• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

BiteSeeing

  • Featured
  • Places
  • Products
  • Recipes
    • Timers
    • Submit A Recipe
  • Jerky
  • Test Kitchen
  • Shop
  • Profile
  • About BiteSeeing

How To Make Jerky At Home

Protein Selection

While the term, “beef jerky”, rolls off the tongue with the greatest of ease, many proteins may be dehydrated and considered jerky. The science is fairly straightforward – slowly heat a piece of beef, poultry, fish, etc. to remove the moisture that lives inside it to prolong its palatable longevity. Moisture and fat cause the protein to spoil faster which is why you want to select very lean cuts in order to give yourself the best results. Moisture is what the dehydration process takes care of, at a slow pace, as opposed to cooking it at higher temperatures. Do you know those juices that you love to seal or sear in when cooking your favorite steak? We want all of those juices out of the meat! We do this by slow, steady, air circulated heat that is conducive to drying out the meat rather than cooking it.

My research and experiences have led me to the understanding that the best jerky meat choices are ’round’ (top round aka London Broil, bottom round, eye of round), ‘loin’ (tenderloin, top loin, short loin), flank, or cap. The key is to find a nice chunk of meat with minimal fat on the inside because you can only remove so much of it while retaining proper thickness for dehydrating the beef. Fat on the outside is easy to trim off, so that’s just a waste of money rather than end product. Every once in a while I can get a butcher to give me a trimmed piece of meat where they trim most of the outside fat off and I’m paying for more actual meat than fat. In Chicago, my go-to source of meat is typically a 5 pound Top Round from Costco which costs around $30. Local supermarkets require less planning and you can indeed get good meats at reasonable prices, so there’s no excuse for not making your own jerky! Venison makes a fantastic protein for jerky as well. I had more if it than I could eat going to college in Roanoke, VA many moons ago. I am not a hunter, but luckily lots of teammates and friends were hunters and were happy to share their seasonal hauls with us city folk.

Non-beef jerky recipes aren’t in my wheelhouse at this point but for chicken use the breast meat, and for fish use the fillet or steak cuts. Again, the least fatty pieces are what you want for best results. Plain, unseasoned slices of chicken breast make excellent dog treats – slice, dehydrate, and serve. Done!

 

Flavor

Since we are removing all the good juices that we seek out when eating steak, we should take the opportunity to get other forms of flavor into the meat before we evaporate the juices out of it. In the jerky biz, this is what is typically referred to as marinade. You likely found BiteSeeing searching for jerky recipes, and that’s exactly is what the recipes give you – a punch of flavor to make your jerky enjoyable and memorable!

Typically, there will be a combination of wet and dry ingredients mixed together in a 1-gallon ziplock bag that the sliced meat strips will bathe in for  8 to 24 hours. Salt is a critical component of jerky because not only does it act as a natural preservative, (SCIENCE ALERT!) but when given time, it pulls out existing moisture from the meat and replaces it to a degree with whatever flavor is surrounding it (pssst, it’s the marinade). 

In addition to being a mad scientist melding various flavor profiles together (Asian, sweet & spicy, smokey, vinegary, etc.) you may also use bottled marinades and sauces. While less exciting on the surface, you can make some fantastic tasting jerky using a bottle as a base sauce. Think Frank’s Hot Sauce with Worcestershire sauce, Liquid Smoke and minced garlic. Yummy!

So just have fun with it. Pick flavors you like, experiment, and try something new. The marinade is technically the easiest part of the entire jerky adventure, but also the most critical and nuanced because that’s the only chance you get to impact the final bouquet of the jerky you put into your mouth in a few hours.

 

Dehydrating Methods

There are several ways you can dehydrate meat, but for the purpose of the home chef, the oven and a dehydrator are the two most common choices and once you start making jerky routinely, a dehydrator is worth the investment – you can spend as little or much as your budget allows to make your treats as easy and stress-free as possible. 

Every recipe and post I have here at this point revolves around using a dehydrator so I’m not your guy for the oven strategy. If I ever find a practical reason for it, I’ll write about it. Aside from being in the wilderness or at a cabin with only a gas oven, I can’t think of many situations I’d be in where I’d make jerky without having my dehydrator, “Naked And Afraid” moments notwithstanding.

For completeness, I’ll reiterate a previous post called, “Why You Need A Dehydrator“, on the topic of oven vs. dehydrator:

You can alternately use your oven to dry meat, however, you’ll have a few challenges that may give you a negative experience and hinder you from doing it again.

  • For best results, the jerky should be exposed to as much heat as possible from a surface area standpoint, so unless you want to flip every piece on a regular basis throughout your 4-7 hour cook, a standard sheet pan isn’t going to cut it. You can lay the meat strips across your oven racks (and make sure you put a pan or foil at the bottom to catch all of the drippings!), hang them vertically (use a toothpick or skewer for the suspension), or if making smaller/quick batches you could use a cooling rack as you would with bacon (again, put something underneath to avoid a mess or fire!) 
  • Jerky does best when dried at 160 degrees. Take a look at your oven settings. The lowest my oven goes is 170, which I believe is typical of most home ovens. Getting into this range, if you aren’t careful, can cause the meat to cook as opposed to dry, which isn’t what you are looking for. You could prop the oven door open and use a remote thermometer to monitor temperature, but it’s another check you have to stay on top of.  

So for the purpose of this site and your sanity, the operating assumption is that we will use a dehydrator for our jerky making needs until further notice 🙂

 

Slicing Jerky

I find that pictures work best for describing the slicing process, so I’ve created a little slideshow for you below:

  • Put meat in freezer for about 2 hours to allow it to become firm
  • Trim all visible fat to the best of your ability. Fat doesn’t dehydrate and will decrease the shelf-life and enjoyability of your jerky. Trim within reason, you can’t get it all!
  • Work with manageable pieces of meat, envisioning the final shape(s) you will create.

    – Slice WITH the grain for a TOUGHER chew
    – Slice AGAINST the grain for a SOFTER chew
  • Slice consistent sizes and shapes, 1/8″ – 1/4″ thick, trying not to create more than 3 distinct types of shapes
  • Slightly frozen meat makes precision sliceing easier
  • Group similar shapes together for marinading and placement on dehydrator racks for consistent drying

That should cover it for now! Check out our growing list of jerky recipes and let me know if you have any questions.

In the meantime, feel free to browse some of my past performances in another little slideshow:

  • Hot Buffalo Garlic
  • WIllow Wood Habanero Garlic

More Reading

Reader Interactions

Join the conversation! Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Hi! I'm Ralph, and I started BiteSeeing.com back in 2007 to share my favorite recipes, restaurants, and kitchen toys. I currently live in Chicago, IL with my very awesome and supportive wife Stacy. Other test subjects in our house are our Siamese cat Lexie and two Chihuahua's, Abigail & Franklin.

Find A Recipe

Entree
Ice Cream
Jerky
JerkyRecipe
Pets
Recipe
Sauce
Snack
Test Kitchen

Latest Reviews

  • Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen – Las Vegas
    Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen – Las Vegas
    9.8
  • KitchenAid Artisan Mini Stand Mixer
    KitchenAid Artisan Mini Stand Mixer
    8.8
  • Copper Chef Cookware Set
    Copper Chef Cookware Set
    9.4
  • Min Min Asian Cafe
    Min Min Asian Cafe
    9
  • Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator
    Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator
    9.1

Top Products

  • Stainless Steel Bench Scraper & Chopper
  • BlenderBottle Classic Loop Top Shaker Bottle
  • South Beach Diet Meal Plan - Save $30!
  • Instant Pot Ultra 8 Qt 10-in-1 Pressure Cooker
  • Nesco BJX-5 Jumbo Works Beef Jerky Kit

Top Articles

  • I Finally Bought A Jerky Gun - Here's How It Went
  • Turkey & Sweet Potato Pet Treats
  • R&FN'R Beef Jerky
  • Can You Use A Bottled Sauce As A Jerky Marinade? YES!
  • Hollandaise Sauce
  • Thin Mint Ice Cream
  • Recipes
  • Duke's Original
  • Ralph's Original Jerky Sticks

Footer

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Food!

  • Recipes
  • Entrees
  • Ice Cream
  • Jerky
  • Test Kitchen

Reviews!

  • Products
  • Places
  • Delivery

About Me!

  • About Me

Shopping!

  • Shop

Copyright © 2021 · BiteSeeing, LLC · Web Design by CTG · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.