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Do you need a dehydrator or a smoker to make beef jerky? No, so don't go running out and buying expensive appliances. Start with an appliance everyone already has, an oven!
This is the no dehydrator beef jerky recipe! Using the oven to make beef jerky is a very easy, simple, and cost effective way to make great tasting jerky.
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🥩 Choosing and slicing the meat
1 - Start by buying a lean piece of meat, I am using flank steak for this recipe. Flank steak is not my favorite cut of meat to use, mainly because it produces less tender jerky. The flank steak I have access to here in Austin has a little more marbling than I like and is also about twice as expensive as my favorite cut; beef eye of round.
2 - Trim any visible fat from the meat. Fat will make your jerky spoil, so cut off as much as possible.
3 - Wrap the meat in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for about 1-2 hours to partially freeze. Freezing is not mandatory, but does make slicing the meat at a consistent width easier. Slice against the grain at around ⅛″-¼″ thick. When using flank steak, I have found that wider slices allow the jerky pieces to stay together better and produce better jerky.
You can also skip the freezing stage and slice your jerky using a jerky slicer. I use a Weston Jerky Slicer. It makes sure all your strips are the same width which allows them to dry evenly. Having a slicer is great when making a lot of jerky.
🧂 Marinating the meat
4 - Place the slices of beef to the side and assemble your jerky marinade. As I mentioned earlier, I am using my Chili Lime recipe for this batch, but you can find dozens of jerky marinades on my beef jerky recipe page.
Once you have made your marinade, place the beef slices in your marinade and make sure they are covered evenly. Marinate the jerky in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours.
5 - Cover the bottom rack of the oven with aluminum foil to avoid drippings during the drying process. It will make a mess if you do not put a layer of protection down. If you are like me, the last thing you want to do is spend an hour cleaning your oven because you skipped a 30 second step in the process!
⏲️ Drying the jerky
6 - Dry the strips on paper towels to soak up any excess marinade and either lay the jerky pieces across the metal rack or use toothpicks and hang the strips. I have decided to use toothpicks to hang my strips. After drying the strips with paper towels, I slide one toothpick through one of the ends of each piece of jerky.
7 - Take the metal rack out of the oven and pre-heat the oven between 170° to 200°F. Hang the strips on the metal rack while its outside the oven. You can also place the strips laying flat on a baking/cooling rack and leave the ovens metal rack in the oven while pre-heating.
8 - Once pre-heated, put the oven rack of jerky in the oven on the highest rack position, being careful not to allow the strips to fall. When making beef jerky without a dehydrator and in an oven, make sure to prop the door open with a wooden spoon to allow moisture to escape and air to circulate during the drying process.
🌡️ How to determine when it's finished drying
9 - It should take between 3-8 hours to dry in the oven depending on the thickness of the jerky. Check after 3 hours, and continue as needed. The jerky will be done when it bends and cracks but does not break in half. It took 4 hours to dry this jerky to my liking.
10. Allow the jerky to cool for an hour or so to room temperature and then store in air tight containers in the refrigerator or a dark cool place. Learn more about how long jerky stays good and how to store it on my storing beef jerky page.
That's all there is to making great tasting beef jerky in an oven. It's a great way to get started in making jerky without having to buy any fancy and expensive equipment.
Let me know if you have any questions or share your thoughts by leaving a comment below!
💭 FAQ
Yes, ground jerky can be made by extruding jerky from a jerky gun onto a cooling rack, then placed in the oven.
Yes! Still make sure to prop the door open with a spoon to let the moisture escape.
Between 170°F to 200°F is the best temperature to make beef jerky.
👨🏻🍳 Old Pro Tips
- Line any baking pan with aluminum foil to make clean up easier. Then lay the jerky strips on cooling racks on top of the pan.
- Use a wooden spoon to prop the oven door open. This allows moisture to escape and helps dry out the jerky.
- Using liquid smoke will give jerky that is made in an oven that smoky flavor.
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Ingredients
Lean Beef
- 1 lb eye of round
Marinade
- 1 teaspoon mesquite liquid smoke (Don't add if using a smoker)
- 2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoon lime juice
- 1 zest of lime
Optional
- ¼ teaspoon Curing Salt (Prague Powder #1)
Equipment
Instructions
- Pick you favorite type of beef and trim all visible fat. Place the meat in the freezer for 1-2 hours to partially freeze. This allows for easier slicing and more consistent widths.
- Mix all above ingredients in a container with a tight fitting lid. Whisk marinade until all brown sugar is dissolved.
- Remove beef from the freezer and slice against the grain between ⅛"-¼" thick.
- Add sliced beef to the container of marinade and shake well to evenly coat the meat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours.
- After marinating, remove and pat dry the strips with paper towels. Either hang from toothpicks or lay the jerky on a cooling rack and place in a 170°F - 200°F preheated oven.
- Prop the door of the oven open with a wooden spoon and bake the jerky for 3-6 hours. Begin checking for doneness at 3 hours.
- The beef jerky will be finished when it bends and cracks, but does not break in half. Allow to cool for several hours before storing in an air tight container.
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 fresh Limes for most intense flavor
Nutrition
Dawn says
I used skewers instead of tooth picks (less of a balancing act). Can get 24 strips per skewer to fit on oven rack. 2 1 /2 lbs of meat only filled just over a 1/4 of rack space.
Will says
You are totally right Dawn, they do work great!
Michael Cool says
Hello Will,
I just found your site and I plan on trying your oven jerky, but I have a question. I have a fairly large cookie sheet with a removable grate. Do you think that will work?
Will says
As long as the grate allows air to circulate under the jerky, it should work just fine! Let me know how it turns out.
Iris V says
Hi,
I have a question. My oven does not work when opening the door with a wooden spoon. What would you recommend to do?
Will says
Huh. Haven't heard of that before. Is it a convection oven that has a fan inside? If so, you don't need to leave the door open. The fan should circulate the air and vent it as well.
mrs watson says
I have kids who loves jerky is this hot and can you give me a recipes that aint hot and spicey for my kids please ansd is a little tender please
Will says
I have plenty of recipes that do not have heat. You can find them on my recipe page.
Jerry Davison says
My first batch of beef jerky is now in the oven. Now I wait. I looked all over the www for recipes and instructions and yours was the only one I saw that started out hotter and came down in temperature. That made logical sense to me. Thanks for that!
Will says
No problem Jerry. How did your jerky turn out?!
Vuk says
Hey Will, awesome site! One day I just decided that I may as well make my own jerky - it's astronomically expensive here in Norway.
I made my first batch and it was ... ok. I cut it way too thin, like 1/14 in (2mm) - it was really thin. But still tasty. It took very short time though, maybe 1.5 hours.
Now I have a new batch in the oven (convection oven, sitting at around 60C (140F)) and after 1.5 hours it seems... done? It's weird 'cause your site says way longer and all other sites say way longer. I cut it thicker this time, about 5-7mm (1/5~1/3 in) but it's already kinda hard and when I pull it apart it has those "white fibers" and it's not cracking but bending and "breaking at the seams"... So by all your signs it should be done.
I'm just gonna troop it out and hope at least 3 hours will be fine even though I feel like 2 is plenty. Any reason why this is happening? Could it be a convection thing? I see you write it shouldn't dry on less than 145F, but I'm also "afraid" to have it on higher since the convection oven is always about 20-25C "hotter" than the regular oven.
Will says
Thanks Vuk for checking out my site all the way from Norway! I do not have a convection oven, and therefor have not made jerky in one. If your jerky seems finished and you have white fibers after 2 hours, I would call it done. The convection oven might be speeding up the drying process a lot. It really depends on the equipment on how fast the jerky dries. My dehydrators normally take about 4 hours. My smoker takes closer to 7 hours. I have had jerky that I pre-heated only take 3 hours in a dehydrator. If it's done, it's done! I would use a thermometer to see what the actual temperature inside the oven is reaching. Also, you can wrap a thermometer in a thin piece of meat to make sure your jerky is reaching an internal temp of 160F. That way you know exactly how your oven is performing. I noticed you posted this yesterday, how did your jerky turn out? What recipe did you use?
Vuk says
Hi again Will!
I came back a few days after my post but couldn't find it. I just located it again :). I ended up keeping them in a bit longer, another 30-40 mins just to see if I was wrong or not. But it seems my convection oven really does dry it quite fast as they came out a bit "crispy" at that point. Although even the crispy ones end up chewy once you start munching on them 🙂 I've been making the Spicy Sweet Beef Jerky - and I love it! I've also tried the Horseraddish and vinegar one which was OK (my mom loved it though) and I've tried the Spicy Jerky with Frank's RedHot (although no FRH in Norway anymore, so I switched it with Tabasco).
I'm gonna attempt those two again, but this time I'll use some Tabasco Buffalo Style sauce instead of Frank's RedHot, and perhaps a similar one with Chipotle Tabasco - it has a great smoky taste!
I got about 3 batches of 1.3 lb top round all sliced up and I'm about to marinade them in 3 different marinades! Really looking forward to this batch 🙂
Will says
Cool! Looks like you have found a couple good recipes that y'all like. If you have habanero tabasco in Norway, that's a great recipe!
KAY BARLEN says
Will I am trying to increase my protein intake and thought this would be a good way. My only problem there were no recipe amounts for the marinade and since I have never made this before I am little leery as how to proceed. Thanks for any help or suggestions you can give.
Will says
You can check out all my recipes on my recipe page. Pick a recipe you like and it will have all the info you need.
Bradley says
Try using your grill - I made Jerky with flank steak with my son and after much thought, about how to dry I turned on 1 burner on my grill at lowest setting and it maintained a perfect temperature - and, no mess. Give t a shot.
Will says
Thanks for the tip Bradley. I'll have to give that a try!
Glenn says
Important question for those who have used a convection oven. Does the jerky smell linger for very long in the oven - especially the next few times cooking for any food? Wondering if the spouse will not be a fan. Also what would be a good cooking order and split of time to combine a pellet grill smoker and convection oven with dehydrate function for the best jerky to get great smoke flavor but not too much and not burn pellets for 5 or so hours? Maybe 1-2 hours on smoker first then the rest in the oven?
Desiree says
How would I do it if I just want to use salt, maybe a little horseradish?
Will says
You can make a marinade out of anything you want. If you just want salt and horseradish, only use that as your marinade or rub it on the meat before dehydrating.
Stacy says
Awesome site, thank you! I've been itching to try jerky for a few months now, I saw your instructions and well - my jerky is in the oven! I used just a sprinkle of salt on both sides because I'm too impatient- I've pulled out two pieces of my small batch cut into smaller bits, it is exactly what I wanted soooo delicious, I will be trying biltong spices next!!! I can barely contain my excitement!! Lol it's the little things- thank you so much!
Will says
Thanks for the nice words, glad you like the site!
Danielle says
Hi Will, I want to use this recipe but had a question about oven temperature. My lowest setting on my oven is 150*F, it’s a turn dial and is marked per 50*, so I’m hesitant to try and gauge 160* accurately. I’m wondering if 150*F would be too low to make jerky?
Will says
I would put it at 170F for the first 2-3 hours and if you wanted, you could turn it down to 150F after that. You want to make sure the meat reaches an internal temp of 160F, so I would not keep the oven at 150F the entire time since it would never reach the 160F.
Tony says
Hi Will,
All the way from Melbourne, Australia.
Just want to take the time to say thank you for the website, very helpful.
Ive just thrown together my own two recipes in the fridge as we speak of a Smokey bbq and honey soy chilli (this was before I found you)
One question I do have is, measuring ingredients a must or can you do as I did and just put a bit of this and a bit of that?
Keen to put together the chilli lime jerky.
Thanks again will
Will says
They sound like some good recipes Tony! No need to measure, just throw some stuff together and see how it turns out. Thanks for checking me out from all the way on the other side of the world!
Karyn says
I am using wild hog meat to make jerky. I just want to clarify, can it be safely cooked for 10 minutes in a 300 degree oven on cooling racks and then moved to a preheated dehydrator (@ 145 degrees) to finish? (do I need to flip the strips over at all?)
I have tried several different methods and it turns out great, but I am looking for the safest method that will produce optimal results. Thanks for your help.
Will says
That should do the trick. I use an oven thermometer and fold one of the thinnest pieces in two with the thermometer in the middle to make sure it gets to 160F. Then dry it at a minimum of 145F until it is done.
Ian says
This internal temperature topic keeps coming up Will.
People eat rare steaks, why is the jerky different?
PS. got some marinating right now and will be going in my mini convection oven tomorrow.
Will says
Good question Ian. With steak; it comes out of the fridge, sits at room temperature for maybe 30 minutes, is cooked and consumed (even if it doesn't get to 160F). The steak also is normally about 1" thick which helps prevent any bacteria on the outside from reaching the inside and the outside bacteria is killed when cooked. Jerky on the other hand takes several hours to reach 160F in a dehydrator, has been sliced very thin potentially allowing more bacteria on each slice, and then can sit out of the fridge for a week or more. Hope this helps... Let me know how the jerky turns out!
Eric says
Hi Will,
I'm making my first batch right now; flank steak, cut in 1/8 strips, marinated for a day in devils spit bbq/soy/honey/garlic powder/onion powder/black pepper/red pepper flakes/Hungarian hot paprika. Started at 300 for 10 minutes, and it's been in at 175 on convection for 3.5 hours. I think it's almost done. Will let you know the results...thanks for the tips.
Will says
Sound good. Don't forget to let me know how it turns out!
Brian says
Thanks for all the info! I'm trying my first batch in my convection oven as we speak.
Will says
Nice! Let me know how it turns out!
Brian says
I never gave an update... cane out perfect, I have done quite a lot of recipes so far... Your website the best! Thanks again!
Helene says
Can you use pork loin for jerkey?
Will says
Yep! It's actually the best cut to use when making pork jerky. Just trim any visible fat before slicing and marinating.
Vanessa says
Have two batches marinating now, used moose instead of beef. Trying teriyaki & cracked pepper. Love your site
Will says
Thanks! Hope your jerky turns out great!
Cindy Baker says
I love your site. I sent out your "oven-hung" vacuum packed jerky for Christmas this year and folks loved it. I asked the butcher about jerky meat and he showed me the Carne Asada. It's so easy to cut the fat off and with its natural split, I use all the shorter pieces in one recipe and the longer pieces in another! Thanks for making it easy!
Will says
Carne Asada meat is normally a flank steak, a good cut of beef for jerky. Jerky makes a great present as you have found out, glad I could help Cindy!
Brad says
Is using the racks crucial or can the meat be layed flat on an oven tray?
Will says
The racks allow the air to flow underneath the jerky. It would not work that great if you laid them right on an oven tray. Either hang the jerky with toothpicks or buy cooling racks to play on top of a tray to lay them out.