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make your own jerky

How To Make Homemade Jerky


  • Author: Jess Pryles

Ingredients

Scale

2 lb lean beef or venison (see note 1)

1 cup thick Bloody Mary mix

1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp horseradish

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp dried tomato powder (optional)

1/2 tbsp celery salt

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp cajun seasoning


Instructions

  1. Prepare the meat by cutting into very thin strips, not much bigger than 1/8 of an inch. If you have issues getting your meat cut finely, take the cut portions and gently pound them with a meat tenderizer to thin them out.
  2. Place meat, Bloody Mary mix, Worcestershire, Horseradish, salt and pepper in a large zip top bag. Seal the top, and the move everything around inside the bag to make sure it’s coated. Refrigerate at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
  3. Remove strips from bag, patting excess liquid off with a paper towel, and place on a foil lined tray.
  4. Combine dried tomato powder, celery salt, cayenne and cajun seasoning in a small bowl. Sprinkle each side of the meat with the dry spice mix (see note 2), and place immediately in dehydrator.
  5. Allow the meat to dry. This process will take anywhere from 7-10 hours, depending on many factors including humidity, temperature and the thickness of the meat. Just keep checking it.
  6. If you wish to take an extra safety precaution, take dehydrated strips and place on a parchment lined tray. Put tray in preheated 275f oven for 10 minutes, then allow to cool. Store in airtight container.
  7. Alternatively, you can follow manufacturers instructions for the drying process.

Notes

Note 1: It’s really important to use extremely lean meat for jerky that’s very fresh, or was frozen when extremely fresh.

Note 2: Most flavors of jerky require only a wet marinade prior to drying, I prefer to give this Bloody Jerky an extra sprinkle of spices for appearance and extra flavor, but it’s not essential.