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    Home » Turkey & Chicken Jerky Recipes

    Cranberry Turkey Jerky

    Published: Jun 19, 2017 · Modified: Feb 11, 2019 by Will · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my privacy policy.

    This Cranberry Turkey Jerky will have you craving your Mom's homemade Thanksgiving Dinner!

    A Turkey Jerky that will have you thinking of your Mom's turkey and cranberry on Thanksgiving | Jerkyholic.com

    The reason this recipe came about was due to the simple reason that you can't have turkey without the cranberry...

    Turkey Breast

    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. 

    Cranberry Turkey Jerky Ingredients

    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 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.

    Cranberry Turkey Jerky on Trays

    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.

    Cranberry Turkey Jerky Finished2

    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. 

    Learn how to make Beef Jerky in a dehydrator. It's easy, fast, and delicious! | Jerkyholic.comLearn how to make beef jerky in a smoker. Great tasting and better than store bought jerky! | Jerkyholic.comHow to Make Beef Jerky in an Oven

    A Turkey Jerky that will have you thinking of your Mom's turkey and cranberry on Thanksgiving | Jerkyholic.com

    Cranberry Turkey Jerky

    This Cranberry Turkey Jerky will have you craving your Mom's homemade Thanksgiving Dinner! 
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe
    Prep Time: 1 hour
    Cook Time: 4 hours
    Total Time: 5 hours
    Course: Snack
    Cuisine: American
    Type: Turkey Jerky
    Flavor: Sweet
    Servings: 5
    Calories: 243kcal
    Author: Will

    Ingredients
     

    Lean Turkey Breast

    • 1 lb Turkey Breast

    Marinade

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

    Equipment

    Excalibur Dehydrator
    Excalibur Dehydrator

    Instructions

    • Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag and mix well.
    • Trim all visible fat from the turkey breast and slice ¼" strips with the grain
    • Add sliced turkey breast 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.
    • Pre-heat oven to 300F.
    • Place turkey strips on a baking rack on top of a aluminum foil lined baking sheet.
    • Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the strips reach an internal temperature of 165F.
    • Remove from the oven and dry with you favorite jerky making method. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator and dried for 4 hours at 145F.
    • The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1g | Calories: 243kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 204mg | Potassium: 267mg | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 65IU | Vitamin C: 7.3mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 0.7mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

     

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Michael says

      May 24, 2018 at 9:16 am

      Just prepared this recipe and a note to new jerky makers like myself - make sure to get a frozen turkey ROAST. The frozen BREAST still has the bone and is a general nightmare to deal with. Plus you lose half the listed weight in what you discard. My fault for not reading packaging, but not a mistake I'll make again.

      Reply
    2. Amanda says

      January 06, 2018 at 10:03 am

      This recipe looks delicious, but I cannot find Juniper Berries in any of the supermarkets around town.

      I've read that fresh Rosemary could be used instead, but am hesitant and wouldn't even know how much to use.

      Would you recommend leaving the berries out or trying to substitute?

      Reply
      • Will says

        January 06, 2018 at 11:54 am

        Sounds like Rosemary could be good! I would just throw 1-2 whole sprigs into the marinade. Might as well give it a try!

        Reply
    3. Diann says

      November 30, 2017 at 2:30 pm

      I've tried baking my jerky to 165 like you say and I can't ever get it there. Today I'm doing chicken, so I really wanted to make it work. My dehy goes to 165, but that's not your directions and the last two tried its was overdone. Help!!

      Reply
      • Will says

        November 30, 2017 at 6:22 pm

        If you place 1/4" slices of turkey directly on a baking sheet in a pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes at 300F, it should reach 165F no problem. Then take it out and finish off in your dehydrator. What exactly is the problem you are having?

        Reply
    4. Bill says

      June 19, 2017 at 5:02 pm

      your comment after the recipe says you live in Austin TX but your Bio on the side says you live in Colorado. Are you a real Texan or what?

      Reply
      • Will says

        June 19, 2017 at 9:38 pm

        Thanks for the heads up Dad! Haha.

        Reply

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