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Looking for a great peppered flavored jerky? Look no further, this tropic thunder beef jerky is bursting with flavor and is sure to impress.
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This is an amazing tasting jerky that has a fantastic flavor! A soy sauce flavored jerky with a hint of the pineapple and sweetness from the sugar gives it a well balanced taste.
Slicing the meat
I started with beef top round steak that was sliced thin from the supermarket. This thinly sliced beef is labeled milanesa, a dish made with thin meat.
Slice into strips 1" wide and set aside while preparing the marinade.
Marinade
Combine all of the ingredients listed above in a ziplock bag and mix well. Add the beef top round and marinate for 12-24 hours in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
- Beef
- Pineapple juice
- Soy sauce
- Rice vinegar
- Brown sugar
- Ginger powder
- Paprika
- Garlic powder
- Black pepper
- Curing salt
The longer you marinate the beef the more intense flavor the finished beef jerky will have.
Drying into jerky
After straining the meat in a colander, pat dry the jerky strips with paper towels to soak up any excess marinade.
Place beef strips on a dehydrator tray leaving room in-between the meat to allow adequate air flow.
An Excalibur Dehydrator was used to dry this jerky. It heats the jerky to an internal temperature of 160F, so there was no pre-heating necessary.
Dry for 4-6 hours on the highest setting checking periodically if the jerky has finished drying. 4 ½ hours had this jerky turn out perfect!
Don't have a dehydrator? Other drying methods:
Testing if finished drying
First, after 4 hours of drying, remove a piece of jerky and allow it to cool to room temperature.
Second, bend the cooled piece of jerky slowly in half. It should bend and crack, but not break in half. White fibers will also be seen if the jerky is dried correctly.
Third, if the jerky is finished, remove from dehydrator and allow to cool before storing. If the jerky is not finished, continue dehydrating for another hour before checking again.
Storing finished jerky
Store cooled beef jerky in airtight container such as a jar or ziplock bag in a cool dry place. A pantry works well, make sure to store out of direct sunlight.
My storing beef jerky page will give you detailed information on how to make your great tasting jerky last as long as possible.
Ingredients
- 1 lb beef top round
- ¼ cup pineapple juice
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon curing salt (optional)
Instructions
- Trim all visible fat from the beef and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
- While the meat is in the freezer, combine marinade ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag.
- Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips against the grain for an easy chew. Cut with the grain for a more chewy jerky. (I did not freeze the jerky since I bought already thinly sliced meat. I sliced the thin meat into 1" wide strips)
- Add sliced beef to the mixture in the ziplock bag or bowl and marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator.
- After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade in a colander and pat dry with paper towels.
- Dry with your favorite jerky making method. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator and dried for 4.5 hours at 165F.
- The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.
Christian
Mad my first batch this past spring. I didnt share it. Just made another batch for a road trip. Turned out great.
Added 1/2t extra salt as i use low sodium soy.
Also added 1/3c of beef broth as the mix seemed lite on liquid. And it was extra from another recipe.
Thanks for sharing. I'll try and do better and share this batch. Since I made more.
Bob
Figured I should leave this comment so no one makes the same mistake I did if they try to use fresh pineapple! I used 1/4 cup of blended fresh pineapple instead of canned pineapple juice. Using fresh pineapple resulted in jerky that was the consistency/texture of a gummy worm (but the taste was great!). I later learned that this is because there is an enzyme in pineapple that breaks down meat super fast. This enzyme (bromelain) is heat neutralized, so it isn't a problem in canned pineapple juice because it is neutralized during the canning process. I retried this recipe with blended fresh pineapple, but this time heated the blended pineapple to 160F (apparently bromelain is neutralized at around 158F) and let it cool before making the rest of the marinade. This resulted in some really yummy (non-gummy worm) jerky that I will definitely be making again..... probably with canned pineapple juice to save myself an extra step!
Will
Ha. Thanks for the info Bob!!! It's good to hear you got it figured out and were able to make some great jerky.
Crystal
You could try boiling a 1/2 cup of pineapple juice down to your 1/4 cup. You can get that super concentrated pineapple flavour that way!
Will
That's a very good idea Crystal!
Jennifer Pastorini
Tropic Thunder is and AWESOME movie!