I love beef jerky. It is one of the primary reasons I first bought a smoker. The following recipe will show you how to make smoked beef jerky with your smoker.
You can use a dehydrator, but what’s the fun in that?
The following is my favorite recipe, but the options are truly unlimited by varying the cut of meat, marinade, and type of wood you use to cold smoke the meat. You can use the technique i have outlined below to experiment as much as you want.
The key points are:
- Keep the temperature of your smoker below 150 degrees Fahrenheit so you are drying and not cooking the meat.
- Do not pull the meat until it is dry, or it will rot extremely fast
- Be sure to trim the excess fat from the meat. The fat will cause the meat to rot extremely fast.
- Choose lean cuts of meat, or the intramuscular fat will rot.
If you are not going to use a slicer, slightly freeze the meat before slicing. I used a MOSFiATA 8″ Carving Knife before I received a slicer for Christmas a few years ago. It is great for slicing thin cuts of meat and will not break the bank.
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Beef Jerky
Equipment
- Meat Slicer Not required but it sure does make it easier.1
- Large Bowl
- Smoker You can use a dehydrator instead2
- Scale Optional
- Wood, or pellets I use a combination of Hickory and Charcoal. Together they make a very pleasing smoke.3
- Vacuum Sealer Optional4
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- Eye of Round Beef Use a very lean mean. Fat is great if we are cooking, but will rot very fast
Marinade
- 1 cup Soy Sauce The sauce I use is imported from Japan, but any good sauce will do.
- 1 tbsp Coarse Ground Black Pepper (16 Mesh)
- 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tbsp Onion Powder
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 cup White Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Cayenne Pepper Powder Optional – if you like spicy jerky
- 2 c Ice
Instructions
Make the Marinade
- Mix all the marinade ingredients into a medium saucepan
- Bring to a boil and let boil for a few minutes until the ingredients have incorporated into a single liquid. Please note, the pepper will not incorporate.
- Remove from the heat, add the ice, and let it melt
- If after the ice melts, if the mixture is still too hot (at or below room temperature) put the marinade in the refrigerator until it cools sufficiently
Marinade the meat
- Slice the meat into ⅛ in slices. Be sure to slice against the grain of the meat. It helps if the meat is slightly frozen. Trim the slices to your preferred size
- Add the sliced meat into a large bowl
- Add the marinade to the large bowl
- Let the meat marinade in the refrigerator, at least, overnight
Cold Smoke the meat
- Preheat your smoker to 150°F
- Place the meat on your smoker's grate so it lays flat and does not overlap with any other pices of meat
- Check the meat every hour to check on its status. The meat is ready when it has turned a dark color and is no longer limp when picked up by the side of the meat. The meat should be able to bend without snapping. If it rips in the middle then it’s not dehydrated enough yet, whereas if it snaps then it’s overly dry.
Package the jerky
- Let the jerky completely cool down before transferring to a storage container
- Store in an airtight container. I like to measure out even portions of the jerky using a kitchen scale and then use my vacuum sealer to make vacuum sealed zip lock bags.
Notes
- If not using a slicer, placing the meat in the freezer for 20-45 minutes helps tremendously
- If you use a dehydrator instead of a smoker, be sure to add some liquid smoke. I have never tried to use a dehydrator so you will need to experiment with the quantity of liquid smoke to use
- If you use a pellet grill, Lumber Jack sells a fantastic combination of Charcoal and Hickory. This has become my favorite pellet to use on my pellet grill. Check Price
- I use a FoodSaver. It works well for me. You can get the vacuum seal zip lock bags on Amazon. Check Price