Spicy Homemade Jerky
The perfect snack for road trips, around camp or up on the mountain top. Salty and spicy, this is a winner!
The first time I made this recipe I don’t think it lasted longer than 2 days before it was all gone. Claudio and I both devoured it and it quickly became our favourite mountain snack. The original recipe was actually from my dehydrators manual of all things. I use the Cabela’s 10-tray Deluxe Dehydrator. If you use a dehydrator, I would love to hear which one and your thoughts on it!
Since then, I’ve been playing around with the marinade a bit, trying out different spice combinations and ratios. That’s the cool thing about jerky, there’s really endless possibilities for flavouring. It just sucks when you make one you really like and you don’t quite remember the exact measurements you used… maybe I should start writing things down.. I guess that’s what a blog is for, right? Anyways, the recipe below is my favourite combo so far.
The Meat
Lots of jerky recipes call for beef flank or round steak, but I’ve only used game meat so far (moose, elk or deer). My family are hunters and we love the flavour and leanness that game meat has. And it makes delicious jerky.
Whatever meat you end up choosing, make sure to cut the pieces into similar slices, aiming for 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. This will help your jerky dry at the same rate and means you won’t have to be babysitting your dehydrator for hours checking every individual piece until it’s done.
Dehydrating Tips
When you place your jerky on the dehydrator trays, make sure to space them out enough that they’re not touching. This also helps them dry faster and evenly. Drying time varies based on a bunch of factors, like thickness of slices, temperature of dehydrator, brand of dehydrator, humidity, etc. The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but doesn’t break in half completely. You still want a bit of chew in your jerky, not something that is going to break your tooth.
Don’t have a dehydrator? No worries, you can use your oven too! I haven’t actually tried it in the oven myself, but I have friends that have and it turned out great! When I researched how to do it in the oven, this is what I found:
Set oven at 175F
Adjust racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions
Line two large baking sheets with aluminum foil and place wire cooling racks on top
Lay the jerky strips on top of the racks and bake for 4-5 hours, flipping them half way through
For more information, check out Dehydrating in the Oven and Dehydrating at Home - The Basics. If you try it in the oven, please let me know how it goes! Drop a comment below!
Jerky flavours are so versatile! There’s really endless options. What flavours have you tried? I would love to hear your favourite recipes! Drop a comment below!
More Snack Ideas
Spicy Homemade Jerky
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (approx. 1 kg) beef or game meat
- 1/2 tsp cracked pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup diced onions OR 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 cloves crushed garlic OR 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp BBQ sauce
- 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
- Trim all visible fat off of meat. Cut into 1/4-1/2 inch (approx. 6-12 mm) strips. Place in large ziplock bag or sealable bowl .
- Add all marinade ingredients and rub thoroughly into meat. Marinade overnight in refrigerator. Drain in sieve or colander.
- Arrange meat strips on dehydrator trays without touching (to allow even dehydration).
- Dry at 160F for 6-8 hours until jerky bends and cracks but does not break in half.
Notes
When removing jerky from dehydrator trays, wrap in paper towel and let stand for 2 hours to allow excess fat to be absorbed before packaging. This is may not be necessary for lean cuts of meat.
