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The best homemade beef jerky recipe made with Habanero Peppers is the last and only recipe you will ever make from now on! Learn how to make great tasting beef jerky with this easy to make recipe.
The spicy kick of the peppers and the saltiness of the Sea Salt really makes this the top jerky recipe ever!
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📋 Why this recipe works
This is a great tasting jerky because of the original flavor it has beneath the heat from the habaneros. The sugar and worcestershire help with that original flavor and also balance the heat of the peppers. I love spicy jerky, and I really love the flavor of habanero peppers, and this beef jerky recipe checks both of those boxes!
🔪 Slicing the meat
Start with a great cut of beef when making this jerky. Making sure to choose a lean cut of meat is important, the cuts below have little fat and are great for jerky.
Best meat to use
- Beef Eye of Round Roast
- Top & Bottom Round Roast
- Flank Steak
- Sirloin Tip
- Ground Beef (10% fat or less)
I used Beef Eye of Round, but you can find a complete list of the best cuts of meat to dry beef jerky here!
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 beef 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 beef 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 ⅓ cup of the water for ⅓ 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!
⏲️ Dehydrating
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.
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.
🌡️ Testing for when it's finished drying
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. Make sure to check the beef jerky when it is room temperature, bending when warm will appear to be unfinished and result in over drying.
🥡 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 beef jerky have an extended shelf life. Check it out!
💭 FAQ
Yes you can! Choose a ground meat that is 10% fat or less and simply omit the water. Keep everything else the same.
No, you can substitute any pepper or decide to leave the peppers out totally and have more of an original flavored jerky. Feel free to change things up!
No, curing salt does help extend the life of the finished jerky and prevents bacteria but it is not needed. Just make sure the finished beef jerky is heated to an internal temperature of 160°F. Curing salt does give the jerky that classic red color and a distinct taste, so if you decide not to use it, the finished jerky will look and taste different.
👨🏽🍳 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 0 peppers for no spice, 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.
📖 Learn more about making jerky
Ingredients
Lean Meat
- 1 lb Eye of round
Marinade
- 1 ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 whole habaneros (3 if extra hot is wanted)
- 2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- ¾ cup cold water
- ¼ teaspoon curing salt (optional)
Instructions
- 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.
- Load dehydrator trays with jerky strips leaving room for air to circulate I used my Excalibur Dehydrator and dried for 3 hours at 165°F and 1 hour at 145°F
- The jerky is finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half.
Pro Tips
- Omit Habaneros if you don't want a spicy jerky
- Wash hands before handling meat
- Make Sure to use a blender to incorporate ingredients
- Adjust the amount of peppers to your liking
Nutrition
Dear Will, many thanks for this recipe - is really inspirating for me. I will try it next two days but I'll add a few drops of japan soya sauce, pinch of ginger and cracked smoked red pepper to marinade for more tasty... And without habaneros, 'cause we don't like so hot so. I'll let You know...
I am going to try this recipe today and it says in the paragraphs to use 1/3 cup of soy sauce instead of water for a salty taste. But the recipe says to use a 3/4 cup of water. So since I want to make a substitution, do I use a 1/3 cup or 3/4 cup?
It was a readers tip to replace 1/3 cup of water with 1/3 cup soy sauce. So I would put 1/3 cup soy sauce and about 1/2 cup of water for easy measurements.
Hey Will,
I'm looking to try a great recipe but also one that is either low or no-carb. Have you (or anyone else) tried to substitute either Stevia, erythritol, or other ingredients instead of the sugar? Looking forward to trying a number of your recipes!
Thanks in advance!
Ron
I have not substituted it, but don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Give it a shot and let me know how it turns out!
I use liquid monk fruit and it adds a nice mild sweetness to the jerky. The powder alternatives can sometimes leave an odd chemical taste or other aftertaste.
Hi Will,
I'm new to dehydrator Jerky making, and I'm planning on using my Ninja Foodi dehydrator setting to give it a go. Not sure if you've ever seen, or heard of a Texas original store called Bucee's, if not,, it's a sight to be seen,, they have everything, plus they make their own Jerky and its mighty fine, the best I've ever had is a black pepper one. The finished product is a 6-7" stick and what I like to do, is cut it in 1/4" tabs. So the stick on one end is about an 1" and other end is tapered to1.5-1.75" in diameter. When I cut it, it nearly has the texture of a piece of beef tenderloin, it's super supple, and tender, not chewy in the least. They sell it for $20.lb, so usually I pick up one of the largest sticks and can cut up to close to 20 of these squares, that and a boiled egg or 2 is my breakfast. I'm curious if with your experience cooking Jerky, have you ever tried a more expensive cut of meat, and how that turned out for you? I don't think I want to buy a tenderloin at todays market value prices, but wondering if you have any ideas on how to get close to my description in texture? I'm eager to try your recipe mixes and either use the hubs smoker, or my Ninja, thank you for any thoughts to my question!!!
Lisa
Definitely know Bucees! Lived in Texas for almost 20 years and always stop on any road trip. It sounds more like biltong, which is made totally different from beef jerky. The problem with using more expensive cuts for jerky is that they normally have more marbling of fat which is not what you want when trying to make it store for a long period. You could try making small batches and eat it quickly if using fattier meats.
Made this recipe today in my Bradley Digital smoker,( I omitted the hot peppers, found fresh ground black had enough spice) only took 5hrs to come to perfection!!! Love this recipe & page THANK YOU! Will definitely be trying more recipes soon.
Great to hear Steve!
I have not got to try this recipe yet I do not have a dehydration unit can rhis be made on a pellet stove/oven? Thanks in advance!!
Definitely. Check out my post on smoking beef jerky for more information.
The daughter-unit says this is the best batch I've made yet. So tough to let it finish it's last hour without nipping at it from the air fryer 🙂
Next time around, I am thinking about replacing the water with either cooking Sherry or Marsala. How do you think that would work ?
Sherry might turn out well, I like using beef broth instead of water as well to give it a little flavor. Try it and let me know how it turns out!
I've really been looking forward to making this recipie, I LOVE habeneros. I have a teenage daughter that is quickly becoming a hot food convert.
Quick question Will: It sounds from reading the recipe, the stems get removed, but other than that, the habaneros go into the blender whole ? If I was supposed to seed them before blending, I didn't want to miss that step.
Many Thanks !
Just cut the stem off and put in whole, no need to seed them! I hope you enjoy it!