This East Coast Jerky recipe has a sweet taste that also gives you a little kick from the cayenne pepper.

I grew up on the East Coast, and it wasn’t half bad. So when I stumbled upon this recipe in one of my many jerky books,  I decided to give it a go. I did however leave out the 1/3 cup of ketchup that it called for. I have never been a big fan of ketchup in beef jerky, it just doesn’t do it for me.

Even though the ketchup wasn’t up my alley, the cayenne pepper and ground mustard caught my attention. When beef jerky has a little bit of a kick to it, I can’t resist. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place for a sweet southern piece of jerky, but when you taste some spice and your eyes widen with the intense flavor…. That’s when you have made a great piece of jerky! *Add a little more cayenne pepper if you want a spicier flavor.

After marinating for a good 16 hours, these light colored pieces of beef were placed in my dehydrator and dried for 5 hours at 160° F.

The lighter color this marinade gives to your beef is because of the red wine vinegar and the absence of any kind of soy sauce or worcestershire sauce. After drying however, this jerky had that dark jerky look that catches your eye and screams EAT ME!

So get going… Fire up that oven, dehydrator, or smoker and give the East Coast a try; with or without ketchup…

***For more in depth directions on how to dry your beef jerky, visit my page Jerky Making Methods***

East Coast Jerky

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

5 hours

Total time

5 hours 30 mins

 

Author: Will

Ingredients

Lean Beef

• 1lb beef bottom round

Marinade

• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground pepper
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• ½ tsp onion powder

Instructions

1. Trim all visible fat from the beef and place in freezer for an hour or two to partially freeze.
2. While the meat is in the freezer, combine the salt, pepper, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, cayenne pepper, ground mustard, and onion powder in a medium size bowl or ziplock bag. Mix well.
3. Remove the meat from the freezer and slice ¼" strips against the grain for a softer chew or with the grain for a chewier bite.
4. Add sliced beef to the mixture and marinate for 6-24 hours in the refrigerator.
5. After the meat has finished marinating, remove from refrigerator and pat dry with paper towels.
6. Dry with your favorite jerky making method. A dehydrator was used with this recipe and dried for 5 hours at 160 degrees.

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