Beef Jerky

Use a smoker to cold smoke some sliced beef and turn it in to delectable strips of dried beef at home for the best tasting jerky you will ever have.

Course Snack

Cuisine American, BBQ

Servings

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

Eye of Round Beef Use a very lean mean. Fat is great if we are cooking, but will rot very fast

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

Keyword beef jerky, cold smoked

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