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Duke’s Original Jerky, a solid recipe from a respected jerky maker.
I was walking through the supermarket yesterday; for all who live in Texas can guess which one that is. (HEB – The best supermarket in the United States!) I always go down the “chip” isle to get some pretzels that I like to munch on. This isle is also home to the beef jerky, which I normally walk by without even taking notice. This time I stopped to check out the commercial jerky scene. I noticed a brand I had seen before but never tried, Duke’s Beef Jerky.
Good looking packaging and a good ol’ boy story sucked me in, so I purchased a bag. I know what you are thinking, why would I buy jerky since I make it all the time? I like trying jerky to get ideas and different recipe ideas. Most of the jerky I try is not from big manufacturers, it’s normally from county fairs, rodeos, farmers markets, road stands, etc…
So what did I think? It was good, good enough I checked out the website to see if they had any information worth while. Well they did, they had a recipe printed for their original beef jerky. I thought that pretty interesting since you don’t normally see companies posting the recipe to their product for everyone to take, make, and never buy from them again! I guess they are counting on most people not wanting to put forth the effort of making jerky. Well they are wrong when it comes to me! I love to make jerky and so I grabbed some meat and dove into this recipe. The amounts will differ from the recipe posted on their website as it was for 7lbs of meat. I only made 1 pound and cut the recipe accordingly. You will find the link to their recipe at the bottom of this post.
I made this batch in my dehydrator because I didn’t have time before I went to work to use my smoker and pack it away after I was done. Currently living in an apartment with no garage makes it a pain in the ass to break out with no notice. So a dash of hickory liquid smoke would have to do. I did notice that he mentions to watch for the jerky to turn red after 3-4 hours in the smoker. This might happen if you are using a cure, but with the ingredients listed I would not wait to see this color because it more than likely will not happen.
The results? Pretty damn good. It never seizes to amaze me how many different tastes and flavors you can pack into simple dried meat. That is one of the reasons I love beef jerky and decided to make this blog.
So go get your smoker, dehydrator, or oven going and make yourself a batch of Duke’s Original Beef Jerky!
For anyone who wants to check out Duke’s website, I have included a link to it here: Duke’s Original Beef Jerky Recipe.
Ingredients
Lean Beef:
- 1 lb sirloin tip
Marinade:
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp liquid smoke (hickory)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
Optional
- 1/4 tsp Curing Salt (Prague Powder #1)
Instructions
- Pick a lean cut of beef and trim all visible fat. After trimming the fat, place the meat in the freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
- While the meat is in the freezer, add the soy sauce, salt, brown sugar, black pepper, onion powder, liquid smoke, and minced garlic to a medium size bowl or container. Stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved fully.
- Remove meat from the freezer and slice against the grain between 1/8" - 1/4" in thickness.
- Add sliced beef to the mixture and marinate in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours.
- After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and pat dry with paper towels.
- Dry with your favorite jerky making method. A dehydrator was used when making this recipe.
- Jerky will be finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half. Allow to cool for several hours before storing in air tight containers.
Nutrition
If using a smoker, leave out the hickory liquid smoke and substitute with 1 cup of hickory wood chips. Soak the wood chips for 30 minutes before adding to the smoker.
Hi, love your site. Making my first batch ever. When your recipe calls for say 1 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. of optional curing salt, do I just add the 1/4 tsp of curing salt or do I reduce the amount of regular salt to 3/4 tsp.?
The 1/4 tsp shouldn't make too much of a difference, so either way would work. I normally just add the extra 1/4 tsp of curing salt. I like salty jerky though....
If you get a chance to pick up Duke's Spicy Mini Sausages, GET 'EM!!
Oh yeah, I love them! The spicy ones have a decent kick to them too.
I see that you have a recipe for Duke's original, I was just wondering if maybe you had one for the Duke's Chiptole BBQ? I've just recently tried it and I cannot find a recipe for it anywhere.
I sure don't. The last recipe I actually got off their website. I haven't checked it in a while, but they might have it posted or might send you the recipe if you ask. That was the first company I have seen post the recipe to their jerky. Normally that's kept a HUGE secret...
Hi! So ive never made jerky before but I really want to try. I don't have a smoler or dehydrator so I'll have to use the oven, so i was wondering if you had any suggestions on how do do that? (Oven temp/cook time)
I do Mikayla. Check out my Jerky in an Oven page.
Thanks for your recipes and tips for jerky making! I read a USDA article about pre-cooking meat to 160deg, because dehydrators will never get to that temp. Since we're working with very thin strips of meat, it is impossible to get an accurate temp on the meat. What is your take on this USDA tip? Am I safe setting my machine (Nesco) at 165deg for 3 hours, then down to 145deg, per your March 2017 response?
Thanks again for this great site.
Well I have tested several dehydrators and I use two that DO get the meat to an internal temp of 160F. I tend to eer on the safe side and do agree with the USDA about reaching 160F. Nobody likes getting sick! If you have the Nesco Snackmaster Pro, it should heat the meat to 160F in 3 hours allowing you to finish it off at 145F as stated. You're good to go!
Hello all the recipes I see are with 1 pound of meat if I do 4 pounds would I add everything times 4 to get the right flavor? And as far as curing salt do the same? Thank you. And great sight
That's pretty much right. The amount of peppers on some of the recipes would not need to be multiplied by 4. If you are doing a spicy recipe, start with a little less spice and tweak it before adding the meat. Curing salt is by lb of meat, normally 1tsp per 5lbs.
hey Will,
great site here. in fact i'd dare say the number one jerky site i have ran across. fantastic collection of recipes. being the city boy that i am i don't make jerky enough, but end up buying a factory made pack. i still prefer home made but usually need a quick fix. My latest faves are Old Trapper and Tillamook Smokehouse. both available at Smith''s grocery store so easy to grab. I have had Duke's products before. So i am going to make some of that up in the smoker. There are a couple of top notch jerky makers around here. Thompson's Smokehouse in Erda and Snider Bros. Meat's. But at $26 a pound i don't indulge too often.
oh yeah, I live in Salt Lake.
Thanks for the kind words man! I'm actually going to be going through Salt Lake this weekend, I will try and stop at the places you mentioned to grab some jerky. $26 a pound is a little steep, but might have to try it anyway...
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I use ground turkey for my jerky and this is the perfect base that I can add heat or make as is.
What temp did you set your dehydrator on?
I normally run mine for 3 hours at 160F at the beginning of drying and then turn down to 145F for the remaining time. You want the temp high at the beginning so the jerky will reach an internal temp of 160F.