This Mexican Heat Beef Jerky is made with spicy Serrano peppers and red pepper flakes to light your lips on fire and satisfy that spice craving.

Original Post Date: Janurary 12th, 2016  *Recipe updated with more pictures and step by step instructions*

Slicing The Meat

When I remade this recipe I bought a couple of packs of already thin sliced beef top round from my local grocery store.

This really speeds up the process because all I needed to do was slice them into 1″ wide strips as they were already sliced 1/8″ thick.

If you can’t find or want to start from scratch, grab a chunk of Beef Eye of Round. You can find a complete list of the best cuts of meat to make beef jerky with by clicking here!

The first step of slicing meat for jerky is to trim the cut of meat of all visible fat. You can see the white fat in the picture below, just trim that off BEFORE you start slicing the meat. Fat spoils faster than meat, so the more you get off now, the longer your jerky will be shelf stable.

Slice the meat with a very sharp knife either with the grain for a more chewy jerky or against the grain for a more tender jerky.

Slice even strips so they will dry evenly and be finished at the same time. You can wrap the roast in plastic wrap and partially freeze for 1-2 hours to make slicing easier.

I didn’t use it on this recipe, but a jerky slicer is a FANTASTIC piece of equipment to help get even strips when slicing jerky.

Not sure what way the grain runs? Need more information on slicing meat for jerky? I have put together a page on Slicing Meat for Jerky where you can find EVERYTHING you need to know when slicing meat for jerky.

Making The Marinade

I am a big fan of Serrano peppers, mainly eating them in picante and pico de gallo sauces. They are from Mexico and their spice is a little hotter than a jalapeno. What I like the most about them is that they are spicy, but pack a great taste as well. I love eating spicy jerky, but it has to taste good too!

Since I am using whole peppers in this recipe, using a blender is the best way to fully incorporate them into the marinade. The Serrano peppers were added whole (do not remove seeds) to the other marinade ingredients inside my Vitamix blender to make sure this jerky has a strong spicy flavor.

Feel free to adjust the amount of peppers to suit your spice preference.

Pour the marinade into a ziplock bag and add the previously sliced beef. Mix the strips around really well to make sure they are all evenly coated with the marinade.

Marinate in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours mixing the bag up several times to further make sure the strips are evenly coated. This makes sure the every piece of finished jerky has a consistent flavor.

Related Page: Dozens of Great Tasting Jerky Recipes – Click Here

Drying The Jerky

Once the meat has finished marinating, strain any excess marinade in a colander. I marinated this beef for a total of 18 hours before straining. The longer the marinade process, the more intense flavor the jerky will have! 

Before adding the meat to your dehydrator, oven, or smoker; lay out paper towels placing the meat strips on top. Pat dry the strips to remove even more of the excess marinade. This step will help speed up the drying process and prevent the meat from being ‘sticky’ after it has finished drying.

Place the strips on your dehydrator trays, oven trays, or smoker rack to dehydrate/dry the jerky. 

I decided to use my Excalibur Dehydrator when drying this jerky. The dehydrator is my favorite way of drying jerky and the Excalibur is my favorite dehydrator. This recipe will turn out well using other drying methods, you can see more information on drying on the jerky making methods page.

After dehydrating for 4 hours, these bad boys were ready to be eaten. Make sure the meat reaches an internal temperature of 160°F to kill any potential bacteria. The 4 hours at 160°F in the dehydrator does the trick.

You can also pre-heat the meat in an oven before drying if your dehydrator does not heat up to 160°F. Check out my page on jerky safety for more information on this process.

Related Page: Dehydrator Reviews – Click Here

Testing For When The Jerky Is Finished

While drying the jerky, you want to start testing to see if it has finished at about the 3-4 hour mark. Take a piece of jerky out of the dehydrator, oven, or smoker and allow it to cool for 5 minutes to room temperature. Bend the jerky in half; it should bend and crack but not break in half. You will also see white fibers in the meat. The fibers are really visible when a piece is ripped in half.

If the jerky is not finished, continue drying for another hour and repeat the same process until the jerky is finished. 90% of the jerky I make is finished within 4-6 hours when using a dehydrator or oven and 6-9 hours when using a smoker. If pre-heating the meat in the oven, drying time can be as little as 2.5 hours.

Storing Jerky

To make the jerky last as long as possible, curing salt will really help along with keeping in air tight containers. I have put together a page on storing jerky and steps you can take to make your jerky have an extended shelf life. Check it out!

So, how was it? They turned out great! It had the perfect amount of spice for my liking and a great chew. So get some beef and give this Mexican heat beef jerky a try!

Old Pro Tips:

• Buy already sliced beef roast to avoid slicing yourself. It saves time!
• Use curing salt or celery juice powder to extend the life of the jerky
• Marinate closer to 24 hours for the most intense flavor
• Use a blender when using whole peppers or other whole ingredients for more intense flavors

For more in depth directions on how to dry your beef jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods

3.5 from 2 votes

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Mexican Heat Beef Jerky

This Mexican Heat Beef Jerky is made with spicy Serrano peppers and red pepper flakes to light your lips on fire and satisfy that spice craving.

Course Snack

Cuisine American, Beef Jerky

Keyword beef jerky, Jerky, Mexican Beef Jerky

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 4 hours

Total Time 6 hours

Servings 5

Calories 189 kcal

Author Will

Ingredients

Lean Meat

• 1 lb Beef Eye of Round or Venison

Marinade

• 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 Serrano peppers Whole
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Optional

• 1/4 tsp Curing Salt Prague Powder #1

Instructions

1. Trim all visible fat from the beef and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
2. While the meat is in the freezer, combine the worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, brown sugar, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, diced Serrano peppers, and red wine vinegar in a bowl or ziplock bag and mix well. Or skip the freezing phase and use a Jerky Slicer for even sliced strips.
3. Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips against the grain. Cut with the grain for more chew.
4. Add sliced beef to the mixture in a ziplock bag or bowl and marinate for 8-24 hours in the refrigerator.
5. After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade and pat dry the beef strips with paper towels
6. Dry with your favorite jerky making method. I used my dehydrator and dried for 5 hours at 160 degrees.
7. The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.

Recipe Notes

Old Pro Tips:

• Buy already sliced beef roast to avoid slicing yourself. It saves time!
• Use curing salt or celery juice powder to extend the life of the jerky
• Marinate closer to 24 hours for the most intense flavor
• Use a blender when using whole peppers or other whole ingredients for more intense flavors

Nutrition Facts

Mexican Heat Beef Jerky

Amount Per Serving

Calories 189 Calories from Fat 63

% Daily Value*

Fat 7g11%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Cholesterol 70mg23%

Sodium 114mg5%

Potassium 282mg8%

Carbohydrates 4g1%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 24g48%

Vitamin A 370IU7%

Vitamin C 2.5mg3%

Calcium 15mg2%

Iron 2.8mg16%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

For more in depth directions on how to dry your beef jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods

You Might Also Like:

Best Cuts of Beef for Jerky

How to Make Beef Jerky with a Dehydrator

The Best Dehydrator for Making Beef Jerky

Slicing Meat for Beef Jerky

Lemon pepper tastes fantastic on fresh fish, so why not jerky? Fresh speckled trout fillets from the Laguna Madre sprinkled with a heavy dose of lemon pepper cooking on the grill is what comes to mind when I think of lemon pepper. But after making some lemon pepper jerky, well…. it comes in a close second.

Original Post Date: June 10th, 2015  *Recipe updated with more pictures and step by step instructions*

I made this recipe again the other day and I have to tell you, it was some damn good jerky. It’s easy to make and lemon pepper can be found at any grocery store.

Slicing The Meat

I cheated a little bit when making this recipe. I bought some beef top round from my local grocery store already sliced thin, saving me a couple of steps!

These pieces were sliced at about 1/8th of an inch thick. All I needed to do was cut them into 1″ wide strips with a sharp knife.

If you can’t find or want to start from scratch, grab a chunk of Beef Eye of Round. You can find a complete list of the best cuts of meat to make beef jerky with by clicking here!

The first step of slicing meat for jerky is to trim the cut of meat of all visible fat. You can see the white fat in the picture below, just trim that off BEFORE you start slicing the meat. Fat spoils faster than meat, so the more you get off now, the longer your jerky will be shelf stable.

Slice the meat with a very sharp knife either with the grain for a more chewy jerky or against the grain for a more tender jerky.

Slice even strips so they will dry evenly and be finished at the same time. You can wrap the roast in plastic wrap and partially freeze for 1-2 hours to make slicing easier.

I didn’t use it on this recipe, but a jerky slicer is a FANTASTIC piece of equipment to help get even strips when slicing jerky.

Not sure what way the grain runs? Need more information on slicing meat for jerky? I have put together a page on Slicing Meat for Jerky where you can find EVERYTHING you need to know when slicing meat for jerky.

Making The Marinade

My taste buds prefer a spicy jerky, and this lemon peppered jerky fit the bill. Not too spicy, but a nice little kick to it. The only pepper in this recipe is the lemon pepper and some black pepper. Throw in some garlic, salt, and soy sauce; you have a great batch of jerky just beggin’ to be eaten!

Start by mixing all of the ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag and then add the previously sliced beef strips. Make sure to mix the bag and move the strips around making sure all of the strips are evenly coated in marinade.

Related Page: Dozens of Great Tasting Jerky Recipes – Click Here

Allow the strips to marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator. The longer the better! Do NOT marinate the meat at room temperature, always marinate in the fridge to prevent the meat from spoiling.

Drying The Jerky

Once the meat has finished marinating, strain any excess marinade in a colander. I marinated this beef for a total of 22 hours before straining. The longer the marinade process, the more intense flavor the jerky will have! 

Before adding the meat to your dehydrator, oven, or smoker; lay out paper towels placing the meat strips on top. Pat dry the strips to remove even more of the excess marinade. This step will help speed up the drying process and prevent the meat from being ‘sticky’ after it has finished drying.

Place the strips on your dehydrator trays, oven trays, or smoker rack to dehydrate/dry the jerky. For more in depth instructions on drying your jerky, check out my Jerky Making Methods Page.

I dried them in my Sahara Dehydrator, like the one seen below, for a total of 4 hours at 165°F. This dehydrator is on the expensive side, but if you live in a small apartment the fact that it folds down to 1/3 of it’s size for storing is really nice.

Make sure the meat reaches an internal temperature of 160°F to kill any potential bacteria. The 4 hours at 165°F in the dehydrator does the trick. You can also pre-heat the meat in an oven before drying if your dehydrator does not heat up to 160°F. Check out my page on jerky safety for more information on this process.

Related Page: Dehydrator Reviews – Click Here

Testing For When The Jerky Is Finished

While drying the jerky, you want to start testing to see if it has finished at about the 3-4 hour mark. Take a piece of jerky out of the dehydrator, oven, or smoker and allow it to cool for 5 minutes to room temperature. Bend the jerky in half; it should bend and crack but not break in half. You will also see white fibers in the meat. The fibers are really visible when a piece is ripped in half.

If the jerky is not finished, continue drying for another hour and repeat the same process until the jerky is finished. 90% of the jerky i make is finished within 4-6 hours when using a dehydrator or oven and 6-9 hours when using a smoker. If pre-heating the meat in the oven, drying time can be as little as 2.5 hours.

The ingredients are pretty straight forward and easy to find for this recipe. Make sure you do not omit the water. The water cuts the salty taste and thins out the soy sauce flavor. Not being a huge fan of overly soy tasting jerky, you will find water in a lot of my recipes. I believe that it mellows that strong taste and allows the other ingredients to shine through.

Storing Jerky

To make the jerky last as long as possible, curing salt will really help along with keeping in air tight containers. I have put together a page on storing jerky and steps you can take to make your jerky have an extended shelf life. Check it out!

Old Pro Tips:

• Buy already sliced beef roast to avoid slicing yourself. It saves time!
• Use curing salt or celery juice powder to extend the life of the jerky
• Marinate closer to 24 hours for the most intense flavor
• Find lemon pepper in a grinder instead of previously finely ground for better flavor

For more in depth directions on how to dry your jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below. 

4.25 from 8 votes

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Lemon Peppered Jerky

Lemon pepper tastes fantastic on fresh fish, so why not jerky? Fresh speckled trout fillets from the Laguna Madre sprinkled with a heavy dose of lemon pepper cooking on the grill is what comes to mind when I think of lemon pepper. But after making some lemon pepper jerky, well.... it comes in a close second.

Course Snack

Cuisine American, Beef Jerky

Keyword beef jerky, lemon pepper, lemon pepper beef jerky

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 5 hours

Total Time 5 hours 30 minutes

Servings 5

Calories 177 kcal

Author Will

Ingredients

Lean Beef

• 1 lb beef top round

Marinade

• 3/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp lemon pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water

Optional

• 1/4 tsp Curing Salt Prague Powder #1

Instructions

1. Pick a lean cut of beef and trim all visible fat. After trimming the fat, place the meat in the freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze. If purchasing already sliced beef as I did, skip the freezing step.

2. While the meat is in the freezer, combine and mix the soy sauce, water, black pepper, garlic powder, lemon pepper, and salt in a medium size bowl or ziplock bag.

3. Remove meat from the freezer and slice against the grain between ⅛" - ¼" in thickness and 1" wide.

4. Add sliced beef to the mixture and marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator.
5. After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and pat dry with paper towels.

6. Dry with your favorite jerky making method. A dehydrator was used when making this recipe. The slices were placed on dehydrator racks so they were not overlapping or touching. Dried for 4 hours at 165 degrees.

7. Jerky will be finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half. Allow to cool for several hours before storing in air tight containers.

Recipe Notes

Old Pro Tips:

• Buy already sliced beef roast to avoid slicing yourself. It saves time!
• Use curing salt or celery juice powder to extend the life of the jerky
• Marinate closer to 24 hours for the most intense flavor
• Find lemon pepper in a grinder instead of previously finely ground for better flavor

Nutrition Facts

Lemon Peppered Jerky

Amount Per Serving (70 g)

Calories 177 Calories from Fat 54

% Daily Value*

Fat 6g9%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Cholesterol 70mg23%

Sodium 914mg40%

Potassium 225mg6%

Carbohydrates 1g0%

Protein 26g52%

Calcium 8mg1%

Iron 2.5mg14%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Need more in depth directions on how to make jerky in an oven, dehydrator, or smoker? Visit my page Jerky Making Methods to become a pro at making jerky!

You Might Also Like:

Best Cuts of Beef for Jerky

How to Make Beef Jerky with a Dehydrator

The Best Dehydrator for Making Beef Jerky

Slicing Meat for Beef Jerky

Spicy, Spicy, Spicy…. I LOVE spicy beef jerky. This easy to chew ground beef jerky is wicked fiery and guaranteed to have you searching for an icy glass of water to cool you down!

Ground beef jerky is great for someone that doesn’t want a mouth workout or might have more sensitive teeth. It’s a lot more tender to eat and still has all the great flavor and taste of regular beef jerky. 

Choosing The Meat

Start with ground meat that is 10% fat at the most. I chose 93/7 grass fed beef when making this recipe. You want some fat so the jerky stays together, but not too much because then it will spoil faster.

This recipe would also work great with ground bison or deer. I’m definitely going to make a batch with some ground deer after this hunting season.

The Seasonings

I love that this recipe is very simple and doesn’t have too many ingredients. That makes it easy to make and you probably have most of the ingredients already in your kitchen.

These amazing looking banana peppers were picked up at the supermarket the other day. Right now they have A LOT of cool peppers that I picked up and have been making a bunch of jerky with.

I love spicy jerky and these peppers have not let me down. Say it with me, Banana Peppers taste amazing!

I did have problems blending this. You can see above the dry ingredients, 2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce and a banana pepper in my Vitamix blender. Even with this bad ass blender, there just isn’t enough liquid to really get this blended up well.

I recommend slicing the pepper really small and then blending them with the other ingredients in a ninja food processor.

Mixing The Jerky

Let’s mix this great ground beef with those amazing flavors and seasonings.

Add the chopped peppers and other ingredients to your 1lb of lean ground beef in a bowl. I always make sure I use curing salt when making jerky to make sure any bacteria is killed and it also adds that traditional ‘jerky’ flavor and color. 

Using a food safe glove, mix the ingredients into the ground beef until it is equally mixed throughout. Don’t those pieces of banana pepper look fantastic?! Yum…..

Does ground beef jerky need to marinate? No, it doesn’t… BUT, it sticks together better when it’s cold. So after mixing all the ingredients into your beef, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for an hour or so.

This helps the meat stay together and makes the next step go a lot easier…

Related Page: Dozens of Great Tasting Jerky Recipes – Click Here

Making The Jerky Strips

There are several different ways to turn your ground beef into nice easy to eat jerky strips. I chose to use my Jerky Cannon to make this jerky. I love this thing, it makes it very easy and the strips are always uniformly the same size. 

Start by adding the meat into the jerky cannon little by little. The key is to make sure there is no air inside the tube when filling it. 

To do this, push the lever that is found by the handle all the way to the front only leaving about 3 inches of room from the end you can see above. Fill that 3 inches of space with the jerky mixture and then pull that lever back another 3 inches.

Pulling the lever back is essentially pulling the piston towards the handle giving you more room for more jerky mixture. Continue doing this until the whole pound of ground jerky is added into the cylinder. 

Screw the jerky nozzle onto the end of the jerky cannon and shoot strips onto your dehydrator trays. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator when making this jerky recipe.

This is a great dehydrator for making ground jerky because the trays are square, not round like many other dehydrators. It’s my go to dehydrator when making ground beef jerky.

Keep a butter knife next to you when shooting your strips onto the dehydrator tray to cut the meat from the nozzle after you have finished a long strip. Then use that knife to score your strips into your desired individual jerky lengths. I chose to score mine at about 4-5 inches in length.

Not using a dehydrator or jerky gun? No problem!!! You can also use an oven when making ground jerky as well as flatten the jerky meat with a rolling pin. Check out my page on How to Make Ground Jerky to see step by step directions on how to use that method.

Drying The Jerky

As I mentioned before, I used my Excalibur Dehydrator when making this jerky. I dried it for 3 hours at 165°F and 1 hour at 145°F. 

The jerky was a tiny bit over done, maybe by 30 minutes or so. It was still AMAZING tasting though! 

The banana peppers really gave this jerky a real kick. An original jerky flavor at first followed by a strong heat towards the end of chewing.

These peppers aren’t always spicy, the younger the pepper the more spicier it is. I added one whole pepper to this recipe and it was pretty spicy. Add two for a REALLY spicy jerky. 

If you don’t have spicy banana pepper and are looking for a spicy jerky, you can substitute for a more fiery pepper such as a Habanero.

A habanero is A LOT more spicier than a banana pepper, so just use one small pepper. I like the habanero as a substitute because it won’t change the flavor as much as a jalapeno would.

Testing The Jerky

To test to see if the jerky is finished, bend it with your fingers. It should bend a good amount without breaking in half. If it is brittle, it is overdone.

This jerky was a little overdone. It cracked and did not bend as much as I normally like. It over dried by much, so still a great result.

Adding Corn Syrup Solids will also help the jerky be more pliable and stick together better. It is not a required ingredient, but if you make a lot of ground jerky, it’s nice to add it to your recipes.  

Storing Jerky

To make the jerky last as long as possible, curing salt will really help along with keeping in air tight containers. I have put together a page on storing jerky and steps you can take to make your jerky have an extended shelf life. Check it out!

Old Pro Tips:

• Use no more than 90/10 ground beef
• Use curing salt or celery juice powder to extend the life of the jerky
• Refrigerate for 1 hour to bind the meat together
• Use corn syrup solids for better texture
• Substitute with habanero if your banana peppers aren’t that spicy

0 from 0 votes

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Wicked Fiery Ground Beef Jerky

An amazing flavored spicy ground beef jerky that everyone will enjoy. Start with great ingredients, end with great jerky.

Course Snack

Cuisine American, Beef Jerky

Keyword banana peppers, beef jerky, ground beef jerky

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes

Servings 5

Calories 135 kcal

Author Will

Ingredients

Lean Beef

• 1 lb Lean ground beef 10% fat or less

Marinade

• 1 banana pepper finely chopped
• 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp sea salt finely ground
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp curing salt optional
• 1/2 tsp corn syrup solids optional

Instructions

1. Finely chop banana pepper and add to other ingredients. Pulse in food processor to mix well

2. In a bowl, combine the 1lb of ground beef with the previously mixed ingredients

3. Mix the ground beef and seasonings thoroughly

4. If using a jerky gun, load the gun with the ground beef mixture & shoot 3-4" long strips onto a dehydrator tray or on a baking sheet

5. If not using a jerky gun, spread the ground meat on a baking sheet, cover with wax paper, and roll with a rolling pin until meat is 1/4" thick
6. Slice the pan of beef into jerky strips 4-5" long and 1" thick

7. Dry with your favorite jerky making method. I used a dehydrator at 165F for 4 hours and 145F for 1 hour

8. Ground jerky is finished when it first starts becoming dry to the touch. It should bend without breaking in half. If it cracks in half when bent a little bit, it was over dried

Recipe Notes

Old Pro Tips:

• Use no more than 90/10 ground beef
• Use curing salt or celery juice powder to extend the life of the jerky
• Refrigerate for 1 hour to bind the meat together
• Use corn syrup solids for better texture

Nutrition Facts

Wicked Fiery Ground Beef Jerky

Amount Per Serving (70 g)

Calories 135 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Fat 5g8%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Cholesterol 56mg19%

Sodium 1174mg51%

Potassium 376mg11%

Carbohydrates 3g1%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 20g40%

Vitamin C 3mg4%

Calcium 15mg2%

Iron 3mg17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

South Texans love their Jalapenos, and this jerky will satisfy that craving! If you like spicy jerky with the zing of a fantastic flavored pepper, this is the jerky for you.

Original Post Date: April 8th, 2015  *Recipe updated with more pictures and step by step instructions*

Texas takes their jerky pretty serious, and for good reason. Beef jerky helped the cowboys cross long distances between towns with some great protein stashed in their pockets. Jerky wasn’t always a nice snack, it was vital in the Lone Star State in the not so distant past.

Slicing The Meat

Start with a great cut of beef when making this jerky. I used Beef Eye of Round, but you can find a complete list of the best cuts of meat to make beef jerky with by clicking here!

The first step of slicing meat for jerky is to trim the cut of meat of all visible fat. You can see the white fat in the picture below, just trim that off BEFORE you start slicing the meat. Fat spoils faster than meat, so the more you get off now, the longer your jerky will be shelf stable.

Slice the meat with a very sharp knife either with the grain for a more chewy jerky or against the grain for a more tender jerky.

Slice even strips so they will dry evenly and be finished at the same time. You can wrap the roast in plastic wrap and partially freeze for 1-2 hours to make slicing easier.

I didn’t use it on this recipe, but a jerky slicer is a FANTASTIC piece of equipment to help get even strips when slicing jerky.

Not sure what way the grain runs? Need more information on slicing meat for jerky? I have put together a page on Slicing Meat for Jerky where you can find EVERYTHING you need to know when slicing meat for jerky.

Making The Marinade

There are a lot of great ingredients that go into this recipe, however, the star ingredient is the Jalapeno! I love a spicy jerky, that’s why I kept the seeds in my jalapenos giving this meat snack an extra kick. 

To get the most flavor out of those fresh jalapenos, make sure to bring out the blender and add all of the ingredients. I used my VitaMix Blender; these blenders are SUPER expensive but totally awesome.

Blend until all of the ingredients are mixed well and the jalapenos are as small as you can get them. The smaller the pieces, the more they will stick to the marinated jerky strips. *If you don’t want a spicy jerky, remove the seeds prior to blending*

Related Page: Dozens of Great Tasting Jerky Recipes – Click Here

Add the earlier sliced meat strips to the marinade and mix around so all the strips are evenly covered. Allow the strips to marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator. The longer the better! Do NOT marinate the meat at room temperature, always marinate in the fridge to prevent the meat from spoiling.

Don’t those small bits of jalapeno look so good?! 

Drying The Jerky

Once the meat has finished marinating, strain any excess marinade in a colander. I marinated this beef for a total of 20 hours before straining. The longer the marinade process, the more intense flavor the jerky will have! 

Before adding the meat to your dehydrator, oven, or smoker; lay out paper towels placing the meat strips on top. Pat dry the strips to remove even more of the excess marinade. This step will help speed up the drying process and prevent the meat from being ‘sticky’ after it has finished drying.

Place the strips on your dehydrator trays, oven trays, or smoker rack to dehydrate/dry the jerky. For more in depth instructions on drying your jerky, check out my Jerky Making Methods Page.

I dried them in my Excalibur Dehydrator, like the one seen below, for a total of 3 hours at 165°F and 1 hour at 145°F.

Make sure the meat reaches an internal temperature of 160°F to kill any potential bacteria. The 3 hours at 165°F in the dehydrator does the trick. You can also pre-heat the meat in an oven before drying if your dehydrator does not heat up to 160°F. Check out my page on jerky safety for more information on this process.

Related Page: Dehydrator Reviews – Click Here

Testing For When The Jerky Is Finished

While drying the jerky, you want to start testing to see if it has finished at about the 3-4 hour mark. Take a piece of jerky out of the dehydrator, oven, or smoker and allow it to cool for 5 minutes to room temperature. Bend the jerky in half; it should bend and crack but not break in half. You will also see white fibers in the meat. The fibers are really visible when a piece is ripped in half.

If the jerky is not finished, continue drying for another hour and repeat the same process until the jerky is finished. 90% of the jerky i make is finished within 4-6 hours when using a dehydrator or oven and 6-9 hours when using a smoker. If pre-heating the meat in the oven, drying time can be as little as 2.5 hours.

Using my favorite cut of meat, eye of round, this South Texas Jalapeno Jerky recipe was made straight from the deep depths of my mind. Adding fresh jalapenos to the marinade is what gives this recipe that authentic South Texas Jalapeno flavor.  It is topped off with dried ground jalapeno powder which gives it that extra kick. Remember, If you are looking for even more of a kick, leave the seeds in the marinade!

Storing Jerky

To make the jerky last as long as possible, curing salt will really help along with keeping in air tight containers. I have put together a page on storing jerky and steps you can take to make your jerky have an extended shelf life. Check it out!

Old Pro Tips:

• Trim all fat from the meat before marinating for longer lasting jerky once it’s finished drying
• Use curing salt or celery juice powder to extend the life of the jerky
• Marinate closer to 24 hours for the most intense flavor
• Using a blender really helps incorporate the jalapeno flavor in the recipe
• Keep the seeds in the jalapeno for more of a spice

For more in depth directions on how to dry your jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below. 

4.15 from 7 votes

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South Texas Jalapeno Jerky

South Texans love their Jalapenos, and this easy to make jerky will satisfy that craving! So get your spice on and make some jerky!

Course Beef Jerky, Jerky, Snack

Cuisine American, Beef Jerky

Keyword beef jerky, jalapeno, Jalapeno beef jerky

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 6 hours

Total Time 6 hours 30 minutes

Servings 5

Calories 150 kcal

Author Will

Ingredients

Lean Beef:

• 1 lb eye of round

Marinade:

• 1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 diced jalapeno
• 2 tsp liquid smoke mesquite

Optional

• 1/4 tsp Curing Salt Prague Powder #1

Topping:

• 1/2 tbsp ground jalapeno pepper

Instructions

1. Pick a lean cut of beef and trim off all visible fat. After trimming the fat, place the beef in the freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.

2. While the meat is hardening in the freezer, add worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, beef broth, liquid smoke, and jalapeno in a blender and blend until jalapeno pieces are very small. Pour marinade into zip lock bag.

3. After meat has hardened, but is not fully frozen, take out of freezer to slice. Using a sharp knife, slice the meat 1/4" to 1/8" thick.

4. Add beef strips to your marinade and shake the bag coating meat evenly. Allow 6-24 hours to marinate the jerky. Shake/mix the bag every couple hours to allow the marinade to evenly soak in to each piece of meat.

5. After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle on ground jalapeno pepper (optional). Add heavily for a real kick, or light for a nice spice.

6. Dry with your favorite jerky making method. A dehydrator was used when making this recipe. The slices were placed on dehydrator racks so they were not overlapping or touching. Dried for 3 hours at 165 degrees and another 1 hours at 145 degrees.

7. Jerky will be finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half. Allow to cool for several hours before storing in air tight containers.

Recipe Notes

Old Pro Tips:

• Trim all fat from the meat before marinating for longer lasting jerky once it’s finished drying
• Use curing salt or celery juice powder to extend the life of the jerky
• Marinate closer to 24 hours for the most intense flavor
• Using a blender really helps incorporate the jalapeno flavor in the recipe
• Keep the seeds in the jalapeno for more of a spice

Nutrition Facts

South Texas Jalapeno Jerky

Amount Per Serving (70 g)

Calories 150 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Fat 5g8%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Cholesterol 56mg19%

Sodium 1277mg56%

Potassium 464mg13%

Carbohydrates 4g1%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 2g2%

Protein 22g44%

Vitamin A 41IU1%

Vitamin C 5mg6%

Calcium 34mg3%

Iron 3mg17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Need more in depth directions on how to make jerky in an oven, dehydrator, or smoker? Visit my page Jerky Making Methods to become a pro at making jerky!

You Might Also Like:

Best Cuts of Beef for Jerky

How to Make Beef Jerky with a Dehydrator

The Best Dehydrator for Making Beef Jerky

Slicing Meat for Beef Jerky

Watch out, this Habanero Tabasco jerky is spicy! I love spicy jerky and this recipe just jumped to the top of my favorite recipe list. You NEED to try this jerky!

Original Post Date: April 30th, 2015  *Recipe updated with more pictures and step by step instructions*

Before we get into the recipe, I want to wish everyone a Happy Jerky Day! June 12th is National Jerky Day, a perfect time to make some great tasting jerky. This is a great recipe to make too! So Good….

Slicing The Meat

Start with a great cut of beef when making this jerky. I used Beef Eye of Round, but you can find a complete list of the best cuts of meat to make beef jerky with by clicking here!

The first step of slicing meat for jerky is to trim the cut of meat of all visible fat. You can see the white fat in the picture below, just trim that off BEFORE you start slicing the meat. Fat spoils faster than meat, so the more you get off now, the longer your jerky will be shelf stable.

Slice the meat with a very sharp knife either with the grain for a more chewy jerky or against the grain for a more tender jerky.

Slice even strips so they will dry evenly and be finished at the same time. You can wrap the roast in plastic wrap and partially freeze for 1-2 hours to make slicing easier.

I didn’t use it on this recipe, but a jerky slicer is a FANTASTIC piece of equipment to help get even strips when slicing jerky.

Not sure what way the grain runs? Need more information on slicing meat for jerky? I have put together a page on Slicing Meat for Jerky where you can find EVERYTHING you need to know when slicing meat for jerky.

Making The Marinade

I wasn’t sure how I would like this recipe as I very rarely use Tabasco on anything I eat. Don’t get me wrong, I love hot sauce, just not Tabasco. I understand that Tabasco has been around forever and has many fans of it’s taste; I’m just not one of them. The only reason I tried a recipe with Tabasco is because I have never tasted their Habanero sauce until now…..and it’s GOOD!

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag and mix well. Since this recipe does not have any whole peppers, blending in a blender is not needed. If you can’t find the Tabasco at your local grocery store, you can pick it up here on Amazon.

Related Page: Dozens of Great Tasting Jerky Recipes – Click Here

Add the earlier sliced meat strips to the marinade and mix around so all the strips are evenly covered. Allow the strips to marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator. The longer the better! Do NOT marinate the meat at room temperature, always marinate in the fridge to prevent the meat from spoiling.

Drying The Jerky

Once the meat has finished marinating, strain any excess marinade in a colander. I marinated this beef for a total of 23 hours before straining. The longer the marinade process, the more intense flavor the jerky will have! This recipe has a lot of intense flavors, so make sure you give yourself enough time and marinate it over night!

Before adding the meat to your dehydrator, oven, or smoker; lay out paper towels placing the meat strips on top. Pat dry the strips to remove even more of the excess marinade. This step will help speed up the drying process and prevent the meat from being ‘sticky’ after it has finished drying. 

Place the strips on your dehydrator trays, oven trays, or smoker rack to dehydrate/dry the jerky. For more in depth instructions on drying your jerky, check out my Jerky Making Methods Page.

I dried them in my Excalibur Dehydrator for a total of 3 hours at 165°F and 1 hour at 145°F. Make sure the meat reaches an internal temperature of 160°F to kill any potential bacteria. The 3 hours at 165°F in the dehydrator does the trick. You can also pre-heat the meat in an oven before drying if your dehydrator does not heat up to 160°F. Check out my page on jerky safety for more information on this process.

Related Page: Dehydrator Reviews – Click Here

Testing For When The Jerky Is Finished

While drying the jerky, you want to start testing to see if it has finished at about the 3-4 hour mark. Take a piece of jerky out of the dehydrator, oven, or smoker and allow it to cool for 5 minutes to room temperature. Bend the jerky in half; it should bend and crack but not break in half. You will also see white fibers in the meat. The fibers are really visible when a piece is ripped in half.

If the jerky is not finished, continue drying for another hour and repeat the same process until the jerky is finished. 90% of the jerky i make is finished within 4-6 hours when using a dehydrator or oven and 6-9 hours when using a smoker. If pre-heating the meat in the oven, drying time can be as little as 2.5 hours.

When I taste the lime in this jerky, I picture myself sitting on a beach in Mexico sipping on a Corona or a Dos Equis. Sand between my toes while slowly turning my beer upside down allowing the lime wedge to float throughout the beer giving it that little extra kick. In reality, I am normally in the middle of hot Texas without a beach in sight! It’s still nice to day dream…

Storing Jerky

To make the jerky last as long as possible, curing salt will really help along with keeping in air tight containers. I have put together a page on storing jerky and steps you can take to make your jerky have an extended shelf life. Check it out!

Old Pro Tips:

• Trim all fat from the meat before marinating for longer lasting jerky once it’s finished drying
• Use curing salt or celery juice powder to extend the life of the jerky
• Marinate closer to 24 hours for the most intense flavor
• Using smoked paprika instead of regular paprika really gives this jerky a smokey flavor

For more in depth directions on how to dry your jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below. 

4.19 from 16 votes

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Habanero Tabasco Jerky

Watch out, this Habanero Tabasco jerky is spicy! I love spicy jerky and this recipe just jumped to the top of my favorite recipe list. You NEED to try this jerky!

Course Beef Jerky, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword beef jerky, Habaneros

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes

Servings 5

Calories 181 kcal

Author Jerkyholic

Ingredients

Lean Beef

• 1 lb Eye of Round

Marinade

• 3 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp Tabasco Habanero Sauce

Optional

• 1/4 tsp Curing Salt Prague Powder #1

Instructions

1. Pick a lean cut of beef and trim all visible fat. After trimming the fat, place the meat in the freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze. If purchasing already sliced beef, skip steps 1 & 3.
2. While the meat is in the freezer, combine and mix the worcestershire sauce, water, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and tabasco in a medium size bowl or ziplock bag.

3. Remove meat from the freezer and slice against the grain between ⅛" - ¼" in thickness.

4. Add sliced beef to the mixture and marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator.
5. After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and pat dry with paper towels.
6. Dry with your favorite jerky making method. A dehydrator was used when making this recipe. The slices were placed on dehydrator racks so they were not overlapping or touching. Dried for 3 hours at 160 degrees and 1 hour at 140 degrees.
7. Jerky will be finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half. Allow to cool for several hours before storing in air tight containers.

Recipe Notes

Old Pro Tips:

• Trim all fat from the meat before marinating for longer lasting jerky once it’s finished drying
• Use curing salt or celery juice powder to extend the life of the jerky
• Marinate closer to 24 hours for the most intense flavor
• Using smoked paprika instead of regular paprika really gives this jerky a smokey flavor

Nutrition Facts

Habanero Tabasco Jerky

Amount Per Serving (70 g)

Calories 181 Calories from Fat 63

% Daily Value*

Fat 7g11%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Cholesterol 70mg23%

Sodium 668mg29%

Potassium 308mg9%

Carbohydrates 3g1%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 24g48%

Vitamin A 395IU8%

Vitamin C 3.3mg4%

Calcium 16mg2%

Iron 2.9mg16%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

You Might Also Like:

Best Cuts of Beef for Jerky

How to Make Beef Jerky with a Dehydrator

The Best Dehydrator for Making Beef Jerky

Slicing Meat for Beef Jerky

Chili Lime has become a favorite flavor among all types of snacks in the last couple of years. Well if it works for potato chips, why not jerky? After trying several different recipes, this is the best one that I created. My Fiances’ Wife’s* favorite recipe so far, this is a must try.

Original Post Date: March 2nd, 2015  *Recipe updated with more pictures and step by step instructions*

Slicing The Meat

Start with a great cut of beef when making this jerky. I used Beef Eye of Round, but you can find a complete list of the best cuts of meat to dry beef jerky by clicking here!

The first step of slicing meat for jerky is to trim the cut of meat of all visible fat. You can see the white fat in the picture below, just trim that off BEFORE you start slicing the meat. Fat spoils faster than meat, so the more you get off now, the longer your jerky will be shelf stable.

Slice the meat with a very sharp knife either with the grain for a more chewy jerky or against the grain for a more tender jerky.

Slice even strips so they will dry evenly and be finished at the same time. You can wrap the roast in plastic wrap and partially freeze for 1-2 hours to make slicing easier.

I didn’t use it on this recipe, but a jerky slicer is a FANTASTIC piece of equipment to help get even strips when slicing jerky.

Making The Marinade

I love chili garlic sauce and that is why I LOVE this recipe. I love chili garlic when I eat Pho as well as grilled pork and rice, so why not use it in jerky?! Well it turned out GREAT in jerky!

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag and mix well. Since this recipe does not have any whole peppers, blending in a blender is not needed. If you are not familiar with chili garlic sauce, it can be purchased at any major supermarket or a local Asian supermarket.

Related Page: Dozens of Great Tasting Jerky Recipes – Click Here

Add the earlier sliced meat strips to the marinade and mix around so all the strips are evenly covered. Allow the strips to marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator. Do NOT marinate the meat at room temperature, always marinate in the fridge to prevent the meat from spoiling.

Drying The Jerky

Once the meat has finished marinating, strain any excess marinade in a colander. I marinated this beef for a total of 20 hours before straining. The longer the marinade process, the more intense flavor the jerky will have!

Before adding the meat to your dehydrator, oven, or smoker; lay out paper towels placing the meat strips on top. Pat dry the strips to remove even more of the excess marinade. This step will help speed up the drying process and prevent the meat from being ‘sticky’ after it has finished drying. 

Place the strips on your dehydrator trays, oven trays, or smoker rack to dehydrate/dry the jerky.

I dried them in my Excalibur Dehydrator for a total of 3 hours at 165°F and 1 hour at 145°F. Make sure the meat reaches an internal temperature of 160°F to kill any potential bacteria. The 3 hours at 165°F in the dehydrator does the trick. You can also pre-heat the meat in an oven before drying if your dehydrator does not heat up to 160°F. Check out my page on jerky safety for more information on this process.

Related Page: Dehydrator Reviews – Click Here

Testing For When The Jerky Is Finished

While drying the jerky, you want to start testing to see if it has finished at about the 3-4 hour mark. Take a piece of jerky out of the dehydrator, oven, or smoker and allow it to cool for 5 minutes to room temperature. Bend the jerky in half; it should bend and crack but not break in half. You will also see white fibers in the meat. The fibers are really visible when a piece is ripped in half.

If the jerky is not finished, continue drying for another hour and repeat the same process until the jerky is finished. 90% of the jerky i make is finished within 4-6 hours when using a dehydrator or oven and 6-9 hours when using a smoker. If pre-heating the meat in the oven, drying time can be as little as 2.5 hours.

When I taste the lime in this jerky, I picture myself sitting on a beach in Mexico sipping on a Corona or a Dos Equis. Sand between my toes while slowly turning my beer upside down allowing the lime wedge to float throughout the beer giving it that little extra kick. In reality, I am normally in the middle of hot Texas without a beach in sight! It’s still nice to day dream…

Storing Jerky

To make the jerky last as long as possible, curing salt will really help along with keeping in air tight containers. I have put together a page on storing jerky and steps you can take to make your jerky have an extended shelf life. Check it out!

Old Pro Tips:

• Trim all fat from the meat before marinating for longer lasting jerky once it’s finished drying
• Use curing salt or celery juice powder to extend the life of the jerky
• Marinate closer to 24 hours for the most intense flavor
• Use fresh Limes for most intense flavor

For more in depth directions on how to dry your jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below. 

4.75 from 39 votes

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Chili Lime Jerky

Chili Lime has become a favorite flavor among all types of snacks in the last couple of years. Well if it works for potato chips, why not jerky? After trying several different recipes, this is the best one that I created. My Fiances' Wife's* favorite recipe so far, this is a must try.

Course Beef Jerky, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword beef jerky, chili lime jerky, Jerky

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 6 hours

Total Time 7 hours

Servings 5

Calories 149 kcal

Author Jerkyholic

Ingredients

Lean Beef

• 1 lb eye of round

Marinade

• 1 tsp mesquite liquid smoke Don't add if using a smoker
• 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp chili garlic sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 zest of lime

Optional

• 1/4 tsp Curing Salt Prague Powder #1

Instructions

1. Pick you favorite type of beef and trim all visible fat. Place the meat in the freezer for 1-2 hours to partially freeze. This allows for easier slicing and more consistent widths.
2. Mix all above ingredients in a container with a tight fitting lid. Whisk marinade until all brown sugar is dissolved.
3. Remove beef from the freezer and slice against the grain between 1/8"-1/4" thick.
4. Add sliced beef to the container of marinade and shake well to evenly coat the meat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours.
5. After marinating, remove and dry the strips with paper towels. Dry your meat using your preferred jerky making method.
6. Jerky will be finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half. Allow to cool for several hours before storing in an air tight container.

Recipe Notes

Old Pro Tips:

• Trim all fat from the meat before marinating for longer lasting jerky once it’s finished drying
• Use curing salt or celery juice powder to extend the life of the jerky
• Marinate closer to 24 hours for the most intense flavor
• Use fresh Limes for most intense flavor

Nutrition Facts

Chili Lime Jerky

Amount Per Serving (70 g)

Calories 149 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Fat 4g6%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Cholesterol 56mg19%

Sodium 971mg42%

Potassium 344mg10%

Carbohydrates 5g2%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 20g40%

Vitamin C 1.8mg2%

Calcium 21mg2%

Iron 2.1mg12%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

You Might Also Like:

Best Cuts of Beef for Jerky

How to Make Beef Jerky with a Dehydrator

The Best Dehydrator for Making Beef Jerky

Slicing Meat for Beef Jerky

This is the Jerky recipe that I started passing around while out on the drilling rig in South Texas. This was a bad decision as now many of the guys out here always ask if I have any Jerky on me while we are working. Making homemade jerky results in a big increase in popularity among work colleagues and family members! Ha.

*This recipe is updated with more photos and video of the jerky making process and finished jerky. Original Post: 2/19/2015*

I’m dedicating this recipe to the guys working on the rig; “Rig Hands”. Enjoy Rig Hand Jerky! Here is a picture of a drilling rig in South Texas for ya!

Slicing The Meat

Start with a great cut of beef when making this jerky. I used Beef Eye of Round, but you can find a complete list of the best cuts of meat to dry beef jerky by clicking here!

The first step of slicing meat for jerky is to trim the cut of meat of all visible fat. You can see the white fat in the picture below, just trim that off BEFORE you start slicing the meat. Fat spoils faster than meat, so the more you get off now, the longer your jerky will be shelf stable.

Slice the meat with a very sharp knife either with the grain for a more chewy jerky or against the grain for a more tender jerky.

Slice even strips so they will dry evenly and be finished at the same time. You can wrap the roast in plastic wrap and partially freeze for 1-2 hours to make slicing easier.

I didn’t use it on this recipe, but a jerky slicer is a FANTASTIC piece of equipment to help get even strips when slicing jerky.

Making The Marinade

This recipe tastes fantastic because of some of the great tasting ingredients such as soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes for a little bit of a spice!

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag and mix well. Since this recipe does not have any whole peppers, blending in a blender is not needed.

Related Page: Dozens of Great Tasting Jerky Recipes – Click Here

Add the earlier sliced meat strips to the marinade and mix around so all the strips are evenly covered. Allow the strips to marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator. Do NOT marinate the meat at room temperature, always marinate in the fridge to prevent the meat from spoiling.

Drying The Jerky

Once the meat has finished marinating, strain any excess marinade in a colander. I marinated this beef for a total of 20 hours before straining. The longer the marinade process, the more intense flavor the jerky will have!

Before adding the meat to your dehydrator, oven, or smoker; lay out paper towels placing the meat strips on top. Pat dry the strips to remove even more of the excess marinade. This step will help speed up the drying process and prevent the meat from being ‘sticky’ after it has finished drying. 

I dried them in my Excalibur Dehydrator for a total of 3 hours at 165°F and 1 hour at 145°F. Make sure the meat reaches an internal temperature of 160°F to kill any potential bacteria. The 3 hours at 165°F in the dehydrator does the trick. You can also pre-heat the meat in an oven before drying if your dehydrator does not heat up to 160°F. Check out my page on jerky safety for more information on this process.

Related Page: Dehydrator Reviews

Testing For When The Jerky Is Finished

While drying the jerky, you want to start testing to see if it has finished at about the 3-4 hour mark. Take a piece of jerky out of the dehydrator, oven, or smoker and allow it to cool for 5 minutes to room temperature. Bend the jerky in half; it should bend and crack but not break in half. You will also see white fibers in the meat. The fibers are really visible when a piece is ripped in half.

If the jerky is not finished, continue drying for another hour and repeat the same process until the jerky is finished. 90% of the jerky i make is finished within 4-6 hours when using a dehydrator or oven and 6-9 hours when using a smoker. If pre-heating the meat in the oven, drying time can be as little as 2.5 hours.

This recipe tastes fantastic, that’s why there is not surprise that it is one of the top recipes on the site. It has that recognizable flavor of jerky you find at your local smokehouse or country store. The red pepper flakes gives it a little bit of a spice and the soy sauce the perfect amount of saltiness!

Storing Jerky

To make the jerky last as long as possible, curing salt will really help along with keeping in air tight containers. I have put together a page on storing jerky and steps you can take to make your jerky have an extended shelf life. Check it out!

Old Pro Tips:

• Trim all fat from the meat before marinating for longer lasting jerky once it’s finished drying
• Use curing salt or celery juice powder to extend the life of the jerky
• Marinate closer to 24 hours for the most intense flavor
• Sprinkle on more red pepper flakes before drying if desiring a spicier jerky

For more in depth directions on how to dry your jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below. 

3.77 from 26 votes

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Rig Hand Jerky

This is the Jerky recipe that I started passing around while out on the drilling rig in South Texas. This was a bad decision as now many of the guys out here always ask if I have any Jerky on me while we are working. This recipe is made of several ingredients that you can’t go wrong with.

Course Beef Jerky, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword beef jerky, Jerky, red pepper flakes

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 6 hours

Total Time 7 hours

Servings 5

Calories 151 kcal

Author Jerkyholic

Ingredients

Lean Beef

• 1 lb eye of round

Marinade

• 1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp liquid smoke Do NOT add if using smoker
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

Optional

• 1/4 tsp Curing Salt Prague Powder #1

Instructions

1. Pick a lean cut of beef. Trim the fat cap and other visible fat. After trimmed, place the meat in the freezer for 1-2 hours or until partially frozen. This will allow for more uniform slices when cutting your beef.

2. In a plastic container that has a tight fitting lid or ziplock bag, add the marinade ingredients and mix well.

3. 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. 
   

4. Add the sliced meat to the marinade and shake well until all slices are covered evenly. Place in the fridge and allow to marinate for 6-24 hours. Shake the container/bag two or three times while marinating.

5. After marinating, dry slices with paper towels to remove any excess marinade.

6. Place strips on your dehydrator drying racks with plenty of spaces in between for easy air flow. Dry with your favorite jerky making method.

7. Dry for 3 hours at 165 degrees allowing the internal temperature to reach 160 degrees and then turn down to 145F. Check the meat after 4 hours and keep drying until the jerky bends and cracks, but does not break in half.

8. Allow jerky to cool for several hours before storing.

Recipe Notes

Old Pro Tips:

• Trim all fat from the meat before marinating for longer lasting jerky once it's finished drying
• Use curing salt or celery juice powder to extend the life of the jerky
• Marinate closer to 24 hours for the most intense flavor
• Sprinkle on more red pepper flakes before drying if desiring a spicier jerky

Nutrition Facts

Rig Hand Jerky

Amount Per Serving (70 g)

Calories 151 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Fat 4g6%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Cholesterol 56mg19%

Sodium 1310mg57%

Potassium 451mg13%

Carbohydrates 5g2%

Sugar 2g2%

Protein 21g42%

Vitamin A 130IU3%

Vitamin C 1.8mg2%

Calcium 34mg3%

Iron 3mg17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

You Might Also Like:

Best Cuts of Beef for Jerky

How to Make Beef Jerky with a Dehydrator

The Best Dehydrator for Making Beef Jerky

Slicing Meat for Beef Jerky

Winter is upon us and a nice jerky with a little heat is just what you need. Fireball whisky and jerky seem to go hand in hand! I love taking shots of Fireball when it’s cold outside, it just warms your whole body. For those of you that don’t know about Fireball Whisky, you need to go to the liquor store and get some! Then make this jerky….

Using Fireball Whisky was the fantastic idea of Vince, one of the readers of this blog. He sent me a comment several months ago about his cousin wanting some Fireball Whisky and asked if I have ever made any. I remember sitting there thinking “That is an awesome idea!” That was followed up with “Why didn’t I think of that…”. Ha. Here’s to you Vince!

Making The Jerky

To get started making this great tasting jerky, choose your preferred cut of meat. If you are not sure what meat to use, check out my post on Best Cuts of Beef for Jerky. Here you will find the best cuts of meat to use when making jerky. I chose to use a beef top round that was purchased already sliced thin from my butcher for this recipe. When buying a full roast, make sure to read my techniques on slicing meat to make the perfect jerky here.

As I mentioned, I used pre-sliced meat for this jerky, but I wanted to show you another great way of slicing your meat. You can either slice it with a knife by hand, or use a jerky slicer like the one above. These are fantastic for slicing even width strips that will dry at the same rate and be finished dehydrating at the same time because they are the same size. I love using my jerky slicer!

After choosing and slicing your meat, assemble the ingredients from the recipe card below in a small bowl or ziplock bag. Place the meat slices in the bowl or ziplock bag that contains the marinade and marinate in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours.

Once the meat has finished marinating, strain any excess marinade in a colander and pat the strips dry with paper towels. Now the real fun begins, drying the jerky! You can dry this jerky using a dehydrator, smoker, or even your home oven. For more step by step instructions on how to dry this jerky with either of these methods, read my Beef Jerky Making Methods. If you are new to making jerky, this page is a MUST read.

I used my Excalibur Dehydrator when making this recipe. I love this dehydrator because it can handle a lot of meat and it dries the jerky very evenly. If you are in the market for a dehydrator, I have put together a review of the top dehydrators and how they stack up for making jerky.

I set the temperature at 165F and let it run for 4.5 hours. I checked the jerky to see if it was finished starting at the 4 hour mark. You can tell when the jerky is done by taking a piece out of the dehydrator, smoker, or oven and allow it to cool for several minutes. After cooling, bend the piece of jerky, it should bend and crack but not break in half. If you sliced the meat against the grain, you will also be able to see little white fibers of the meat. These are indications that the jerky is finished and ready to eat!

Doesn’t that jerky looking good?! It was! I love Fireball and love incorporating great ingredients into my recipes when making jerky. The cinnamon is the first thing you taste when biting into the jerky. The pineapple comes through towards the end of chewing the piece. The cinnamon is not overpowering though, the jerky has a nice smooth flavor. There is no spice and a mild sweetness from the pineapple.

Feel free to add or subtract ingredients when making this recipe or any of my recipes. The best part of making jerky is experimenting!

Once the jerky is finished and cool, store in an airtight bag or vacuum seal for longer storage. Read my tips on storing beef jerky for more information.

Old Pro Tips:

• Marinate for 24 hours for best flavor.
• Ziplock bags make the best container for marinating. Release all the air from the bag and roll up so all pieces are totally covered when marinating. Rotate several times throughout the 24 hours for even marinated jerky.
• Allow jerky to cool for 5 minutes before checking to see if it is finished drying.

For more in depth directions on how to dry your jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods.

3.83 from 34 votes

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Fireball Whisky Beef Jerky

Looking for a little cinnamon goodness? This jerky has you covered with the great tasting Fireball Whisky and sweet pineapple juice sure to produce a popular jerky. 

Course Beef Jerky

Cuisine American

Keyword beef jerky, Fireball Whisky, Jerky

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 4 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 5 hours 30 minutes

Servings 5

Calories 148 kcal

Author Will

Ingredients

Meat

• 1 lb Beef Top Round

Marinade

• 1/4 cup Fireball Whisky
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 tsp curing salt optional

Instructions

1. Trim all visible fat from the beef and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
2. While the meat is in the freezer, combine marinade ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag.
3. 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)
4. Add sliced beef to the mixture in the ziplock bag or bowl and marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator.
5. After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade in a colander and pat dry with paper towels.
6. Dry with your favorite jerky making method. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator and dried for 4.5 hours at 165F.

7. The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.

Recipe Notes

Old Pro Tips:

• Marinate for 24 hours for best flavor.
• Ziplock bags make the best container for marinating. Release all the air from the bag and roll up so all pieces are totally covered when marinating. Rotate several times throughout the 24 hours for even marinated jerky.
• Allow jerky to cool for 5 minutes before checking to see if it is finished drying.

Nutrition Facts

Fireball Whisky Beef Jerky

Amount Per Serving

Calories 148 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Fat 4g6%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Cholesterol 56mg19%

Sodium 516mg22%

Potassium 324mg9%

Carbohydrates 5g2%

Sugar 4g4%

Protein 20g40%

Vitamin C 1.5mg2%

Calcium 20mg2%

Iron 1.9mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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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.

I’m not sure if you could tell, but my wife loves the movie Tropic Thunder. You know, the one with Ben Stiller that takes place in the jungle. Yeah, she loves that movie… So when I made a jerky with pineapple juice she thought of tropical jungles and wanted to name the recipe, and here we are…. Tropic Thunder Beef Jerky.

This is an amazing tasting jerky, I like it a lot! However, it does not have a huge flavor of pineapple juice, but more of a soy sauce and black pepper flavor.

I started with beef top round steak that was sliced thin from the supermarket. Sometimes I feel a little lazy and can’t resist the already thin sliced meat that works so great for jerky!

After combining all of the ingredients in a ziplock bag, the beef top round was marinated for 12 hours in the refrigerator. I normally like to marinate my recipes for 24 hours, but anything over 6 hours will produce some great tasting jerky.

After straining the meat in a colander, I patted dry the jerky strips with paper towels to soak up any excess marinade. My 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. After 4 1/2 hours the jerky was just perfect! Visit my Jerky Making Methods page for in depth step by step directions on how to dry jerky!

Make sure to remove a piece and allow it to cool to room temperature before checking if the jerky is finished. It should bend and crack, but not break in half. White fibers will also be seen if the jerky is dried correctly.

As mentioned earlier, the jerky had a great soy sauce and black pepper flavor. I would categorize the spice as mild. There was a kick from the black pepper which I really enjoyed. The brown sugar balanced the spice however, making a great standard beef jerky flavor. I wish the pineapple would come through a little more, but have had a hard time getting that flavor without using an extract. Even without the pineapple juice, it has a great flavor.

Give this Tropic Thunder Beef Jerky a shot if you are looking for a great tasting traditional jerky, I highly recommend it!

For more in depth directions on how to dry your jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below. 

4.17 from 18 votes

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Tropic Thunder Beef Jerky

Looking for a great peppered flavored jerky? Look no further, this tropic thunder beef jerky is bursting with flavor and is sure to impress.

Course Beef Jerky

Cuisine American

Keyword beef jerky, peppered beef jerky, Spicy Beef Jerky

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 4 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 5 hours

Servings 5

Calories 161 kcal

Author Will

Ingredients

• 1 lb beef top round
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp curing salt optional

Instructions

1. Trim all visible fat from the beef and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
2. While the meat is in the freezer, combine marinade ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag.
3. 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)
4. Add sliced beef to the mixture in the ziplock bag or bowl and marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator.
5. After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade in a colander and pat dry with paper towels.
6. Dry with your favorite jerky making method. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator and dried for 4.5 hours at 165F.

7. The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.

Nutrition Facts

Tropic Thunder Beef Jerky

Amount Per Serving

Calories 161 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Fat 4g6%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Cholesterol 56mg19%

Sodium 700mg30%

Potassium 349mg10%

Carbohydrates 7g2%

Sugar 6g7%

Protein 21g42%

Vitamin A 115IU2%

Vitamin C 1.2mg1%

Calcium 24mg2%

Iron 2.3mg13%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Yuzu is a tart and citrus fruit which grows in East Asia that resembles a small grapefruit. Yuzu Kosho (seen below) is a pasty Japanese condiment that is made of three ingredients: yuzu zest, salt, and chiles. 

My wife is the brains behind this jerky, and keeping with her tradition of making food with either a zillion ingredients or steps; this jerky recipe is no exception. It’s inspired by a Chilean Sea Bass dish that was served at our wedding, so it reminds us of a special time whenever we make it. So if you are ready to take some time and put in some hard work in the kitchen, this amazing jerky will not disappoint!

Using a Tri-tip roast, it was sliced with my Weston Jerky Slicer making all the strips an even width which is great for drying. The Tri-Tip had a little too much fat for my liking, but had wanted to try that cut for a while now. I would recommend sticking with an eye of round roast which has less fat.

After slicing your beef, set it in the fridge while you prepare the marinade. The main ingredients in this marinade are the Red and Green Yuzu Kosho. The red yuzu is made from red chiles and the green from green chiles. The red yuzu is very spicy, so use sparingly! You can find these in an Asian supermarket or buy purchase online at the link I provided. The marinade is made up of two broths; a Dashi broth and a mushroom broth. 

The mushroom broth is quite simple with 1 packet of dried shiitake mushrooms bathed in hot water. You dispose of the mushrooms, the only thing you want from this is the amazing mushroom flavor.

The Dashi broth consists of kombu (dried seaweed) and katsuobushi (dried fish flakes). Okay, so maybe there aren’t a zillion ingredients and making the broth isn’t exactly a huge amount of steps. But i’m used to throwing some ingredients in a ziplock bag, adding meat, and you are immediately marinating some jerky! This recipe has a couple more steps, but not too bad…

Just like the mushroom broth, all you want is the liquid and none of the seaweed or fish flakes. Once finished; several cups of both broths are blended together, yuzu added, and brought back to a boil in order to make sure they are well blended. After they have blended, allow them to cool and your marinade is ready. Make sure not to add the meat until the broth has cooled down to room temperature or below.

I have detailed instructions on how to make these two broths in the recipe card below. Don’t let the ingredients turn you off from making this jerky. As I mentioned earlier, they can be found online or at a local Asian supermarket.

So how does it taste? GREAT!!! The first thing you notice is a great Asian flavor followed by an orange and chili spice at the end. For such a small amount of red yuzu this jerky has a lot of spice, yet is also savory. So order your ingredients and get to making some Yuzu Beef Jerky!

For more in depth directions on how to dry your turkey jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below. 

0 from 0 votes

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Yuzu Beef Jerky

Yuzu is a tart and citrus fruit which grows in East Asia that resembles a small grapefruit. This yuzu is the main ingredient which is blended with several broths making a fantastic Asian jerky.

Course Beef Jerky

Cuisine American

Keyword beef jerky, Jerky, yuzu

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 5 hours 40 minutes

Total Time 6 hours

Servings 5

Calories 207 kcal

Author Will

Ingredients

Lean Meat

• 1 lb eye of round

Dashi Broth

• 2 3.5" pieces kombu dried seaweed
• 1/2 cup katsuobushi dried fish flakes
• 4 cups water cold

Mushroom Broth

• 1 oz shiitake mushrooms dried
• 4 cups water

Yuzu Dashi Mushroom Marinade

• 2 tsp yuzu kosho green
• 1/2 tsp yuzu kosho spicy red
• 3 cups dashi broth previously prepared
• 1/2 cup mushroom broth previously prepared

Instructions

Dashi Broth

1. In a small pot, soak kombu for 20 minutes in 4 cups of cold water.

2. Bring water and kombu to a boil and add the katsuobushi.

3. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Do not remove the pot from burner.

4. Strain the broth in a bowl, removing and discarding kombu and katsuobushi. Set broth aside.

Mushroom Broth

1. Place dried mushrooms in a bowl.

2. In a separate pot, bring 4 cups of water almost to a boil.

3. Before it boils, pour just enough of the hot water over the mushrooms until they are just covered and let sit for 15 minutes.

4. Remove and dispose of mushrooms. Set broth aside.

Yuzu Dashi Mushroom Marinade

1. In a pot, combine 3 cups of dashi broth, 1/2 cup of mushroom broth, 2 tsp of green yuzu, and 1/2 tsp of red yuzu.

2. Heat on high to almost a boil and stir until ingredients are well incorporated.

3. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature or below. Place marinade in a ziplock bag or bowl.

Prepare Beef and Marinate

1. Trim all visible fat from the beef and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
2. 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 and used my Jerky Slicer with the grain)

3. Add sliced beef to the yuzu dashi mushroom marinade and marinate for 8-24 hours in the refrigerator.

4. After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade in a colander and pat dry with paper towels.
5. Dry with your favorite jerky making method. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator and dried for 4 hours at 165F.

6. The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.

Nutrition Facts

Yuzu Beef Jerky

Amount Per Serving

Calories 207 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Fat 4g6%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Cholesterol 72mg24%

Sodium 135mg6%

Potassium 531mg15%

Protein 36g72%

Calcium 29mg3%

Iron 1.9mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

You Might Also Like:

Best Cuts of Beef for Jerky

How to Make Beef Jerky with a Dehydrator

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Slicing Meat for Beef Jerky