This Cranberry Turkey Jerky will have you craving your Mom’s homemade Thanksgiving Dinner! The reason this recipe came about was due to the simple reason that you can’t have turkey without the cranberry…

I used a 3lb turkey breast from my local Walmart. I actually had trouble finding turkey breast in the dead of summer, Walmart was my saving grace after visiting about 4 different grocery stores. This 3lb Butterball was great, I ended up making 3 different turkey jerky recipes with this one turkey breast.

It was pre-seasoned, so I washed off the turkey under cold running water as much as I could before trimming off the fat and slicing into jerky strips. Make sure to thaw any frozen turkey breast in the refrigerator, not at room temperature. 

A group of simple ingredients makes this jerky very tasty. I used some local honey and brown sugar to sweeten it up a bit, giving it a great sweet honey flavor with a hint of cranberries.

When making turkey jerky I take the extra precaution of pre-heating the jerky strips to 165°F in the oven. I placed my jerky strips after they finished marinating on a baking rack on top of a foil lined pan for easy cleanup. It took 20 minutes at 350°F to reach an internal temperature of 165°F.

After pre-heating the strips, I placed them on my Excalibur Dehydrator trays to be dehydrated. I dehydrated these for a total of 4 hours at 145°F. I would recommend taking a piece out and letting it dry to room temperature every so often and checking to see if it is done. Four hours was just about perfect for these pieces of jerky.

As I mentioned before, this recipe had a great sweet honey flavor with a nice hint of cranberries and allspice. You can dice up or keep the cranberries on the jerky for more flavor if you so desire. This does have a little sticky feel to it from the honey and cranberry sauce. You won’t mind licking your fingers though…

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

Cranberry Turkey Jerky

 

Save Print

Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

4 hours

Total time

5 hours

 

Author: Will

Ingredients

Lean Turkey Breast

• 1lb Turkey Breast

Marinade

• 1 cup cranberry sauce
• ¼ cup orange juice
• 10 juniper berries (crushed into very small pieces)
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp allspice
• ¼ tsp curing salt (Optional)

Instructions

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag and mix well.
2. Trim all visible fat from the turkey breast and slice ¼" strips with the grain
3. Add sliced turkey breast to the mixture in the ziplock bag or bowl 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.
5. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
6. Place turkey strips on a baking rack on top of a aluminum foil lined baking sheet.
7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the strips reach an internal temperature of 165F.
8. Remove from the oven and dry with you favorite jerky making method. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator and dried for 4 hours at 145F.
9. The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.

3.5.3208

This easy to make steak dry rub jerky utilizes an already made seasoning rub saving you loads of time! Every so often I like making a very easy and simple beef jerky, and this is one of those recipes!

I was at work on the rig in Oklahoma when I started getting a craving for some beef jerky. I wasn’t planning on making any this time at work, but I leave a dehydrator on the rig just in case a craving like this pops up. 

I went to a small grocery store called Homeland just outside Oklahoma City which didn’t have much of a selection on meat. I picked up the only roast they had, a rump roast that had way to much fat. This cut has a lot of marbling, which is not good for making jerky! I was craving jerky though, so it had to do…

Here is the roast sliced. You can see all the marbling in the slices. This is not good for jerky because fat goes rancid fast, which will shorten the life of your jerky. I was sharing this batch with the rig crew, so I wasn’t too worried about a long shelf life.

You can see the McCormick Grill Mates Steak Rub that I used when making this jerky. I put 1/4 cup of seasoning in a bowl and dredged the slices of beef coating each on both sides. There is no need to ‘marinate’ these like you do with a traditional wet marinade. 

I dried these jerky strips in my Nesco Snackmaster Pro Dehyrator for 6hrs at 160°F. Because this meat was very fatty, I had to blot dry the jerky every hour with a paper towel to soak up any liquid fat. 

The jerky turned out pretty good. It would have been better if I used an Beef Eye of Round, but even with the fatty cut the taste was still very pleasing. Don’t be shy when dredging the pieces in the spices. The spice wasn’t over powering, so don’t worry about over seasoning the jerky.

The guys on the rig enjoyed this jerky. If you are looking for a quick jerky without much prep or marinating time, this is the recipe for you!

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

Steak Rub Beef Jerky

 

Save Print

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

6 hours

Total time

6 hours 30 mins

 

Author: Will

Ingredients

Beef

• 1lb Lean Beef (Best Cuts of Beef for Jerky)

Dry Rub

• ¼ cup McCormick Grill Mates Steak Rub

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 ¼ cup of dry rub in a shallow bowl.
3. Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips against the grain for an easy chew or with the grain for more of a chew.
4. Coat both sides of each piece of sliced beef with the dry rub mixture and set aside.
5. Dry with your favorite jerky making method. I used my dehydrator and dried for 6 hours at 160 degrees.
6. The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.

3.5.3208

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

The inspiration for this jerky came from my love for a good breakfast sausage. This was the last of my venison from this past hunting season, and i’m thrilled the jerky turned out tasting great!

Common sausage ingredients like sage and thyme are the main flavors found in First Light Deer Jerky. The cayenne pepper also can’t be missed, it gives this jerky a definite kick!

The venison was sliced with the grain making this a chewier jerky. You can slice against the grain if you don’t like too much of a chew. The venison was marinated for 18 hours which gave it an immense amount of flavor.

The jerky was strained, but not dried with paper towels as some of my recipes are. You can do that with this recipe, but I didn’t want to wipe off any of the thyme or sage during this process. If you do decide to dry with paper towels, just dab each piece lightly to get off the excess marinade.

After straining the jerky, the jerky slices were placed on a baking rack so air can flow on top as well as around the bottom of the jerky slices for the initial heat treatment. The baking rack sat on top of a aluminum foil lined cookie sheet. This helps make the clean up SO much easier! I then baked in a pre-heated oven at 300F for 12 minutes with the oven door closed.

The reason I did an initial heat treatment on this deer jerky is because I did not use a curing salt. This initial heat treatment makes sure that the jerky reaches an internal temperature of 160F killing any potential bacteria. After the initial heat treatment, the jerky was transferred to my Nesco Snackmaster Pro Dehydrator to be finished off.

After drying for 2 hours at 160F, the heat was turned down to 145F and dried for an additional 1.5 hours. That’s all it took to dry this deer jerky to my liking.

It turned out tasting great too! The flavors this jerky has will remind you of your favorite breakfast sausage. This does have a pretty good kick, so if you don’t want a spicy jerky, I would cut the red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper in half. Enjoy!

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

5.0 from 1 reviews

First Light Deer Jerky

 

Save Print

Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

4 hours

Total time

5 hours

 

Author: Will

Ingredients

Lean Protein

• 1lb Venison (Beef can also be used)

Marinade

• 2 tsp rubbed sage
• 1½ tsp ground thyme
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp ground coriander
• ½ cup cold water

Optional

• ¼ tsp Curing Salt (Prague Powder #1)

Instructions

1. Trim all visible fat from the venison and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
2. While the meat is in the freezer, combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag and mix well.
3. Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips with the grain for a chewy jerky. Cut against the grain for less of a chew.
4. Add sliced venison 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 in a colander.
6. Place jerky strips on a baking rack on top of an aluminum lined cookie sheet
7. Place in a 300F pre-heated oven for 12 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and dry with your favorite jerky making method. I used my Nesco Dehydrator and dried for 2 hours at 160F & 1.5 hours at 145F.
9. The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.

3.5.3208

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 Vietnamese style beef jerky has several great flavors that will have your taste buds saying WOW!

My wife loves Vietnamese style  beef jerky and buys some every time we go to get some pho at our favorite local pho spot. The main ingredient that is undeniably present in this type of jerky is the turmeric powder. This is the dominant flavor which lets you know exactly what type of beef jerky you are eating.

She has been asking me to make a Vietnamese style beef jerky for some time now. So…… Since Happy Wife = Happy Life; I made some!

I used a beef bottom round when making this jerky. It was sliced against the grain making large jerky pieces as most Vietnamese style beef jerky is. Some call these large pieces “elephant ear” beef jerky.

Another important flavor that is part of this jerky is the Lemon Grass and Garlic. I love using my Garlic Press shown in the picture above when adding real garlic to my recipes. Pressing the garlic really gives a strong flavor, more than if just finely chopped. You just can’t beat the flavor!

When making Vietnamese style beef jerky, you do not have the traditional “wet” marinade that is seen in most of my recipes. The “dry rub” is made of spices and a little bit of oil to help bind these ingredients and allow it to stick to the meat.

Coat each piece with the dry rub and then place in a bowl, cover with saran wrap, and allow to “marinate” in the fridge for 6-24 hours.

After marinating, place on a cooling rack and baking pan for the initial heat treatment and drying process. Bake in the oven with the door closed at 300°F for 10 minutes to bring the internal temperature of the jerky to 160°F.  After 10 minutes, lower the temperature to 170°F, prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon, and continue drying until finished.

I dried for 2 hours, flipped the pieces of jerky, and then finished it off for about another 2 hours. You can read more about making jerky in an oven here.

My wife helped me stage this beautiful picture. She insisted on having her little plant in the picture to give it that little extra. Note: that plant is NOT part of the ingredients!

I love this Vietnamese Beef Jerky! It starts with a hint of the lemon grass which gives it almost a Thai flavor. Towards the end you will get a spicy kick your butt flavor start to creep in. If you want to sweeten this jerky up (it is not sweet), you can add a little more sugar.

If you have never tried this type of jerky, I think that you will be pleasantly surprised by the amount of flavor it has!

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

4.0 from 1 reviews

Vietnamese Beef Jerky

 

Save Print

Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

4 hours

Total time

5 hours

 

Author: Will

Ingredients

Lean Beef

• 1lb Beef Bottom Round

Dry Rub

• 3 tbsp minced lemongrass
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp five spice powder
• 1 tbsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp vegetable oil

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 all ingredients of the dry rub in a shallow bowl.
3. Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips against the grain in large pieces for an easy chew.
4. Coat both sides of each piece of sliced beef with the dry rub mixture and place in a bowl. Marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator.
5. After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and place the jerky pieces on a cooling rack atop a lined baking sheet.
6. Heat in a pre-heated oven with the door closed at 300F for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, prop the door open with a wooden spoon and lower the temperature to 170F. Dry for about 4 hours, flipping the jerky pieces half way through the drying process.
7. The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.

3.5.3208

This Peppered Venison Jerky has an outstanding fresh cracked black pepper flavor! The soy sauce and worcestershire sauce also give this recipe a really nice sweet and salty taste.

This deer roast was harvested in South Texas on a hunting trip with some buddies. I freezer packed the roast until I was ready to make some jerky. I let it partially defrost and sliced it into 1/4″ strips.

The marinade is a pretty basic mixture of soy sauce, worcestershire, pepper, and curing salt. This batch marinated in the fridge for about 20 hours before dredging in fresh cracked black pepper and put in the dehydrator.

You can see the marinated meat was strained in a colander and each piece of jerky dredged on ONE side with fresh black pepper. I would recommend only doing one side of the jerky as both sides would be way too much pepper. 

The strips were placed on my Nesco Dehydrator and dried for 2 hours at 160F and another 2 hours at 145F.  The final result was very tasty. The jerky had a nice sweet and salty taste with that spicy peppery flavor coming out towards the end! If you do NOT like salty jerky, use low sodium soy sauce when making this recipe.

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

Peppered Venison Jerky

 

Save Print

Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

4 hours

Total time

5 hours

 

Author: Will

Ingredients

Lean Beef

• 1lb Venison Roast

Marinade

• ¾ cup soy sauce (low sodium if wanting less salt)
• ¼ cup worcestershire sauce
• ½ tbsp pure ground pepper
• ¼ tsp prague powder #1 (Curing Salt)

Toppings

• ¼ cup coarsly ground fresh black pepper (enough to cover ONE side of each jerky strip)

Instructions

1. Trim all visible fat from the venison and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
2. While the meat is in the freezer, combine the soy sauce, worcestershire, ground pepper, and curing salt in a bowl or ziplock bag 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 sliced venison 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 in a colander.
6. Freshly grind about a ¼cup of ground pepper in a bowl or plate.
7. Dredge ONE side of each jerky strip with your desired amount of fresh pepper
8. Dry with your favorite jerky making method. I used my Nesco Dehydrator and dried for 2 hours at 160F & 2 hour at 145F.
9. The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.

3.5.3208

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 Balsamic Vinegar Deer Jerky tastes fantastic! I am a big fan of balsamic vinegar and thought that it would make some really good tasting jerky. I was right!

This jerky was made out of the same roast that I made my Jimmy’s Teriyaki Deer Jerky recipe. That is also a great recipe! I started by slicing the roast into 1/4″ strips. 

Partially freeze the meat to make it easier to slice even and consistent pieces. I marinated the meat for 20 hours and then drained in this colander. 

I dried this jerky on my Excalibur Dehydrator. This jerky only took 3.5hrs to dry to my liking. I started it at 165F for 2.5 hours and then turned down to 145F for the remaining time.

My buddy who also loves Balsmic Vinegar said that he could have used a little more in the recipe. I made it with 2 tbsp of vinegar, but you  might want to taste the marinade and add a little more to suit your taste. The 2 tbsp was perfect for me, just the right amount of sweetness!

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

Balsamic Vinegar Deer Jerky

 

Save Print

Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

4 hours

Total time

5 hours

 

Author: Will

Ingredients

Lean Beef

• 1lb Venison Roast

Marinade

• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• ¼ cup + 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp mustard powder
• ½ tsp pepper
• ¼ tsp Prague Powder #1 (curing salt)

Instructions

1. Trim all visible fat from the venison and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
2. While the meat is in the freezer, combine all the ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag 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 sliced venison 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 in a colander.
6. Dry with your favorite jerky making method. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator and dried for 2½ hours at 165F & 1 hour at 145F.

3.5.3208

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 my Buddy’s go to deer jerky recipe every year after we harvest a couple bucks during hunting season. He was nice enough to give me the recipe to share with you guys, so I named it after him. Jimmy’s Teriyaki Deer Jerky!

So who is Jimmy? Well, in the picture below; Jimmy is the one on the right and I am on the left. This picture was taken last year when Jimmy, our friend Kyle, & I went on the boat when some really cold weather came through to pick up cold stunned turtles on the verge of death and bring them to the National Park Service’s Turtle Patrol on South Padre Island, Texas. (Turtles can not handle the extreme temperature changes and go into shock. They need to be picked up and brought somewhere they can be warmed back up to prevent them from dying)

Jimmy taught me how to hunt. The first buck I ever harvested was with him by my side and was shot with his rifle. Those antlers are proudly displayed on top of my moms fine china cabinet in her kitchen.

Every year a couple of us guys get together and go hunting and fishing. This year I shot a nice 10-point buck and that is where I got the Venison for this jerky. Jimmy also shot a 10-point this year making it one of our better years of hunting.

So after processing our deer, I kept a couple of roasts to make jerky out of. One of the first recipes I made this year was Jimmy’s Teriyaki Deer Jerky recipe. I started with a roast (cut out of the hind quarter of the deer).

I had vacuum packed and sealed this roast and let it defrost partially in the refrigerator before pulling it out to trim and slice. I sliced at about 1/4″ with the grain of the meat.

The recipe for this jerky is very simple, but extremely tasty! For 1lb of venison, I mixed 1 cup of Allegro Teriyaki Marinade and 2 tbsp of Liquid Smoke (Mesquite).

Both of these can be found at your local grocery store. I found the Teriyaki Marinade near the BBQ sauces, NOT in the Asian section, so make sure to check both places.

I marinated the venison for 20hrs and strained in this colander. This is where you will want to sprinkle on some garlic powder for a little extra flavor.

If you want a true Teriyaki Deer Jerky, you can start to dehydrate the jerky right here. I split this recipe and made half with some black pepper as well.

Just dredge one side of the jerky in a bowl of fresh cracked black pepper and wipe off any excess. I found that one side was enough to give this deer jerky a great pepper flavor.

Using my Excalibur Dehydrator, I arranged the venison strips on the trays with enough space between strips to allow for proper air circulation.

This jerky was dehydrated for 2.5hrs at 165F & 1hr at 145F. Yep, it was finished and perfect in just 3.5hrs! Jimmy’s Teriyaki Deer Jerky had a nice strong Teriyaki flavor. The pieces with pepper also had that great flavor with the extra little kick of the fresh cracked black pepper. I love spice and pepper, so the peppered pieces were my favorite.

You need to make this jerky! This recipe would also be great when making beef jerky. But if you still have some venison in the freezer from this past hunting season, get some out and start marinating it now! I really liked this recipe and can see why Jimmy makes it EVERY year. Thanks for sharing the recipe Jimmy!

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

Jimmy's Teriyaki Deer Jerky

 

Save Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

4 mins

Total time

24 mins

 

A Teriyaki Jerky with a strong fantastic flavor!

Author: Will

Ingredients

Lean Beef

• 1lb Venison Roast

Marinade

• 1 cup Allegro Teriyaki Marinade
• 2 tbsp Mesquite Liquid Smoke

Optional

• ¼ tsp Curing Salt (Prague Powder #1)

Extra

• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• Fresh Cracked Black Pepper for dipping

Instructions

1. Trim all visible fat from the venison and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
2. While the meat is in the freezer, combine all the ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag 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 sliced venison 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 in a colander.
6. Sprinkle meat evenly with the garlic powder.
7. Dredge one side of each strip of meat in fresh cracked black pepper if you want a peppery flavor *Optional
8. Dry with your favorite jerky making method. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator and dried for 2½ hours at 165F & 1 hour at 145F.
9. The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.

3.5.3208

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

Everyone loves Jerk Chicken, and everyone is going to love this Jamaican Jerk Beef Jerky!

The other day I went with my wife in search for a little food truck she has been wanting to try near downtown Austin. It’s a Venezuelan food truck called Four Brother ATX, it’s know for their Arepas. Okay, I’m game – Let’s roll…

Well, when we got to the food truck, there was another food truck right next to it pumping out an amazing smell. This food truck was painted the colors of the Jamaican flag and was called ATX Jamaican Grill. Uh, sorry Arepa lady, I’m sure you are good, but this jerk chicken is calling my name!

Inspired by this truck and the AMAZING jerk chicken I had that day, I decided to make a Jamaican Jerk Beef Jerky.

I started with my favorite cut, Beef Eye of Round, and grabbed some island flavored spices in an attempt to replicate the oh so delicious jerk chicken I had from that food truck. (It came with rice and fried plantains too!)

After giving it my best shot, I would have loved to have some fresh Scotch Bonnet Peppers to add, in the marinade the strips went and they sat in the fridge soaking up all that Jamaican flavor for 18 hours. 

It took 5 hours to dry the jerky with my Nesco Dehydrator, and it turned out Fantastic!

The Cayenne and Thyme add great flavor to this jerky. The flavor of the thyme comes across your taste buds first followed by the kick of the cayenne pepper a couple seconds later. 

You can also tell that the jerky is finished here because when it was ripped in half, you can see the white fibers of the meat. This is a great way of telling when your jerky is finished.

I was extremely happy with how this jerky turned out. I can’t say that it was a more authentic flavor than the food truck I ate at, but it is Damn Good!

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

4.9 from 7 reviews

Jamaican Jerk Beef Jerky

 

Save Print

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

5 hours

Total time

5 hours 30 mins

 

Author: Will

Ingredients

Lean Beef

• 1lb Beef Eye of Round

Marinade

• ¼ cup cold water
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1½ tsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp allspice
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp smoked paprika

Optional

• ¼ 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 all the ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag 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 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 Nesco Dehydrator and dried for 2½ hours at 160F & 2½ hours at 140F.
7. The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.

3.5.3208

This Jalapeno Lime Beef Jerky is an easy to make jerky with a little spice from the jalapenos, sweetness from the honey, and a strong citrus flavor from the fresh limes. Who doesn’t love jalapenos and limes? 

I have been cooking a lot with jalapenos lately, I just LOVE how they taste! Everything from my omelets in the morning to my favorite corn bread get a heavy dose of jalapenos these days.

I do leave the seeds out when making my jalapeno and lime beef jerky, but feel free to leave some in for a hotter flavor. With the seeds out, this jerky doesn’t have much of a spice, just a little bit of a kick. So definitely leave the seeds in if you are wanting to sweat a bit!

I blended the ingredients in my blender to give everything a good mix before adding my beef eye of round to marinate.

After marinating for 12 hours, I dried the jerky with my Nesco Dehydrator. With the temperature set at 160°F, I had amazing tasting beef jerky in 4.5 hours!

I was happy with how these turned out. I am not usually a honey fan when it comes to beef jerky, but the local honey added a great sweet flavor that worked great in this marinade.

For more in depth directions on how to dry your beef jerky, visit my page How to Make Beef Jerky or click on the pictures below.

5.0 from 2 reviews

Jalapeno Lime Beef Jerky

 

Save Print

Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

5 hours

Total time

6 hours

 

Author: Will

Ingredients

Lean Beef

• 1lb beef eye of round

Marinade

• ⅔ cup orange juice
• ¼ cup lime juice (freshly squeezed)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp garlic
• 2 diced jalapenos (seeds removed)

Optional

• ¼ 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 orange juice, lime juice, honey, ground cumin, salt, garlic, and diced jalapenos in a blender until jalapenos are cut small and the honey is evenly mixed. Add to a bowl or ziplock bag.
3. Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips against the grain for an easy chew or with the grain for a more chewier jerky.
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 4.5 hours at 160 degrees.
7. The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.

3.5.3208

For more in depth directions on how to dry your beef jerky, visit my page How to Make Beef Jerky

This Cajun Beef Jerky recipe will excite your taste buds! With flavors that come straight from New Orleans, you can’t go wrong with this tasty recipe!

A lot of my recipes come about by searching the internet, cook books, restaurant dished, etc. This one came from several Cajun marinades and seasonings I found while looking through some cook books. The flavors turned out great and work very well with beef jerky.

I love using Beef Eye of Round when making jerky and that is what I used when making this batch. The strips were sliced with the grain giving this Cajun Beef Jerky some good chew.

Several years ago I lived in New Orleans for a little while and LOVED the food there. I love spice and that is exactly what Cajun food is known for.

I didn’t like the heat and humidity of the city, but sometimes you have to sacrifice to eat good food!

The cayenne pepper, seasoning salt, and paprika just go so well with the vinegar based marinade.

I mixed up all the ingredients well and marinated the beef for 20 hours in the fridge. Anywhere between 6 – 24 hours of marinating time will be just fine.

After patting the strips dry with a paper towel, dry using your favorite jerky making method. These bad boys were dried using my Nesco Dehydrator for about 5 hours.

This Cajun Beef Jerky had a spicy kick with a great herb taste from all the thyme and oregano. I really liked how this recipe turned out.

So if you are looking for a taste of New Orleans and ready for a little spice in your life, you NEED to make a batch of this Cajun Beef Jerky! Let me know how yours turns out in the comments below!

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

4.0 from 1 reviews

Cajun Beef Jerky

 

Save Print

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

5 hours

Total time

5 hours 30 mins

 

Author: Will

Ingredients

Lean Beef

• 1lb Beef Eye of Round

Marinade

• ½ cup cold water
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp seasoning salt
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp horseradish
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes

Optional

• ¼ 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 white vinegar, cold water, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, seasoning salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, black pepper, horseradish, and red pepper flakes in a bowl or ziplock bag 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 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.

3.5.3208

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