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This original ground beef jerky recipe is rich and flavorful as well as easy and quick to make! No marinating required. Everyone will love these meaty protein snacks.
I have had several questions lately about making beef jerky out of ground meat. There will soon be a page on here dedicated to making ground meat jerky (How to Make Ground Beef Jerky); but in the meantime I thought I would share a great, quick, and easy recipe that you can whip up anytime.
Most of the ingredients are ones that you will have hanging out in your pantry. The only ingredient that you might not have and can see in the picture above, is curing salt (It's the pink salt in the white ¼ tsp).
If you decide not to use curing salt, substitute with ½ teaspoon of table salt and make sure to heat your jerky to 160°F to kill any potential bacteria.
When making ground beef jerky, liquid ingredients have to be kept to a minimum. I did add a tiny amount of soy sauce and worcestershire sauce to round out the taste of this jerky, but most ground jerky recipes will have 2oz of liquid ingredients per 1lb of meat. (2oz of liquid ingredients = ¼ cup)
I used my super fantastic LEM Jerky Cannon to squeeze out and form my jerky strips for this recipe . I REALLY love this jerky gun. I feel like everything we buy now a days is made completely of plastic and lasts for about 3 uses before it breaks and finds its way to the trash.
Well, not this jerky gun. This baby is made to last and I love it for that. Super easy to use and comes apart easily too, making clean up a breeze.
Mix all the ingredients into one pound of lean ground beef, at least 90% lean. I used 96% lean 4% fat ground beef when making this jerky.
Mix well and refrigerate for 4-24 hours to help the meat bind together. Take out of the fridge and pack into the jerky gun making sure there are no air pockets.
Shoot strips of jerky onto your dehydrator trays or on baking sheets if using an oven.
Dehydrate for about 3 ½ to 5 hours at your dehydrators highest setting until beef jerky has reached 160°F and has dried. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator which took me only 3 ½ hours to dry this batch.
If using an oven, heat the strips for 10 minutes at 300°F with the oven door closed. Then turn the temperature down to the oven lowest setting (normally about 170°F), crack the door and "cook" until it has dried.
The ground jerky will be a lot easier to chew and has a totally different texture than whole muscle jerky. The only way to see whether you like ground jerky is to make a batch and eat it! Let me know how it turns out.. Enjoy!!!
For more in depth directions on how to dry your beef jerky, click on the pictures below.
Ingredients
Lean Beef
- 1 lb Lean ground beef (10% fat or less)
Marinade
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground lemon pepper
- 1 teaspoon curry powder (red)
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon coriander
- 2 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon curing salt (optional)
Equipment
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the 1lb of ground beef with the other ingredients
- Mix the ground beef and seasonings thoroughly
- If using a jerky gun, load the gun with the ground beef mixture & shoot 4-5" long strips onto a dehydrator tray or on a baking sheet
- If not using a jerky gun, spread the ground meat on a baking sheet, cover with wax paper, and roll with a rolling pin until meat is ¼" thick
- Slice the pan of beef into jerky strips 4-5" long and 1" thick
- Dry with your favorite jerky making method. I used a dehydrator at 160F for 3 ½ hours
- Ground jerky is finished when it first starts becoming dry to the touch. It should bend without breaking in half. If it cracks in half when bent a little bit, it was over dried
Pro Tips
- Ground jerky is going to have a different texture than whole muscle jerky, it will be more brittle.
- Using an oven and dehydrator are the best ways to make ground jerky
Nutrition
For more in depth directions on how to dry your ground beef jerky, visit my page Ground Beef Jerky
John says
Absolutely the best jerky recipe out there for ground meat. I've tried every curing set available near me and they don't hold a candle to this recipe.
Yvette says
Hello,
Do you think this will turn out ok if I dehydrate this on my pellet smoker at 165 degrees or so? I want to try something different than my dehydrator and its too hot right now in Texas to run the oven all day.
Will says
Yes. Pellet smokers are a great way to make jerky.
Lucas Thompson says
Anyone know a good teriyaki flavor recipe using ground beef?
Amy says
How can you tell when it's dry? I can't check temp because the jerky just isn't thick enough for my thermometers. Should it be like bendy? Mine came out totally crunchy.
Will says
After 2 1/2 or 3 hours, pull a piece out of the dehydrator and allow to cool for 3-5 minutes (Very Important to allow to cool). Bend the jerky, it should bend without breaking in half or falling apart. The outside should be dry and the jerky a bendable.
Kate says
After long searches for ground beef jerky seasoning mixes and prices making me grumpy, I decided to DIY. After my first trial of your recipe with 2 lbs of very lean ground beef (96% fat free), I'm calling this a keeper. The curry and ginger threw me for a loop, but I mixed it exactly as specified by your recipe, and it's delicious! Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Will says
Glad you enjoyed it Kate! Hope you find some other recipes you like on the site as well. Experimenting is the most fun part!
Pat says
Delicious flavor, but the two times I tried it, the texture ends up being "mealy" and not a good experience.
I've made ground beef jerky twice before that and it came out with a good texture and chewy. Those previous recipes I used had zero wet ingredients, so I'm assuming it's an issue with using the wet ingredients.
MMMom says
I’m having this same ‘mealy’ issue, today, and sought out this comment whilst troubleshooting; only to find no replies. So, here’s what I’ve learned:
I’ve concluded that 1) stronger & longer mixing was needed 2) adding a powdered binder helped 3) the closer to 24 hours “marinating” -the better. The batch that endured heavy-duty mixing via a long session with a food processor, …it was very obvious that it was no longer mealy. Will mentions that ‘solid corn syrup’ is helpful with these wet blends, but I didn’t have any. I’m experimenting with powdered milk as I read elsewhere in this comment section.
Hopefully this helps the next jerkyholic.
Barbara says
Can more than one batch be mixed at a time? I want to do about 5 pounds and would like to do them all at once. I have 10 trays.
Will says
Definitely. You can multiply the ingredients and make 5lbs of one recipe, or you can make several different recipes and dehydrate at the same time. ex: make 2 pounds of original and 2lbs of Midwest ground jerky, then dehydrate them on different trays but at the same time. I make several different recipes in the same dehydrator at the same time. I would recommend labeling each recipe somehow. I put different colored toothpicks on the tray for each recipe. Place a blue toothpick on the original jerky trays and an orange on the midwest jerky tray to distinguish the two after it's finished drying.
Trish says
I gave it five stars but I didn’t exactly make it like the recipe. I didn’t have lemon pepper or the curry and used less of some of the spices. I believe my meat was 20% fat and trying to roll it out was a joke. I ended up just patting it out on the sheet for making fruit rollups. And since I have an older dehydrator that only goes up to 145° I dried it for six hours. It’s a little greasy but its yummy.
Jason says
Good solution to it been greasy is to finish it in oven at 250 for 10 minutes on a baking sheet . Then dab with paper towel
Jerry says
What is the easiest way to load a jerky gun. I always seem to make a mess and have some air gaps.
Will says
Loading it a little at a time. Don't start with the handle all the way back, but fill about 3" of the gun at a time. Then pull the lever back 3" more and fill again. I've had good results doing it this way.
Frank says
Roll the meat in to a few long round shape that fit in to the jerky gun easily with enough room for the air to escape. Pull handle all the way back and load from the nozzle end.
Neal says
Good day
I recently purchase the lem canon and I found the best way for me to load the ground beef was to not even use my hands. I grab the canon with one hand and just press the open bottom into the ground beef over and over. I continue to do this until I see it come to within a half in from the open top. (no air pockets) I wipe off the little bit of ground beef on the bottom and screw on the nozzle. works great for me. I hope this helps
Sarah Huitema says
What would happen if you left out, or cut the sugar? Looking for a very low sugar (or no sugar) beef jerky to make!
Will says
You can omit the sugar in this recipe as well.
Steve says
I did not see sugar in the recipe. Am I missing something?
Will says
There is no sugar, we were talking about a different recipe, but somehow came up on this comment section. Sorry for the confusion!
Danielle Regina Monds says
WAS FANTASTICE! Even made the same recipe for ground pork jerky. Also super, although I reduced the pepper by 1/4 teaspoon using only 3/4 tsp ground pepper. Perfect to our taste.
Question?? Can you mix the ground beef and pork together. All my meatballs/burgers/ meatloaf are 50/50. beef/pork.
Thanks for all your great recipes
Danielle
Will says
Yeah, you could definitely do a mixture like you do with a meatloaf. Let me know how you like the others!
donna deabay says
what would be the temp be for oven drying and for how long cooking time
Will says
Use your lowest setting on the oven and it should take about 4-6 hours. Check out my how to make jerky in an oven page for more information.
Tenrag says
Made a batch to the exact recipe. When trying to use meat gun there was liquid and the meat was not maintaining form. Tried jerky and snack stick with same result. Any ideas?
Jeremy Frutiger says
I am assuming red curry powder is the most common, I am visually impaired so I was just wondering if I have the right stuff, just the cheap kind you find in the dollar aisle of the grocery store. By the way this page is the best!
Will says
Yep, the common stuff you find at your local grocery store. Thanks so much Jeremy!
Sascha says
Hey, I made this three days ago. I used curing salt, used hot temperature (over 70 degree Celsius) also vacuum sealed everything. Now my bags are oily on the inside. Was my meat too fatty? Save to eat?
Keep up your good work. I know I need such a jerky gun! Hard to get in Austria tho...
Will says
The oil normally comes from fatty meat. I would recommend using no more than 10% fat when making ground jerky. The jerky should be safe to eat, it just won't last as long as a leaner meat jerky. The vacuum sealing will extend the life however.
Dana K McMurrin says
I have never made jerky. But I want to give this recipe a go. After it is dried. Can it be stored at room temperature? Should it be vacuumed sealed? What is the best option. Thank you!!
Will says
So you can store it in a dry and cool place at room temperature for up to a week or so. For longer storage, using vacuum seal is the best option. Check out my page on storing beef jerky for more information.
Sean says
I will try this recipe next time. I have a general ground beef jerky question. I used a nesco brand cure and seasoning packets. Mixed it in with 90/10 and extruded it out and dehydrated at 160 in a nesco for 4 hours. Leathery outside and soft inside like a slim Jim. Is this how it should be?
Will says
Yeah, that sounds like ground jerky. It will never be as tough like whole muscle jerky.