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With July 4th just days away, some real American jerky is in order to celebrate the birth of a new nation! That only means one thing, Bourbon...

I picked up a bottle of Bourbon a couple of weeks ago to drink with some friends and figured it would make some great jerky.

So why Bourbon? Why is that associated with 4th of July? Well Bourbon can ONLY be made in the United States. If it is made anywhere else in the world, it can not be labeled Bourbon.

Slicing the Meat

I made this recipe out of Turkey, but this would also work great with beef. Start with turkey breast, it can be purchased at your local grocer store.

Turkey breast is extremely lean and works great for jerky. Slice the turkey breast in 1/4" wide strips trimming any visible fat away from the meat to prevent spoilage of the jerky. Fat spoils faster than meat, so getting off as much fat now will really extend the life of your jerky.

Make sure you slice the strips the same thickness, this way all the jerky strips will finish dehydrating at the same time. Wrapping the turkey breast in saran wrap and partially freezing for 1-2 hours will help harden the meat and make slicing even strips easier.

Making The Marinade

This is a fun marinade to make... Mainly because you can drink the BEST ingredient. No, i'm not talking about the orange juice, I'm talking about the Legent Bourbon.

Bourbon is a huge part of American history. So the Birthday of the United States deserves a recipe that features something that can only be produced in America. This particular bourbon is unique because it was made by a Jim Beam master distiller who partnered with a Japanese blender.

Even though this is the star of the marinade, other great ingredients such as orange juice, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, and red pepper flakes also make this jerky the great tasting snack it is.

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. 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 turkey 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.

If your dehydrator does not reach 165°F, pre-heat the meat in your oven to kill any potential bacteria from the jerky.

I pre-heated the turkey in my oven on an oven rack. It took 20 minutes at 300°F to reach an internal temperature of 165°F. If you have the turkey directly on the pan, the cooking time will be closer to 10 minutes. Heating this way will change the consistency of the jerky making it a little harder and not as tender.

After pre-heating the strips, I placed them on my Nesco 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.

You can also use your oven or smoker to make this jerky. For more in depth instructions on drying your jerky, check out my Jerky Making Methods Page.

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 jerky turned out really good. An intense citrus flavor from the lemon and orange juice really shines in this meat snack. The bourbon is nice and subtle, not too intense and overpowering. This very light, citrus, and sweet jerky is something you definitely need to make for your upcoming 4th of July party!

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 your favorite Bourbon to tailor the taste of this jerky to your liking

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