Beef Jerky

All you need is a few ingredients to make a delicious homemade Beef Jerky that's more budget-friendly than store-bought.

When I went to California in June, I forgot to pack snacks for the flight.

Big mistake because I was starving by the time I made it to the West Coast.

Not being the best hungry traveler, I had to buy a snack. Unfortunately, most airport options are over-priced and far from nourishing.

My typical on-the-run snack of choice is something high in protein like nuts, seeds, or jerky. So I grabbed a bag of beef jerky to squash my hunger.

A $12 bag of beef jerky that is.

$12?!

Yes, $12 for a 3.25-ounce bag of beef jerky. Basically, it was marked up to be what it cost for 4 bags on Amazon.

Unfortunately, I had to suffer the bill of the overpriced jerky because I knew I'd be miserable without food. And even the less nutritious options weren't much less expensive.

So when I was getting ready for my weekend vacation last week, I knew I'd be making my own beef jerky, especially since it's not complicated, it's much cheaper, and the ingredients aren't strange.

In total, it takes about 30 minutes of hands-on time for a batch, but the results are more than worth it.

You'll start by taking a piece of steak. I used top sirloin, but flank steak works equally well. Note: Flank is a little leaner.

You want a piece of meat that is on the leaner side because you don't want it to have too much fat.

A lot of fat in the meat will make the jerky less shelf-stable and go rancid faster. It'll also make it awkwardly chewy in parts and can potentially cause you to dry out the meat, making your jerky tough and undesirable.

Make a super-quick marinade -- I used this recipe for inspiration -- and thinly slice the meat.

It helps to freeze the meat for about an hour beforehand to make the meat easier to slice. I prefer very thinly sliced so it is quicker to dehydrate.

Then let the sliced meat marinate for a few hours or up to 24, and transfer your meat to a dehydrator.

Dehydrate for about 4-6 hours depending on the thickness of your sliced meat, and you're done.

This homemade beef jerky keeps about 1-2 weeks at room temperature in a zip-top bag.

I kept mine for 3 days before it was polished off...

Just a few more quick notes: this has a nice, spicy taste. Feel free to lower the amount of red pepper flakes and/or cayenne pepper if desired.

Also, you will need a dehydrator. I use the Nesco American Harvest Dehydrator, and it was the perfect size for my entire batch. I probably could have done a little larger batch before running out of room. I highly recommend it.

Beef Jerky

All you need is a few ingredients to make a delicious homemade Beef Jerky that's more budget-friendly than store-bought.

5 from 1 vote

Print Rate

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours hours

Marinating time: 4 hours hours

Total Time: 6 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Author: Meme

Ingredients

• ▢ 1.5 lbs steak flank steak or top sirloin
• ▢ ½ cup tamari sauce or soy sauce
• ▢ ½ cup worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon honey
• ▢ 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• ▢ 2 teaspoon onion powder or dried chopped onion
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika
• ▢ 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

• Thinly slice the meat {Note: it helps to remove all fat and freeze the meat about 1-2 hours before thinly slicing}. Put in a zip-top bag or container.
• Whisk together tamari sauce, Worcestershire sauce, honey, liquid smoke, dried chopped onion or onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, and cayenne pepper.
• Pour marinade over meat and tightly seal. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours {turning at least once to evenly distribute marinade}.
• When ready to dehydrate, transfer slices of meat to the trays of a dehydrator in one layer {preferably leaving a little space between each slice}.
• Dehydrate for 4-6 hours, turning once halfway through cooking if desired. To extend shelf life, blot each slice with paper towels to absorb any excess fat {which can cause it to go rancid quicker}.
• Once completely cool, transfer to an air-tight container and keep at room temperature for 1-2 weeks or refrigerate up to 3 weeks.

Notes

*To make this gluten free, be sure to use gluten free ingredients. Tamari sauce is a sauce similar to soy sauce with little to no gluten. Check ingredients labels to insure there is no gluten if needed.

*To approximate the nutrition facts, I based it off using the entire marinade. This is an estimate, and the sodium is probably lower due to the fact that the marinade doesn't completely absorb.

*Makes 12 ounces total

Did you try this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment & recipe rating below. Bonus points for tagging @memeinge & #livingwellkitchen on Instagram! THANK YOU! xo

Meme

Nutrition Facts