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The silk road was a trading route that ran from Europe around the Mediterranean eventually all the way to China and beyond. This recipe has Sumac as the star ingredient, which is from the Mediterranean…
You might be asking, “so was Sumac traded along the silk road?” Uh, I don’t think so. But I needed a name for this jerky, and since I already have a Mediterranean Jerky, I named it Silk Road Beef Jerky. See how simple my mind works? Ha.
As I mentioned before, Sumac is the star ingredient for this recipe. I bought mine at a spice shop down the road in Boulder. You can find some at a local store near you or buy some Sumac on amazon.
Sumac is a spice from the middle east that has a tangy lemony flavor. It’s normally found and used ground, not whole. It’s fantastic!!! I also used some tomato powder that you can find at a local spice shop or online, of course…
After marinating for 12 hours, I strained in a colander and patted dry with paper towels.
After patting dry with paper towels, sprinkle on extra sesame seeds to enhance the flavor and make it look that much better! I put the strips on my Excalibur Dehydrator trays and dried for 4 hours at 165°F.
This jerky turned out VERY yummy! A great flavor comes through that is tangy and tart. The sumac really steals the show adding a little lemony flavor. This is followed by a hint of cinnamon that rounds out the jerky making it a definite keeper! There isn’t much of a tomato flavor, so if you like tomato you might need to add a little more. VERY GOOD!!!
For more in depth directions on how to dry your jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below.
Jerky with a great flavor that is tangy and tart. The sumac really steals the show adding a little lemony flavor. This is followed by a hint of cinnamon that rounds out the jerky making it a definite keeper!
Trim all visible fat from the beef and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
While the meat is in the freezer, combine marinade ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag. Only use 1/2tsp of sesame seeds and keep the other 1/2tsp to sprinkle on the strips after marinating.
Add sliced beef to the mixture in the ziplock bag or bowl and marinate for 8-24 hours in the refrigerator.
After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade in a colander and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle strips with the remianing ½ tsp sesame seeds.
Who’s ready for some Margaritas?!?!?! Unfortunately it is Monday, but the taste of frozen margaritas you probably drank this weekend can stay fresh in your mind while at the office with some margarita beef jerky!
This is a pretty simple recipe that produces a almost candy like jerky. I used a Beef Top Round and marinated the meat for a total of 16 hours before drying.
You will more than likely have most of the ingredients for this recipe in your pantry, just grab a bottle of margarita mix and some meat while you are at your grocery store and you will be good to go! It doesn’t really matter what mix you get, they will all be about the same. I grabbed Mr. & Mrs. T’s margarita mix. Not sure who the T’s are, but their mix is pretty tasty!
I used my Weston Jerky Slicer to get nice even strips. This thing is great if you start making a bunch of jerky. I use it just about every time I make jerky.
After marinating 16 hours, I strained the jerky strips in a colander and placed on my jerky trays. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator when making this batch. If you are in the market for a dehydrator or aren’t sure which one to get, check out my dehydrator reviews.
I dried these for 3 hours at 165°F and turned down for 2 hours at 145°F. After 5 hours, this sweet meat candy was dried to perfection. So did it taste like a margarita? YES! It really does have a sweet margarita flavor with just enough saltiness. If you are looking for a flavorful and sweet jerky, look no further.
The weekend may be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in this margarita flavor jerky to hold you over until NEXT weekend!
For more in depth directions on how to dry your jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below.
Who's ready for some Margaritas?!?!?! Unfortunately it is Monday, but the taste of frozen margaritas you probably drank this weekend can stay fresh in your mind while at the office with some margarita beef jerky!
Trim all visible fat from the beef and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
While the meat is in the freezer, combine marinade ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag.
Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips against the grain for an easy chew. Cut with the grain for a more chewy jerky. (I did not freeze the jerky and used my Jerky Slicer with the grain)
Add sliced beef to the mixture in the ziplock bag or bowl and marinate for 8-24 hours in the refrigerator.
After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade in a colander and pat dry with paper towels.
I have a lot of people ask me what my all time favorite jerky recipes are, and you can see a list on my Beef Jerky Recipe page. But we are starting a new year and I can’t help but look back at some of the Top Jerky Recipes of 2017!
What really happened was my wife called me and told me that I should put together a list of my Top 3 Jerky recipes of 2017. Since that was a great idea, like most of her ideas, I put together a list!
So here are some of my favorite and readers favorite jerky recipes from this past year!
Jimmy’s Teriyaki Deer Jerky
My highest visited and tried recipe of this past year came at the beginning of 2017. It was right after hunting season and I was given a tried and true recipe from my hunting buddy Jimmy. It’s an easy recipe to make since the base is a marinade you can find in your local grocery store called Allegro Teriyaki Marinade.
I made this jerky with venison, but it works great for beef jerky as well! The number 1 recipe of 2017 is Jimmy’s Teriyaki Deer Jerky.
The sweet flavor of the marinade married with the spice of the fresh cracked black pepper makes this jerky very satisfying to make and eat. So slice up your harvest from this year or grab a beef roast from the store and make a batch of Jimmy’s Teriyaki Deer Jerky!
Korean BBQ Beef Jerky
The second recipe that made the Top 3 Jerky Recipes of 2017 was the very last recipe made last year. The inspiration for this recipe came from a very popular Asian cuisine that I am sure ALL of you have eaten at some point in your life. That’s right, it’s Korean BBQ Beef Jerky!
Why did this recipe make the top 3? It tasted exactly like the amazing Korean BBQ pork dish you can get at any local Korean Restaurant. That pork is addicting, and this jerky is just as addicting!
The soy sauce was not overpowering and it wasn’t really salty either. The flavors turned out just perfect. Most regular super markets have all of the ingredients needed, but you might have to make a special trip to an Asian super market if you live in a small town. However, don’t let this deter you from making this recipe, it probably will be one of your favorites too!
Dragon Fire Beef Jerky
The third recipe to round out the Top Recipes of 2017 has a little spice to it. You have to end 2017 and start 2018 with a little bit of a kick! This recipe has become one of my all time favorites and if you like spicy jerky, will be on your top list of jerky as well. My wife helped me pick out the name and even gave me a little figurine to put in the pictures. Rounding out 2017 is Dragon Fire Beef Jerky!
Man was this a great tasting jerky! I love spicy jerky and the Habanero peppers really made this jerky a winner. The sea salt also gave it the perfect amount of saltiness that I love in jerky.
Don’t forget to blend the Habanero peppers along with the other ingredients in a blender to get the full flavor and fire of the Habaneros.
Dragon Fire Beef Jerky jumped into my wife’s all time top 3 jerky recipes; I could also tell that she loved it because she almost ate it all before I could take these pictures. Do yourself a favor and add this recipe to your list to try in the upcoming weeks.
A Look into 2018
I am super excited about the jerky recipes to come in 2018, and I hope that you keep checking in or sign up for my newsletter to get those new recipes as soon as I post them.
As a teaser, I just finished drying some Elk Jerky today and it was AMAZING! A quick trip into Oklahoma City to visit my local spice shop, Savory Spice, I scored some Ghost Peppers and a Carolina Reaper Puree which churned out some great Elk Jerky. So stay posted for those recipes and many many more to come! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
A very popular Korean dish you can find just about anywhere and tastes FANTASTIC is BBQ pork. This jerky recipe is a take of that dish and turned out tasting just as great!
I sliced the Beef Tri-Tip 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.
The jerky strips were marinated for a total of 16 hours in the soy sauce based marinade. This popular korean bbq recipe consists of soy sauce, sugar, rice wine, garlic, sesame seeds, and sesame seed oil. Most of these ingredients can be found in your local super market in the Asian food section.
It took a total of 4 hours at 165F to dry this to my liking. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator, but you can use a smoker or oven if you don’t have a dehydrator. You can see the Korean Recipe on the center rack in the picture below. I was making 3 different recipes…. I love trying different jerky!
This Korean BBQ Beef Jerky turned out awesome! It really tasted just like the Korean Pork dishes you get in restaurants. The soy sauce flavor was light and NOT overpowering like many other soy sauce based recipes. It was not too salty and the sesame oil flavor really stands out. I highly recommend trying this recipe.
For more in depth directions on how to dry your jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below.
A very popular Korean dish you can find just about anywhere and tastes FANTASTIC is BBQ pork. This jerky recipe is a take of that dish and turned out tasting just as great!
Trim all visible fat from the beef and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
While the meat is in the freezer, combine marinade ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag. Only use 1tsp of sesame seeds and keep the remaining to sprinkle on the strips after marinating.
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)
Add sliced beef to the mixture in the ziplock bag or bowl and marinate for 8-24 hours in the refrigerator.
After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade in a colander and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle strips with the remianing 1 1/2 tsp sesame seeds.
My family has used Dale’s Steak Seasoning when marinating steaks for as long as I can remember. I am not sure why it took me this long to make some beef jerky with it…. So here is Dale’s Steak Seasoning Beef Jerky!!!
I always feel a little bit lazy when I make a jerky from an already made marinade, but this stuff is SOOOOO good! My father has marinated steaks with Dale’s the whole time I grew up and still uses it to this day. It’s mainly made from soy sauce, so it definitely starts with one of the most popular jerky ingredient.
I decided to use my favorite cut of meat, Beef Eye of Round, when making this batch. After trimming off a little fat, it was sliced in about 1″ slabs that would be fed through my Jerky Slicer.
After feeding the meat slabs through my Westin Jerky Slicer, they were ready to be marinated. I don’t always use a jerky slicer, but I love the fact that all the strips are the same size and dry evenly in the dehydrator. If you are making a bunch of jerky, it’s definitely worth checking out.
Only two ingredients went into this marinade, Dale’s Steak Seasoning and Hickory Liquid Smoke. I told you it was easy! I let this batch marinade for 18 hours in the fridge.
After straining and patting dry the strips with paper towels, they were arranged on my Nesco Dehydrator to be dried. It took 3 hours at 160F and 1 hour at 145F for these bad boys to be done.
They turned out great! Because of the soy sauce, these had a great saltiness taste to them. I am a big fan of salty jerky and this recipe fit the bill. If you are looking for a great tasting, quick, and easy recipe that you can’t screw up, this one is calling your name!
For more in depth directions on how to dry your turkey jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below.
My family has used Dale's Steak Seasoning when marinating steaks for as long as I can remember. I am not sure why it took me this long to make some beef jerky with it.... So here is Dale's Steak Seasoning Beef Jerky!!!
Trim all visible fat from the beef and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
While the meat is in the freezer, combine marinade ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag.
Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips against the grain for an easy chew. Cut with the grain for a more chewy jerky. (I did not freeze the jerky and used my Jerky Slicer with the grain)
Add sliced beef to the mixture in the ziplock bag or bowl and marinate for 8-24 hours in the refrigerator.
After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade in a colander and pat dry with paper towels.
The best homemade beef jerky recipe made with Habanero Peppers is bound for greatness! The spicy kick of the peppers and the saltiness of the Sea Salt really makes this the top jerky recipe ever! This Dragon Fire Beef Jerky recipe quickly jumped to the top of my list of hundreds of jerky recipes I have made over the years.
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 jerky recipe has some great ingredients including: garlic powder, sugar, fresh cracked black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and of course some fresh Habaneros! To make the marinade, just combine all the ingredients that are listed on the recipe card below in a blender and add the fresh Habaneros.
Readers Tip: Substitue 1/3 cup of the water for 1/3 cup of soy sauce for a more salty intense flavor.
Blend until the peppers are fully incorporated into the marinade. Smelling this marinade made me say “Oh Wow!” after blending these habanero peppers you see in the picture above. It was a STRONG smelling of fire, heat, and goodness! Ha.
Combine the jerky slices and marinade in a bowl or ziplock bag and marinate for 6-24 hours. I like using a ziplock bag as it seems to allow the marinade to fully coat the meat. Mix the bag up a couple times during the marinading process to also make sure each piece gets an even amount of these great tasting spices!
Drying The Jerky
After marinading, strain the jerky strips in a colander to remove any excess marinade. Place the strips on a paper towel and pat dry to remove even more of the excess marinade that is sitting on the surface. Doing this will help speed up the drying process.
Transfer the strips to your dehydrator trays, oven rack, or smoker racks to dry. I used a dehydrator, but you can also use an oven or smoker when making this jerky. Check out my page on different ways to make jerky to find the best one for you!
The beef marinated for a total of 18 hours before 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.
The jerky will be finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half. You will also see white fibers within the meat when bent. How did it turn out?! AWESOME!!! It’s the best beef jerky you will find! My wife always wants me to make this jerky for her, it is just THAT GOOD!
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 for longer lasting jerky
Use fresh Habaneros for the best flavor, and cut the stem off each pepper. Use 1 pepper for mild spice, 2 for medium, and 3 for HOT!
Use a blender to blend the peppers into the rest of the marinade for more spice and even flavor.
Use gloves when handling spicy peppers.
For more in depth directions on how to dry your jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below.
The best beef jerky recipe made with Habanero Peppers is bound for greatness! The spicy kick of the peppers and the saltiness of the Sea Salt really makes this the top jerky recipe ever! This Dragon Fire Beef Jerky recipe quickly jumped to the top of my list of hundreds of jerky recipes I have made over the years.
Course Beef Jerky, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword beef jerky, best beef jerky, Habaneros, Jerky, jerky recipe
Trim all visible fat from the beef and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
While the meat is in the freezer, combine marinade ingredients in a blender and blend until the peppers have been chopped into very small pieces. Place in a bowl or ziplock bag.
Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips against the grain for an easy chew. Cut with the grain for a more chewy jerky.
Add sliced beef to the mixture in the ziplock bag or bowl and marinate for 8-24 hours in the refrigerator.
After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade in a colander and pat dry with paper towels.
I know what you are thinking; “Vinegar Horseradish Beef Jerky, what the hell?!” That’s what I was thinking when I made the recipe, but I just can’t help but trying new and crazy recipes. P.S. – It turned out great!
I made this batch of jerky on the flavor recommendation from my wife. I try to probe her brain for crazy flavors to try when coming up with beef jerky recipes. I was hesitant, but this turned out really good!
I used prepared horseradish that I had hanging out in the fridge which gave this jerky a great flavor. I was surprised that it had more of a tangy flavor than a really potent horseradish flavor. My wife informed me that after heating and cooking the horseradish the taste becomes subtle and isn’t as sharp as when eaten raw.
The subtle horseradish flavor turned out to work great as jerky. It wasn’t spicy and would be a great jerky to take while hunting or hiking. I know this because that is exactly what I did! I took this jerky on an 8 day camping trip around the west. My wife and I left Colorado and went to Antelope Canyon, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Vegas, Zion NP, Arches NP, Bryce Canyon NP, & Canyon Lands NP. Well the jerky only made it to about the Hoover Dam… Ha.
This picture was taken at one of my camp sites. You can see I have my stove out about to cook up a little soup for dinner. I love camping!
For more in depth directions on how to dry your beef jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below.
I know what you are thinking; "Vinegar Horseradish Beef Jerky, what the hell?!" That's what I was thinking when I made the recipe, but I just can't help but trying new and crazy recipes. P.S. - It turned out great!
This Beef Jerky Recipe has the flavors you would find in your backyard garden. The intense flavors found in this jerky are sure to please your family and friends!
This garden fresh tasting beef jerky is sure to hit the spot when hiking the trails this fall! I’m leaving on an 8 day camping trip tomorrow and you better believe that this jerky will be making its way with me.
The star of this jerky is the Spice Islands Garden Seasoning. I found this at my local grocery store, it features onion, garlic, bell peppers, carrots, etc…. Stuff you would find in your garden. Ha.
The Beef Top Round that I purchased at the grocery store was already sliced thin at about 1/8″. This saved some time slicing the meat. Top round is my second favorite cut of beef to use when making jerky, eye of round being my favorite. After marinating for 18 hours, the jerky was strained and dried with my Nesco Snackmaster Pro dehydrator.
This recipe turned out tasting VERY good. It has an intense flavor that wakes up your taste buds. The salty taste is just perfect and goes great with the little bit of spice it carries as well. My wife said it even has a little bit of a tangy taste too! These pictures were taken at a local park in Boulder, CO. It is a beautiful place that we enjoy hiking and it felt like the perfect place to showcase this jerky.
For more in depth directions on how to dry your beef jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below.
This Beef Jerky Recipe has the flavors you would find in your backyard garden. The intense flavors found in this jerky are sure to please your family and friends!
Trim all visible fat from the beef and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
While the meat is in the freezer, combine marinade ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag and mix well.
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. Or skip the freezing phase and use a Jerky Slicer.
Add sliced beef to the mixture in a ziplock bag or bowl and marinate for 8-24 hours in the refrigerator.
After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade in a colander and pat dry with paper towels.
This Bayou Cajun Beef Jerky has a little spice and the zest of New Orleans. If you’re looking for a great flavor that will please all, this is your jerky! I lived in New Orleans for a while several years back and loved all the flavors found in the cooking.
This recipe is inspired by the people and cooking found in the Bayou of Louisiana.
This jerky recipe has some great base flavors of salt, onion, garlic, and red pepper. I spiced it up with a little Zatarain’s hot sauce (My Favorite) and this recipe turned out perfect! I used Beef Top Round which was thinly sliced at my grocery store when making this jerky. If your butcher or meat department doesn’t have thinly sliced meat, you can ask them and most of the time they will help you out.
I decided to use my new Chef’s Elite Vacuum Marinator to speed up the marinating process. Normally my jerky marinates in the fridge for 8-24 hours, but a quick 30 minutes with this machine turned out a great flavor. It recommends to marinate for 15 minutes, but I doubled the time to make sure the jerky had a good flavor. Easy cleanup and little hassle makes using this nice too. If you are short for time and don’t want to marinate your jerky over night, I would recommend this marinator to speed things up!
After marinating, I dried in my Nesco Dehydrator for 3 1/2 hrs at 160F. Since the meat was sliced very thin, it dried very quickly to a perfect finish.
This recipe first has the Flavor of an original jerky but then finishes with a kick from the hot sauce. If you are looking for a really spicy jerky, I would recommend adding another TBSP of hot sauce and a little more ground red pepper. Enjoy!
For more in depth directions on how to dry your beef jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below.
This Bayou Cajun Beef Jerky has a little spice and the zest of New Orleans. If you're looking for a great flavor that will please all, this is your jerky! I lived in New Orleans for a while several years back and loved all the flavors found in the cooking.
Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag and mix well.
Slice ¼" strips of beef against the grain for an easy chew. Cut with the grain for a more chewy jerky. (I bought already sliced jerky for this recipe, so this step can be skipped)
Add sliced beef to the mixture in a ziplock bag or bowl and marinate for 8-24 hours in the refrigerator. (If using a vacuum marinator, marinate for 30 minutes)
After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and strain excess marinade in a colander and pat dry with paper towels.
East side beef jerky is a salty and flavorful jerky that combines the great flavor of soy sauce with the much loved fish sauce of the East.
I used some local honey and fish sauce from my local Asian marketplace. You should be able to find fish sauce in your local supermarket as it has become much more popular over the last 10 years. For you that have never had fish sauce before…. A little goes a long way…. Ha.
Chop the scallions in very small pieces, this will help them adhere to the jerky much more than if they were large. I recommend 3 tbsp of fish sauce, but you might want to taste the marinade with 2 tbsp and decide if you want to add the third. The fish sauce can over power the jerky if you are not used to eating it, so make sure you like the flavor before adding it all.
Strain the jerky strips and pat dry after marinating for 6-24 hours. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator when making this jerky.
It took 4 hours at 160°F to finish this jerky to perfection. This East Side Beef Jerky turned out with a salty yet sweet flavor that would be sure to please everyone!
For more in depth directions on how to dry your beef jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods or click on the pictures below.
