. Learn how to make your own flavorful and tender beef jerky using either a dehydrator or an oven!.
Aside from being very easy, making your own beef jerky at home is also less expensive than buying good jerky in stores. You’ll also be able to choose all the ingredients that go into making it, so there won’t be any weird stabilizers or additives that are hard to pronounce.
So if you’re ready to start making your own beef jerky, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we share everything we know about making tender homemade beef jerky.
Beef jerky is a tasty and portable snack that’s loved by many. With its irresistible smoky-sweet flavor and chewy texture, it’s no wonder why this protein-packed snack is so popular. But did you know you can easily make your own paper thin beef jerky at home?
Homemade beef jerky has many advantages over store-bought options. You can control the ingredients, avoiding unwanted preservatives, salt and sugar. It’s also fresher and more flavorsome. With just a few simple steps, you can make delicious jerky that’s customize to your tastes.
In this detailed guide, we’ll walk through everything you need to know to make perfect paper thin beef jerky at home.
Step 1: Select and Prepare the Meat
The first step is choosing the right cut of beef. Look for lean cuts like eye of round, bottom round, or flank steak. These cuts are affordable easy to slice thin, and low in fat.
Ask your butcher to slice the meat against the grain into 1/8 inch thick slices. If slicing it yourself, pop the meat in the freezer for 30 minutes beforehand to firm it up for easier cutting. Trim off any excess fat or sinew.
Step 2: Make the Marinade
A good marinade adds tons of flavor and tenderizes the meat. There are endless options for homemade marinades, but a basic recipe includes:
- 3/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Whisk all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the sliced beef and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours, redistributing the meat occasionally.
Step 3. Dehydrate the Meat
Drain the beef from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels Arrange slices in a single layer on dehydrator trays or wire racks set over baking sheets,
Dehydrate at 145°F to 155°F, until the meat is dry to the touch, about 4 to 7 hours. Blot any beads of fat from the jerky slices while dehydrating.
Step 4. Finish and Store Jerky
To finish, increase the temperature to 275°F and bake for 10 minutes to kill any bacteria. Let cool completely.
For storage, pack cooled jerky in airtight containers or bags. Store in a cool, dark place and enjoy within 1 month for best quality and safety.
Tips for Making Paper Thin Beef Jerky
Follow these extra pointers for making the perfect paper-like beef jerky:
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Use flank steak, sirloin tip or eye of round for uniform slices.
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Partially freeze meat before slicing for thinner cuts.
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Cut slices against the grain for more tenderness.
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Apply light, even pressure when slicing to prevent rips.
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Consistent 1/8 inch thickness helps jerky dry evenly.
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Rotate racks and blot fat droplets for efficient dehydrating.
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Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature.
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Let jerky cool fully before storage or it can sweat and spoil.
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Enjoy homemade jerky within 1 month for food safety.
Get Creative with Jerky Flavors
The great thing about DIY jerky is experimenting with different flavors. Try these tasty marinade ideas:
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Teriyaki – substitute teriyaki sauce for the soy, add sesame oil, ginger and garlic
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Coconut Curry – coconut milk, curry powder, lime juice and cilantro
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Maple Bourbon – maple syrup, bourbon, smoked paprika and black pepper
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Chili Lime – chili powder, lime juice, cumin and oregano
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Lemon Pepper – lemon juice, coarse black pepper and rosemary
The options are endless for creating your own signature jerky flavors.
Makeahead Jerky Tips
For gifts or meal prep, make large batches of jerky to have on hand anytime. Here are some tips:
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Prepare multiple pounds of meat strips and marinate all at once.
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Use a dehydrator or do smaller oven batches over 2-3 days.
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Let jerky cool completely before large batch storage.
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Vacuum seal portions in bags or jars for longer shelf life.
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Label packages with flavor and date for easy identification.
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Store extra homemade jerky in the freezer for up to 2 months.
With the right preparation, you can make jerky in big quantities to stock up the pantry.
Safety Tips for Homemade Jerky
It’s important to follow food safety guidelines when making your own jerky:
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Always use fresh, high-quality meat. Discard any with off smells or textures.
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Defrost frozen meat safely in the fridge, not at room temperature.
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Wash hands, utensils and surfaces before and during prep.
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Marinate meat in the refrigerator, not on the counter.
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Dry meat quickly at the right temperature to prevent bacteria growth.
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Let jerky cool fully before storage to prevent condensation issues.
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Store finished jerky in the refrigerator or freezer for longest shelf life.
Following these safety tips will ensure your homemade beef jerky stays fresh and delicious.
Making paper thin beef jerky at home lets you control ingredients, customize flavors, and avoid preservatives. With the right techniques, equipment, and a quality lean cut of meat, you can easily make tasty jerky right in your own kitchen. Get creative with different spice blends and enjoy the smoky snack any time.
Which is Better: Oven or Dehydrator?
You can make delicious-tasting beef jerky using either. However, you will get better and more consistent results if you use a dehydrator.
Dehydrators have much better temperature control, especially at the lower temperatures needed to dry things out. They also have a lot more airflow.
You can follow the steps for either way, but if you really want to get into making jerky, you might want to get a dehydrator. They can be very affordable and have a ton of other great uses.
If you want to buy a dehydrator, you should look for one with an adjustable temperature. This way, you can set the drying temperature to get the best results for each ingredient. The dehydrator we use and recommend most often is the COSORI Premium. You can find our other favorite dehydrators here.
Best Cuts of Meat for Beef Jerky
Any lean cut of beef will work great for making jerky. In fact, when you’re selecting a cut for your jerky, the leaner, the better.
The reason is that fat doesn’t dehydrate. Water moisture will evaporate out of the beef during the dehydration process, but the fat will remain. And excessive amounts of fat can lead to your jerky going rancid.
If you want to make jerky, don’t use a nicely marbled ribeye steak. That intermuscular fat will make the meat tough.
By choosing a lean cut of beef, you reduce the amount of fat you need to remove. Plus, these are often the cheaper cuts of meat!.
These are our go-to cuts for making beef jerky:
- Top Round
- Eye of Round
- Top Sirloin
- London Broil
If you want to make jerky with a really “primo” cut of beef, though, we recommend flank steak. It’s by far the most expensive choice, but it tastes great and can be cut into long, thin strips.
Slice Frozen Beef Paper Thin on Beswood 250 Meat Slicer. The Secret To Making Best Beef Jerky!
How to make beef jerky?
This is a straightforward beef jerky recipe with just 5 ingredients. Although the jerky takes some time to make, the preparations are pretty easy. You just slice the meat, let it marinate overnight, spread onto a baking rack, let bake for about 6 hours at a very low temperature, and you are done.
How thick should beef jerky be?
That way you can make thin slices (about a 1/4 inch thick) without cutting off your finger, or worse, swearing. Most beef jerky recipes will tell you to slice WITH the grain, meaning they recommend you slice parallel with the existing muscle fibers in the meat. The purpose is to help the meat stay together.
How do you slice beef jerky?
The first step of slicing meat for beef jerky is to trim the cut of meat of all visible fat. You can see the white fat in the picture below, just trim that off BEFORE you start slicing the meat. Fat spoils faster than meat, so the more you get off now, the longer your jerky will be shelf stable.
How do you dehydrate beef jerky?
A great starting dehydrator is the Nesco Snackmaster which will run under $100. Place the beef strips in a single layer on the dehydrator trays with space in between each piece of meat. This allows the air to flow around each jerky strip and helps dry faster. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator for a total of 3 hours at 165°F and 1 hour at 145°F.