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.
So if you are in the mood for a little Mexican getaway, mix up some marinade and make some Chili Lime Jerky!
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…
For this recipe I used 1 pound of flank steak and made jerky in the oven. Flank is not my favorite cut of meat to use for making jerky. I know that some people swear by it, but I prefer a good top or bottom round. I have found that when using flank, a thicker cut of 1/4″ minimum results in better jerky. Flank tends to be more expensive and has a little more marbling than a round. This is why I don’t like using it, but you might love using flank. Either way, pick your cut of beef and get to making some jerky!
Chili Lime Jerky
Ingredients
Lean Beef
- 1 lb flank steak
Marinade
- 1 tsp mesquite liquid smoke Don't add if using a smoker
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 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
- 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.
- Mix all above ingredients in a container with a tight fitting lid. Whisk marinade until all brown sugar is dissolved.
- Remove beef from the freezer and slice against the grain between 1/8"-1/4" thick.
- Add sliced beef to the container of marinade and shake well to evenly coat the meat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours.
- After marinating, remove and dry the strips with paper towels. Dry your meat using your preferred jerky making method.
- 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.
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!
Will
This is the best jerky recipe I have ever made. Thanks sooooo much for sharing.
I’m glad you enjoyed it Don! That is still one of my Wife’s favorite beef jerky recipes. Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.
Soooooooo I didn’t even click on your chili lime recipe link and I saw a comment about the chili garlic sauce. So I thought hmmm, sounds good. So I went and got chili garlic sauce from HEB. Two jars. Dumped it all in a bad with 1.5 pounds of flank steak strips. That’s it. It’s marinading now. I’m just that. What the hell did I just do…. I believe this is going to be a horrible first experience making jerky.
Haha. Let me know how it turns out…
yea man you definitely gotta get 1 you can find them pttery cheap nowadays. but seriously theres nothin like homemade beef jerky.. Vera Vera goood. when I get home from work I’ll write down the recipe in the description box.
I finally got a dehydrator this was the first recipe I tried. It was fantastic. I also did a store bought island teriyaki jerky. It was tasty. Love this site! Gonna be goin through many of your recipes.
Congrats on the new dehydrator! It’s a great way to make jerky. I am glad you like the chili lime jerky, it one of my wife’s favorites. Thanks for stopping by!
what is a chili garlic sauce? Never seen that before?
Chili garlic sauce is amazing! You can’t miss it with the green top. Here is a link to it on amazon, but you should be able to find it in the Asian section of your grocery store.
Did you use hickory or mesquite liquid smoke? Does it matter?
Great question Braden. For this recipe I use mesquite liquid smoke. (I added that to the ingredients list, thanks!) The rule of thumb is to use mesquite with spicier jerky and hickory with more sweet or mild jerky.
Ok awesome. I just got a dehydrator and have made the garlic black pepper and the sweet heat Sriracha, but I made them both with ground beef. The garlic black pepper turned out awesome but the Sriracha was too liquidy for the beef. But still delicious. Next up is southern Texas jalapeno, Mexican heat, Southern Chipotle and chili lime. I’m excited
Nice! Let me know how they turn out.
Excellent Recipe!! I made some from a moose roast. I had to make some homemade chilli garlic sauce and it turned out great!
I also made the garlic black pepper recipe with a pork loin and smoked it for around 45min folowed by 4hrs drying and it is excellent as well!
Thanks for sharing the recipes!!!
Awesome! Glad they turned out great!
We’re gonna try this one in the next couple of days… thanks! Just got a Bradley 6 rack a couple of months ago and are goin crazy smokin all sorts of things!
Nice! I love getting new toys, and a smoker is one of the best toys you can get! Let me know how it turns out.
Hey mate, great site. Just making my first batch of jerky and have used yours as a base recipe. I actually used a heap of cracked black pepper as I didn’t have any chilli garlic sauce and I was aiming for lime and cracked pepper anyway! Absolutely delicious. Cheers!
Thanks John. Glad your jerky is turning out great!
Thanks, mate. I’ll be slowly making my way through your recipes!
This is by far the most common jerky I make. Your website is my goto place for all things jerky. Do you ever make jerky in a hot smoker?
I do make jerky with a Masterbuilt smoker. I do not use the cold smoke add on for this smoker. You can see my page on smoking jerky here.
Great recipe! I did have 1 problem. I cooked this in the oven. Did not smoke. The lime taste was great. However it was not Spicey at all. Followed the recipe to the T. Tasted the marinade it was HOT, but the jerky was not. What might have I done wrong?
You didn’t do anything wrong. This jerky isn’t suppose to be a very spicy jerky, but just have a little spice from the chili garlic sauce. If you want to add a little more spice to the recipe, double the chili lime or add some hot peppers to the marinade and blend them in a blender. To your point on the marinade tasting hot but not the jerky… I have found this is the case with all recipes. The marinade is always hotter than the jerky turns out to be. This is why I always add a little more spice to the marinade than I normally would.
I found my favorite recipe for jerky. Good balance of sweetness and spiciness. Thanks for posting. Also, great website to look for guidance, recipes and tips.
Glad you like it! One of my wife’s favorites…
Hey Will,
I got an excalibur a few months ago and have become very popular – thanks in part to your recipes. I just made the chili lime for the second time, it is my favorite so far.
I am also trying a bloody mary recipe, I cheated and used a cup of Zing mix, pepper, tabasco, worchester, and celery salt. I’ll let you know how it turns out, but let me know if you have any suggestions.
Sounds pretty good to me. You definitely tend to become more popular once you start churning out the jerky! Looking forward to hearing how it turns out!
Bloody mary had onami, but next time I will marinade spicier and leave more marinade on when dehydrating.
I also tried a two-stage chili lime, starting eith just lime to get more of a lime undertone, and then a marinade with your recipe with lotsa tobasco added. It was a hit, but I think the citric acid made it a bit tough.
I have a dehydrator and I have only done mainly fruits and some veggies but very little so far.
I have a friend that makes his own jerky and it’s better than any store bought I ever had.
I have been toying with the idea of making my own. I have just found your website and I’m going to take the plunge . Chilli Lime Jerky sounds awesome.
I’ll let you know how it comes out.
Looking forward to hearing your results Joe. Definitely try a bunch of recipes, you are bound to find a favorite!
Made this recipe in my new Bosch convection oven on convection bake setting. Perfect in 2 hrs 15 min. Thanks.
Made this recipe for the third time today because it’s that good! Thanks for this website Will!
Nice! No problem Eliot.
Hello,
I’ve recently purchased my second smoker (the first one was passed onto a friend when I moved out-of-province) Anyway, I like the sounds of this recipe, but I’m curious if anyone has ever used actual peppers instead of a sauce.
I am going to try using Habanero peppers in the marinate, I’m thinking a puree would be best for the beef to absorb the heat. I’ll be sure to report back my findings.
Real peppers will work great Devon. Like you mentioned, blend the marinade with the peppers in a blender to make the jerky really absorb the spice. Let me know how it turns out!
Can you tell me what a zest of lime is? I just bought a zester and a lime, but how much do i add to the mix?
Just get a good amount of the outside of the lime (zest). You do this before you slice the lime. Just rinse it with water, dry it off, and then zest most of the lime and put it in the marinade. Sorry for the delayed response Kerry!
I like to add a tablespoon of tobasco and and a teaspoon of chili powder per pound, just to kick it up a notch.