Will the 'Jerkyholic'
Hey guys and gals, my name is Will and I am a Jerkyholic. I love making jerky, creating new recipes, different methods of drying, and of course eating tons of homemade jerky.
Jerkyholic was started in 2015 to keep track of my recipes and pass on to others information I did not have when I started making jerky. I began drying my own over 20 years ago to take on hiking and hunting trips.
I love being outdoors and beef jerky is a great snack to have on the trail or in the blind. I live in Texas Colorado with my beautiful fiance wife Linda, who I can always count on to give me a honest review of each batch of jerky I pump out of our kitchen.
Inspiration
As you probably already know, store bought jerky is very expensive and in my opinion not very good! There is nothing better than coming up with a new recipe and making some amazing jerky you can enjoy with friends and family.
Making deer jerky is also a passion and one of the favorite things to turn my harvest of venison into each year.
My goal is to provide you with information, pictures, and instructions on HOW to make the best beef jerky. The trouble I had when I started making homemade jerky all those years ago was finding information with details on exactly how to make it.
Most of the information was lacking quality instructions, included terrible recipes, and were clearly put together by people that had never made beef jerky before. It was time someone with actual experience make good information available.
Experience and teachings
As a hunter I butcher my own animals and have a unique understanding of the cuts of an animal and how they should be used. Knowing how to properly choose good meat, trim it of fat and silver skin, what cuts will be more tender (and WHY they are tender) is important knowledge when making jerky.
I have been blessed to learn spices and cooking of game meat from some of the best outdoorsman that have step foot in our wilderness and country side. Seasoning and cooking with raw ingredients over open fire. This is where I learned what spices and marinades can remove gameness from an animal, that southern deer will be more lean than their norther counterparts and have a different flavor due to their diet.
There is no substitute for real life experience and diving head first into the world of smoking meats. That's what I have enjoyed over the last 20+ years and will continue to do for another 20+.
Who is Jerkyholic for?
This website is for anyone looking to learn how to make great tasting homemade beef jerky, deer, pork, fish, or fowl. This might be to have healthy snacks for family to enjoy or to have great tasting protein when outdoors hiking or adventuring.
Every recipe/marinade you find on this website will have either gone into my oven, dehydrator, or smoker and personally tasted by myself. I will never publish a recipe that I have not made and has passed my deliciousness test! Try our How to make beef jerky in a dehydrator recipe, it's one of our most popular beef jerky marinades.
Getting Around
We have a Jerky Recipe Index here which has EVERY jerky recipe on the site. You can filter through type of meat and flavor, making finding your favorite recipe super easy!
Looking to smoke some great meat? Definitely look at my many smoked meat recipes that are sure to make it on the top of your dinner menu list at home.
Featured On
Jerkyholic has been featured on many different websites, magazines, and radio shows; here are some recent media features:
Additional jerky stuff
I am also the author of the Jerky Cookbook that is available on Amazon - Jerkyholic: Make Great Jerky
I hope that you can learn from the information and recipes I have provided here. Thanks for coming by!
If you are even more interested in knowing a little more about me or seeing some cool pictures from my travels; check out my Loving Life page!
-Will
